PRUNING THE MANUSCRIPT

After the necessary two-day cool-off time, I got out Bink's manuscript and read it through.  I could see there was a good basic shape and structure in there...but a shape and structure so obscured by underbrush, extraneous limbs, and an over-abundance of foliage that it was at times difficult to discern.  And so began the lopping, slashing, snipping, slicing...
I am following the pruning procedure I have always used:  Start the day with a fresh copy of the latest version:

Read through it once without stopping, to get a sense of the whole.  Then go back and begin to read with pencil in hand, marking as I go.  Repeat this last step ad infinitum, ad nauseum, or until I realize it is 3:30 in the afternoon, my stomach is howling, and I have once again forgotten to eat lunch:

The final step of the day:  re-type the manuscript, incorporating all the changes, rewritings, deletions, hemmings and hawings, into the newest corrected version.  Print it out and put it on the desk, ready for the next day.  

I always try to do this re-typing on the same day that I have made the corrections, while everything is still fresh in my mind.  If I delay the re-typing for a day or two, my scribbles, scrawls, and intentions are sometimes difficult to decipher or remember.
Today's writing began at 9:30 am; paused at 3:00 pm for the forgotten lunch break; resumed at 6:00 pm for the deciphering and re-typing; and ends now at 9 pm for a tired, but satisfied, author.