To dither or not to dither

I have to admit, I'm just a little bit afraid to start this book. My normal process, which involves writing tens of thousands of words that take the story off in wrong directions and must be deleted and replaced by tens of thousands of new words, is getting a bit old. It's also a waste of time, and I foresee a 2010 in which I'll have to get more work done in a shorter span. So, I want to get this book right the first time. More right, anyway. Pretty right, at least. Less wrong.

I've got by fa...