I've written two novels from an outline of the entire story, and though it's nice to know I can do it, I prefer doing a rough outline of part of the story (several chapters), writing it, tweaking it, then moving onto the next section. I find when I work this way, my first drafts have only small problems that need dealing with. I find with full outlines, because I know what's going to happen, I end up rushing and being a little bored.
im a pantser that only really works out characterizations conflict, and story arcs before hand other wise i work it out as a solo ttrpg with the rule of cool as my top priority. i mean i just had my MC gauss accelerate an old nokia phone through a person mutated by the influence of the old ones
I'm gonna have to say number 1 (can't vote for some reason). If not number 1, then number 2 with characters set from the get go. It's important to have interesting characters from the start so that you know what kind of story you are writing.
I love to have everything logical, deterministic and in a "cause-effect"-pattern. So I did it! Before I put down a word I plan everything thoroughly so I can focus on one thing at a time. When planning I use notebook and the Top-Down-Strategy which means I take the whole and constantly chunk it down until I don't need to go into further detail anymore. Whenever I want to include something but can't justify it yet, I ask a chain of why-questions until it makes sense.. I really love order so I nurture a style that emphasizes it. Once I have everything planned out I can focus on writing and polishing lyrical beauty and expressing emotions. I have everything set up so I don't have to come up with band-aids on the fly
I'm not a planner at all. I have no ending, but a lot of stories and a main plot planned I want to explore. Don't know what the resolution of the main plot will be. That's why for the time being im doing mini stories in the universe
I have a beginning and an end, and I struggle for months until I find a way through writing how I'm even going to get to that end!
I swear, sometimes characters have a mind of their own though...
I prefer to plan it out,the last time i didn't it took years to see the convoluted mess it became without it .
I learned my lesson of newer ignoring the world building ,that affects the story greatly.
You should had another option like other. I myself do a combination or sometimes change the way according to the type of the story.
The best bet is to bend their plans to your plans. 
You are their god, tame them, bend them to your will.
I concur. Every story needs a solidly grounded setting.
So I start with an idea and then come up with how I want it to end.
I come up with scenes that I want to happen and write them down on note cards so I can rearrange them as needed.
My characters evolve as I write, so I have to go back and fix the beginning several times.
More of option #2, but I do have an ending. I usually have the general plot of the chapter, but then I'll sit down and expand on the plot, developing it. This type of writing allows me to go in certain directions that I feel how the characters should react to an event, another character, or a situation; it also allows me do think about the next chapter as I'm working on the current chapter(making the comic) and improve some key point scenes that I want to do.
I have a set ending and important turn of events, and the core personality of my characters. I hate plot holes and deus ex machinas. At least with solidified story elements I can avoid them.
Dialogue and interactions, though, I let em run free. It usually yields to great character growth!
For me I don't write them, I just imagine them and daydream about them like my webcomic is an animated series in my head. How I feel the story should play out, I draw and write the text in the actual work itself while it's coming to me full force lol. So sometimes in my webcomic series it's 1st come and served ideas and tropes I love to death and want to show others through my work and some stuff I think about, if it's a little to much then I'll change things up a bit. So yeah my work isn't really planned all the way out, I just need the basic blueprint of my focus and expand on it to have a story that evolves. I personally want a story that evolves on it's own so planning isn't necessary to me. I feel this route is really for visual people, sometimes planning helps but for me I get frustrated I'm not an organized person and not getting to the meat which is the drawing and adding the text can really get me stressed lol. So I draw and add text while getting ideas of what should happen all at the same time, some are 1st come served ideas and some ideas I feel shouldn't play out a certain way cause of reasons. Again as a visual daydream person I like to animate my series in my head and let that do the work and pick the stuff I like or love and that's it.
