> To work on paper is a pretty standard way of working for creative people, I think.

For the 180 degree opposite way of doing it, check out Stephen King's "On Writing" - he creates characters, fleshes out their personality, puts them in weird situations, and lets them figure it out. It's why he's gotten so many books out, though you do some serious deus ex machina type events in his works, as well as interesting books just petering out and dying after a strong start. But hey, he's shipped a lot of books, and some of them are pretty stories. I'd definitely recommend On Writing for anyone who wants to do any serious amount of writing.