a sense of joy and then a panic

I've been wrestling with strategy vs. gut myself, re my next project. I actually wrote 25,000 words of a "strategic" first draft ... and have now shelved that in favor of what my gut wants to do. I figure a) trying to pick strategic winners in advance is a loser's game, b) if you're not writing the book that you really want to write, then somehow, on some level, some awareness of this will ultimately filter down to your readers.