I've reached that point in my draft where everyone is coming alive for me, and it's wrecking my bloody story.

Everything I do is starting to happen too quickly; gracious character arcs have become jagged hair-pins and I keep on accidentally editing out the warm-up bits that bring any potential readers along for the ride.

The unbelievably frustrating result is a series of freezing cold to red-hot mood-swings that make it look as if every character is based on one or more Big-Brother rejects, possibly complicated by a manic episode.

Grrr.

What's the literary equivalent of the washing up that I can think about to slow it down a bit?

Keep on! You can sort it all out later. There will be lots you might decide to chuck out, but in the middle of some of that mood swinging and engergetic hair pin bending, there will be something you want that you never would have thought of before.

xJ