I think PRACTICE is the magic when it comes to fmq..
Other things that have helped me is to have the bed of the machine even with the table...
tape a silcone oven liner or something slippery under the needle area (I cut a hole where my needles stitches)
wear quilter's gloves, they are expensive so I use garden gloves with rubberized fingers.
draw your pattern on large sheets of paper.. or just use the paper and a dull needle, with no thread, to practice..
do some every day.. not for hours, but some time anyway.
Remember you can stop when you don't know where you're headed next.
Your project will look better than you think it's going to when it gets all done. No one sees each curve and line, but rather the overall effect.
Oh.. did I say practice, practice, practice!!