Quoted from Whatever, in an interview with Kelley Armstrong (Canadian paranormal fiction writer). This is her reply when asked about her writing process and how it may have changed over the years she has been writing her books.
After seventeen books and countless pieces of short fiction, my process still changes. I think now, though, that it’s “shaking things up” rather than refining the process. Sometimes I’ll have a ten page outline. Sometimes, I’ll have two paragraphs. I’ll write long-hand for two books in a row, then switch to direct keyboarding for the next two. But the one thing I must have in place is the main character. Nothing works without that. If it’s a new character, she’ll be refined over the course of the book, but when I sit down to start page one, I need to feel I know this person well enough to slip into her skin.