I've only written a few songs, but a serious songwriter buddy of mine detailed his process. Start with a classic folk tune that you know. Re-write the lyrics. Then go back and change some chords, timing, time signature, etc to fit your new words. Bingo! He called it the "tyranny of the blank page" and that was his way to get over the hump.
With so many great songs out there, I have been inhibited in my writing. Why should I bother? As a happily married soon-to-be retired engineer, there is nothing all that dramatic or unique for me to say, and not nearly enough lifetime remaining to learn covers of all the songs that I like. A well-turned poetic phrase or a nice chord progression is a thing of beauty, but I don't feel the burning drive to create them myself.
The few instrumentals I've developed mostly were built from licks and snippets from other fingerstyle tunes that I had already learned, often taken out of context. Sometimes things just drop into place, then you work on it from there.
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