Reflections on Writing - Make your character real
It doesn’t matter if you are writing an illustrated children’s book or multi-part sci-fi novel series. Your characters need to exist. They need a personality. They need a past. Fleshing out your characters ahead of time allows you, as the writer, to get to know your characters intimately.
Reflections on Writing - Plan
You have to have a plan. It is more important to know the ending than to know the beginning. The beginning can always be adapted, modified or changed. But the ending is where you are heading.