Oh wow, so much sympathy on worrying that the more dramatic stuff might actually be too much. These days when I'm writing, sometimes I really struggle with putting any emotion or color on the page, and a big part of that is the fear of going overboard I seem to have internalized somewhere along the way.

But it's so great that you have a file for any sentences that don't seem to fit! I tend to do that with snippets I end up cutting, too -- it helps to know they have a home somewhere, even if they don't fit in what I'm working on. And it's good to have fun with things sometimes!