newbie tyer here, so forgive this question if it is stupid, but is there a decent substitute for marabou or a technique that makes it easier to handle? have about 2 dozen flies tied. feel comfortable doing the woolly bugger, but am never happy with my tail. have some difficulty getting what seems to be the right amount of marabou, either too much or not enough and it seems very fragile. didn't know if there was a substitute that has a little more beef to it, but still has some good movement. thanks
The more flies you tie the better you will become at judging the amount of any material needed for the fly.

If you find that you put on too much then simply unwind the thread and take some out, if you didn't put on enough just add some more. Every last one of us started off having some troubles with getting proportions correct, getting material to behave the way people said it should, getting frustrated and throwing our hands up in the air occasionally. All it takes is some practice, if you have a shop close to you go in and ask for some tips or watch them tie for awhile. If there is someone putting on a course sign up for it, you can learn more watching somebody else tie for a few hours than you can learn yourself through trial & error in a few months.

I would advise not looking for a sub for something as common as marabou just because you are having some difficulties with proportions, there are some great subs out there but they too will have there drawbacks.

Be sure to check out Al Campbell's Series on Fly Tying on the main part of the site, it is one of the best series of fly tying tutorials you will find anywhere.

As the old saying goes "practice makes perfect", so keep trying, you will overcome these obstacles as you gain some more experience.