Let the characters lead the way

With a better direction in mind, I've decided to start editing book #3, an unfinished manuscript, from the beginning. This comes after taking nearly a month off from writing, which wasn't deliberate, but it was helpful and healthy. I spent part of that time researching agents and sending out query letters. The other part was spent reexamining the type of writer I wish to become. Do I want to pump out books with only the plot in mind? Do I want to add in sex scenes that popular books are delivering to millions of readers? Do I stay true to the person I am and write a mystery with characters I love? I vote for number three, which is why I'm starting back at the beginning and not at the climax of the story, which is where it sits at this moment. I want to be sure that the characters are believable and they have a relationship with each other. In the past I've written about a couple, a father-child relationship, and this time it's a mother-daughter relationship. I can't get this wrong. Of course something devastating happens to destroy this natural bond, but can it ever really disappear? Can it ever be so broken that no word or action can mend it? I truly don't know and that's what I hope to discover by rereading the manuscript. I hope to find that the characters will tell me the answer.