I think I made my process sound more logical and linear than it really is; I don't follow an outline when I write, so the complexity I'm talking about it deepening motifs and connections, not plot twists. I don't get anything like a plot until draft 3 or so, most times; my first drafts are character bits and interactions, relationships, usually, and sometimes a bit of setting or linkage. So the next draft is building those things into bigger and bigger connections until finally I have a plot that makes sense. (I suspect this makes no sense out of context, but I did write about it a while ago... *digs around* here, if you're curious.)

And my ends change a lot. Actually, my whole plot is more flexible than any other piece; I change plots far more often than characters, themes, settings, etc. I wonder why?

(I'll be very interested to see what your rewrite for this is like! There aren't so many of us that sculpt up rather than carving out...)