On Not Giving Up...

I've been trying to devise a strategy that will work for me with this book I'm struggling so much with, and I've decided something profoundly simple.

I'm not going to worry about it right now.

Of course, that's easier said than done, but my plan is to just keep writing for a while and see where the book takes me. Thing is, I know that it's very easy to psyche myself out about a book, especially one as important to me as this prequel is. By chance, my local RWA chapter newsletter, the Midwest Muse, has a nice article from our president Marie Overfors about a subject very similar to the one I'm facing. She's talking mostly about dealing with the ambition of being a writer, and how, because there are so many factors out of your control (cover art, sales figures, editorial staff changes) a writer can feel kind of crazed -- and not in a good way. She's got this awesome quote from Chaung Tsu, a fifth century Taoist, that I'd like to repeat here, because it goes so nicely with my own theme:

When the archer shoots for nothing, he has all the power.
When he shoots for the brass buckle, he is already nervous.
When he shoots for a prize of gold,
He goes blind, or sees two targets.
His skill has not changed, but the prize divides him.
He cares.
He thinks more of winning than of shooting.
And the need to win drains him of power.

Yeah, dude from the fifth-century, that totally makes sense to me.