Writers speak about planning and writing, especially novels, in terms of "planning" and "pantsing".
When pantsing, the writer goes by the seat of her pants, or improvises what they are writing. The planner writes complete outlines of the work.
I am a plantser -- I write a rough outline of my work, prompts for the sections, then fill in as my mind wants. I think about this right now because I am prepping for NaNo. I am writing Kringle in the Dark, a light Christmas novel, and I have a template for writing romance novels by Jami Gold and I am putting short prompts in there.
All of these styles have their merits. All of these are recognized as legitimate by NaNoWriMo. And speaking of NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short), isn't it time for you to contemplate writing a novel?