Being a Star Procrastinator.

For months now I've known there's been problems with my third mystery in the series and I haven't corrected my mistakes. I mean it's not like I'm unaware of the problem. I'm well aware of the fact that I overwrote the damn thing and now have to cut, cut, cut. And yet, here I sit and think about it--for those same months.
When I was being published by Dorchester, one of my editors often said that I fill a single novel with enough characters and incidents to come up with three separate novels. It wasn't a criticism: he found it amazing. I didn't. Now that I realize what I'm doing wrong, I try to keep my manuscripts bare bones and concentrate on one theme and one set of characters per novel. However, it's not working this time.
Now I've made the same mistake that I warned my students about when I taught creative writing. I often pointed out the inner arguments you have with yourself when it comes to cutting. You read a paragraph or a chapter all the while knowing something has to be cut. But hell's bells, it's good writing. It's like whacking off my right arm. How can I cut anything out because it's colorful, outstanding? Such sharp dialogue.
And yet,I have to: the manuscript is so over bloated it's often confusing because there's so much happening. Characters constantly slam into one another; incidents happen so fast and so frequently it's hard to tell who murdered who and who's the arresting detective. Therefore, cut I must.
I mean like I said before, it's not that I'm unware of the problem. I actually cut out certain scenes to thin out my story and placed them in another file for future use. But that's not a solution: that makes it more of a problem. Writers tie one scene to another until it gets to the point where cutting means doing the same to every chapter. Where ever your story ties in with what's been cut, you have to cut that, as well.
Then you do a complete rewrite because now there's so many holes in the manuscript it still doesn't make sense. Talk about work!
I'll let you know how I make out. If I ever get back to that manuscript.