The only tip I have, other than Dorinda's (i.e. outsource your angst!) is the Planes On the Runway model that astolatposted once upon a long ago:
"Every story CAN'T be better than the last. They're planes on a runway. Some of them are 747s and some of them are commuter jets and some of them are six-seater Cessnas with mechanical problems, and every once in a while you get the Concorde. But the Concorde can't take off until you've got the five commuter jets and the Cessna out of the way."
I find this a helpful mental image to let me focus on getting this STUPID CRAPPY PLANE OFF THE GD RUNWAY rather than try and install a new engine mid-flight, as it were.
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I find this a helpful mental image to let me focus on getting this STUPID CRAPPY PLANE OFF THE GD RUNWAY rather than try and install a new engine mid-flight, as it were.