Agrh ive got to complete a cofnerence paper for a very competitive conference, my supervisor hasnt been helping (but insisting their names go on it) because she wants to submit a paper to teh same conference with her friends! Aghr but i am determind to get their reviews- going crazy - been ill for ages but must submit. Any words of advice or magic spells to write a paper by today?

see it as a job ... something to hand in to the boss by the end of the day. there's less pressure for perfection.

Driveninsanity,

try a "Good is good enough" approach. Take same time to set the headings, then just write like what you want, do not bother regarding conventions, the flow wil come! Then connect the headings via "connecting phrases" (" the question regarding XXX" will be addressed under the next heading etc.)

Then ask someone to read, be open for suggestions.

Then correct and send! (I know this is very simplified, but you can try it)

Good luck

Take it easy- conference papers are important but they dont add much to your CV:))) Not as much as papers in journals.

at a conference, what you say is more important than the quality of your paper at the time of the conference. It is considered a work in progress.