Tips for writing music out rythmically

[keyofc]

This may sound a little off the subject, but how many of you can easily write out a piece of music?  I write songs and it takes me a very long time to do it.  I'm not talking about the writing - but the interpretation from what I have in my head to paper.

Although I had theory and had to take rythmic dictation - it was never an easy process.
Does anyone have any tips for making it easier?

key of c

[cosine]

Well, for me, it just took some practice, but I finally got it.

Now I do it the easy way though. I use Finale. 

[keyofc]

Does Finale interpret the 8th notes for you?  I have Sibelius and am still learning it, but believe it does everything that Finale does.

[cosine]

Well, Finale does intepret the 8th notes, but you kind of already have to know where they are, because you set Finale up so that it record either with a quarter note beat, an 8th note beat, etc.

[nedgerhart]

It helps to practice visuallizing notated music as you hear it. Takes effort to get used to, but eventually you will be able to pick out at least one line at a time. After that, you might be able to imagine 2 polyphonic lines. Chordal music is more difficult, but it is possible to visualize this too. It's like visualizing printed words while hearing someone speak. Or for an artist, seeing an image in the mind before executing the actual drawing.

[keyofc]

Thanks for your posts -
In case anyone else is interested in learning this - I have found a few things that have actually helped me do it.
1. I bought a metronome that has a bell on each measure in either 44, 34, or6-8 meter.
That's helped.
2. I have been looking at Christmas carols, songs I have sang all my life and noticing and also guessing first sometimes how music is written.
3. I also put it in my music program but had to keep changing the rythm until it actually sounded like it.  That was a great help too!
4.  Noticing where the music has the highest stress (words stressed, I mean) helped me to know that a new measure had started.
5. Lastly, I committed to a couple of students to put their songs into sheet music.  This is how I produce - under a lot of pressure, and it's been working.
I'm so excited, that I had to tell someone. 
6. Tapping to the music that I have in my head while drinking coffee was one of my first helps in getting music down on paper better.