How do you write a paper?

That's the $64,000 question, isn't it?  How do you write a paper of your reserach, that is publishable? Having only done it once before with a huge amount of help from my MS Advisor, this is my first foray into it. I'm thinking about this because just today, inbetween slides, I hammered out what I think will become the first paragraph of the introduction.

When I start to write a paper, it's very hard for me to get the first bit out.  Writing things like this blog is just stream of consiousness, which I find easy.  That first paragraph is rough. For me, it's like jumping into a pool you think is cold. You walk around the pool, you think about how quickly you'll be able to get out of the pool, you dip a toe in to confirm it's as awful as you think it is. And then, with a running start and a primal scream, you run forward and blindly stab at the keyboard! Now you're in, and you notice all the steam around you, and the water, while not warm, is by no means frigid. It won't be so bad.

Scientific writing requires a whole different thought structure and sentence syntax compared to more conversational writing.  There's the school of thought that says you should write a paper in the order of Methods, Results, Discussion, Intro.  And I think most people subscribe to that.  But I find it easier to write Intro, Methods, Results, Disc.

These are my novice views on writng for scientific publication. Anyone want to share their thoughts on writing a paper? Want to tell me I'm doing it all wrong? Have at!