Dear Geist,

Is it cuckoo to go back and work on a book I started a few years ago, and which I have super mixed feelings about? It's based on my experience and I still really care about the subject, but I'm different now and I feel like I should be writing something new, for my self-respect and my writing career.

—Jesey R., Tacoma WA

Dear Jesey,

Many a writer, even a good writer, has a project that got stuck. The only way to resolve the matter is to go back in and carry on with the writing, either by revising the latest draft, or by leaving the draft alone and starting over from memory. Maybe you'll get energized, maybe you'll enter the slough of despond. The writing will be hard, as with most writing, and you'll want to write it, or not. You know the difference. If it isn't happening, stop. If it sneaks back in later and wants your full attention, maybe you'll give it. Will you ever finish the book? You can't know until it happens. Either way, we urge you never to write anything, or decide not to write it, for the sake of your career or your standing among colleagues. It's just you and the work.

—The Editors