Well, everybody's process is different
There are six and sixty ways (at least) of constructing tribal lays...
But I am not sure whether it was a case of, larf, I fair lay on the ground, or, I beat my head upon the desk, when I read a list of the very detailed things A Writer Needed To Do to get inside their character -
- you know, having a complete dossier on them before you even begin.
(Rather like those biographies where you have to plough through a couple of chapters on genealogy before the person you're interested in is even conceived...)
As someone who is still finding out Stuff about characters I've been living with for the past five years... I may have certain general ideas and shapes of where things are going to go, but I can still be surprised when I get into the actual writing of it.
The whole, Know Everything Before You Start Writing approach seems to me like those research grant applications which expect the applicant to be able to say rather more definitely than really, I think one can entirely hope for, the end results of the research they want the resources to undertake.
One may have a general idea of why [area to be researched] looks interesting and [possible outcomes] of delving and [useful methodological tools] but I would be very sceptical of applications that are a bit too 'I am going to PROVE something'.
(Because being determined to PROVE something has produced entire industries of Ripperology and Oxfordiana, right? also swathes of dubious posthumous diagnosis.)
I can see that there are places where planning is necessary - mysteries e.g.
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