It always amazes me how different writers are from each other. Sure, you can lump the plotters versus the seat of the pants writers, but even then it's a continuum, not a hard over one way or the other.
One of my friends writes out of order and pieces everything together when she's done. I can't do that. When I get a scene really strongly and write it down to use later, by the time I get to the place where the scene should go, it no longer fits.
For me, everything builds on what comes before it and the scenes I wrote, that I was sure would be spot on when I reached the right point, did not fit the characters any longer.
Another of my writing friends is very analytical. She can think about her plot and see what pieces she needs to make it work and what pieces she'll need in the future to reach the end of the book. She even can analyze enough to see how it will impact future books in her series.
Again, I stand in amazement. I'm not analytical at all. I write by instinct, which can be endlessly frustrating because I can't look at my plot and see the big picture. It's also frustrating because when I read something on the craft of writing, I start freaking out, thinking OMG, I don't do that! Only to discover that I do, indeed, do that, but I do it based on instinct, not based on craft knowledge.
I try to remind myself that every writer uses a different method. The key is to go with whichever process works. The best writing advice I ever received was that the process would change and that I shouldn't fight to write the way I always did. That I should go with what the book wants.
My friends, the process is ever changing. I'm not sure it's stayed the same for two books in a row. The only good thing is that the process shifts haven't been as dramatic lately as they were in the beginning.
