All things must change

I kicked off the 2011 work year Monday with 12,000 words done on the next draft of Brain From Outer Space.
This is not, I’m afraid, as impressive as it sounds: The opening three chapters have been pretty solidly done for a while; the Applied Science series hasn’t changed them much. Nevertheless, I’m definitely getting a feel for where I will need to make changes:
•I had a rival lover for Dani named Jason Barclay, a fellow National Guardsman. Somehow I never found a way to introduce him in Applied Science—I’ve feeling I may just drop that part of the plot completely. However, I’ve kept his introductory scene in Chapter Two, just in case I see an opening later (I like the guy, so I may use him without the romance angle. Maybe).
•By the same reason, the fact that I wasn’t able to introduce Alan Ross of the Science Police as a love interest for Gwen makes me wonder if i really want to. Maybe my mind is telling me something.
•My plan to have Gwen refuse to reveal some important information to Meara, the security head (for a good reason), has felt more and more awkward with each revamp. So now I’m wondering … what if she didn’t withhold the data? Would that cause some irresolvable situation? I don’t think so.
•Having Steve and Gwen come under internal security suspicions because of the weirdness happening around them doesn’t seem such a hot idea either. After Applied Science—specifically the upcoming Mind That Wanted the World—I think what’s going on and who’s behind it will be fairly obvious.
I suppose the smart thing to do is sit down and work it all out, but I’ve done that so many times and it hasn’t really helped. So I think I’ll forge ahead—if everything goes well (and I’m aware that may be a big If), I should be able to get the next draft done by the end of Marcy, now that I no longer have to spend all my time on Applied Science.
So we’ll see what my mind throws up as I go along.