My novel is about characters telling the stories of their lives, and it was very important to me that I get the order right. start with the two characters that bicker constantly, get some conflict and fun insults going. Then move on to the character who doesn't have a rival or a best friend but gets backlash from everyone. Then the character who's really close to the character that gives the big stinger finishing act.
When I plan a story, I start off winging it! 
But... as the story gets longer and the world I built gets more complicated, I start writing things down. Lol. First, I just jot down all my ideas, or anything I want to do in the story. Sometimes I do this on paper, and sometimes I do it in my OneNote. Later, I go back and figure out where I want that to happen in the story, and then kind of wing the in-between bits so I can get to the scene I wanted. lol.
Sometimes, I throw in a sketch. Or if I'm working in my OneNote, I find images that serve as inspirations for looks, settings, and characters. I'm very visual. So, while I'm not the greatest artist, I can use the heck out of google search.
I had a general idea of what I wanted for Fox Fire's beginning and ending, but not all of the stuff in between. I spent months writing on outline which actually started out as a typical male-female supernatural romance. Eventually, I felt people wouldn't read it since I wasn't feeling it myself, so I changed it to a BL. The bad guy who was supposed to be just the bad guy became part of the main pair 
You could say I had to spend a lot of extra time changing the plot and character backgrounds.
When I started writing, I wrote it meticulously by the outline until around chapter 35. Sometimes I'd get an idea while eating, showering, driving, etc., and I wanted to put it into the novel. After that, I've sorta been writing on the spot (currently at chapter 56). Some major reveals occurred sooner than I thought, so I've been adjusting some parts/ending in my Word outline (which is like, 60 pages btw! There's something so satisfying about seeing the whole story summary in a single document). Now, I'm trying to get out of that 'writing on the spot, unplanned' mode, and circle back to the outline.
I agree with the little ideas and putting them somewhere for later! They occasionally come to me in the most random times. I type them at the very top of my outline summary in bullet points (or in my phone if I'm out somewhere). I also use that section for reminders and helpful reference websites.
I've scripted 90% of the first 'book' for Blue Star Rebellion, and I have some broad-strokes ideas of what the plots of Book 2 and Book 3 will deal with. I also know what the final, ending scene will be. But beyond Chapter 3, I have no idea how I'm getting to that ending scene, haha. It's so far off in the future that it doesn't matter yet, each book will probably take me about a year to make.
So I'd say I'm halfway between a pantser and a plotter, writing-wise. I wouldn't start drawing a page unless I had the script complete for about the next ten pages because I'm attentive to pacing and so-on, but nor am I willing to wait until the whole story is 100% complete before I start, or I'd never start. 
As for planning a page... I visualise the scene in my head over and over, like an animation, then start mentally picking through that for the most important moments to convey action, emotion, characterisation, humour and so on. I then start visualising those as still images, and mentally assemble them together into what kind of panels would work best for them. (This is all mental, I'm not drawing anything yet!)
When I do start laying out a page, I'll lay down a panel arrangement I think will work then start scribbling VERY roughly what's happening in each panel. (With the page I'm working on now, I just wrote words in them to start with!) Sometimes the layout works the first time; sometimes it doesn't, and I'll keep trying different layouts until I stumble upon the one which will work. I don't start sketching neatly until I know where everything is going and where the dialogue will fit.
It's weird when I think about it, that so much of my comics process is pure visualisation rather than pencil-on-iPad, but it's what works for me! It also means that a substantial chunk of my creative process can be done literally anywhere. It's nice that for me, 'relaxing in the bath' can be an enormously productive thing to do!
Hmm, well I write out the whole story like a plot synopsis, then I adapt it into a script or written story. XD Sometimes I add things in there that I didn't originally plan since I think they fit well.
With me, I get a small summary of what the story is about. No more than 5 sentences. Then I imagine myself as either the main character or another character, so that way I am able to get more sides of the same story. Since I love fantasy s much, I watch a lot of fantasy anime, video games, read a lot of fantasy books, webcomics, and read up on mythology and the supernatural. After that, I map out what it is that I want to make the story about. I start to form the beginning, which is basically what I see in my head, and I try to use my own experiences to help me figure out parts that I am unable to see clearly. From there, I try to write out what I see in my head with as much detail as I can.
This is what you're supposed to do. I just stop at step 3, then post my rough drafts as I write them and edit as I go. It's more fun that way, though it's probably better to write the whole novel before posting any of it. That being said, some feedback really helps you navigate what parts of it are working, to keep it from feeling like a dry piece of chalk that keeps breaking in half.
It's really cool to see what the process of creating is like for everyone and how it differs from one person to another. For me, it's a little complicated. On one hand, I find my stories more fun, unpredictable and original when I don't plan them, but then I get plot holes and character inconsistencies. If I do plan for a story, then I rarely have plot holes, but the story ends up boring me something awful. I'm currently planning to go back to making comics and I might just go the pantser way for this.
Most of my ideas are in my head. I have a general idea about where the story goes (in my mind is like I'm watching an anime with scenes of my series).
I work on batches, and I think I'll settle for 12 pages per month (writing, sketch, lineart, color, etc).
I love planning stage because it gets me really excited about the novel and makes the time investment into it worthwhile. I love putting together my plot beats (I use Save the Cat method, it is pretty simple) and knowing which adventures awaits my characters. Then it leaves me with the task of creating the narrative that keeps the readers equally excited about the journey I see in my mind for my characters.
Having the plan doesn’t mean I can’t deviate or explore things more, but it ensures that I have enough content, ups and downs to keep the story interesting, bear out its length and don’t petter out 3 or 10 chapters in. On the opposite, the events escalate and tension increases.
This is not an issue of a plot-driven story, it is an issue of using tropes. Pretty much all genre fiction, be that romance, fantasy or sci-Fi are plot-driven, not character driven.
It doesn’t mean they don’t have the characters people love, or who are complex. On the opposite, the Protagonist must be someone people want to read about or they wouldn’t read it.
but the driver is plot, not the exploration only of the character’s thoughts, feelings and existence in an almost static space of a literary non-genre fiction.
Using plot beats does not mean you are using the same plot points or tropes that everyone else. It means you pace the story for the plot beats that provide emotional space for the reader to absorb the story and relate to it, while keeping the excitement up
It varies with stories and genre for me. I'm a plantser, though. Currently, I plan a whole outline of the book, and then I cut it into smaller pieces (chapters) and I start writing. I usually leave it open for organic writing here and there where characters chose more what happens as long they get from point A to point B.
Fanfics are overall easier to create planning wise.
Oh BOY this is where I believe I really shine
I have broken down most of my story into 3 main parts, Chapters, Notes, and Characters along with any other additional folders that might be needed. Notes can always be micromanaged but I don't see a reason to do that. This is how I organize.
My current comic is a real pantsing job. I just write the plot of each chapter in a note on my phone and then draw it from that. I’m usually more of a planner, but its way less relaxing to plan too much sometimes, because I get too caught in overthinking!
I write out a script before I actually draw them out for my comic. This script would look something like this:
x character with this expression and this pose
X character: What they say goes here!
So it's a very basic script, but I like to know what is happening before I actually start drawing.
We might just have to agree to disagree on this issue and let it be. I think it goes a lot further than using tropes correctly. In plot-driven fiction, you can explore the characters' inner thoughts and feelings but ultimately, their actions aren't going to change the situation of their world, like with sci-fi as you referenced. Character-driven work allows the characters have an active say in the resolution of the story and often experience internal change. A lot of stories that I've read feels like they are trying to blend the two and create an ultimately unnecessary 4th act (referencing the 3 act structure) to create drama instead of carefully laying the groundwork for the action to be needed and dramatically satifisying (to me at least.)
Though I don't use a beat sheet because I don't find them productive, I am extremely familiar with what beats are and how to use them. Beats don't merely serve to give readers emotional space to absorb the story, they also help readers keep pace with the story, much like with music. There is also no limit to the number of beats you can use in a story, but using them effectively is key
Most of my plans are character interactions I want to see, and I end up building or planning a world around it, but half the time my characters write themselves, but over all I like to just make bullet points of things I want to happen and what need to happen. I lay out a structure if I can, and with that I can really get into writing it and then go the completely different direction.
For example I was 47,000 words into one story. Decided to write a flash back that was plot relevant, then I thought it'd be fun to write the prequel to it, and I knew exactly where I was going to start in the prequel, but then I convinced myself I needed to add more backstory, and in the end it took 106,000 words to get to that "start" and now the prequel is now at ~180,000 and only halfway through the plot. I really don't know what happened. The original story of it was inspired by a song for one scene that was like 2600 words
So I make plans for decorations so I can feel like my life is together. 
But I do follow my bullet points... Kinda
With your theatrical background and trainging/schooling I would think your knowledge of plot beats and their purpose would give anyone a run for their money.
Plot driven fiction doesn’t exclude any of it, because you always, always need to have character development, and it is an integral part of the plot. I think you simply label the books you don’t like as plot-driven. 3 Act structure accommodates the personal change story well, and tbh, nobody says that there has to be three acts. Sure, if you feel things are unnecessary, that’s your opinion on the book, but now you are saying that it is the personal development that is unnecessary...
And at any rate, to me, including the unnecessary things is more of a drawback of not planning, because if you plan, you create a story that fits everything well, and avoids the overblown tangents. It is actually one of the advantages of planning.
I just dislike the narrative that planners are non-creative and inferior to the god-inspired pantsers who pour their souls onto the sheet since it’s the only way to fly, or that plot driven story doesn’t have good characters, just some cardboard cutouts with cheap drama thrown in
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