I'm sure you'll get there one day though! It doesn't happen instantly, but rather takes time! I started this series when I was a senior in high school, after all!

Hmmmm... I do have a very specific way I handle writing out the first draft of the prequel. I'll be going over how I do my plannings as well, because they kinda go hand in hand. I hope that this advice is helpful to you, and please let me know if you have anymore questions. Please excuse me if I worded this weird- I have a very bad cold right now, and honestly should be in bed.

When I was writing the prequel, I started off with getting my ideas down in chronological order in a timeline. I do write ideas as a go in my plannings when writing the actual story- and then I really study them and make sure they work. Generally, this is only when I am done with my first draft, and I wouldn't recommend playing out with it too much when you're actually writing the story. Generally, I write out my timeline with very few details, only enough to paint a picture of how I want to do things.

Timelines in planning can really help because they give you an idea of how the story will begin and end. They are fussy creatures to write- but they are worth it in the end. However, (and this may sound crazy) if you're stuck at this one particular part of the timeline, feel free to break the timeline all together and write out anything you want to happen in the chapter. Then: the next chapter, you can continue writing based on the timeline. You can always come back and edit the chapter later, when you're done writing the story.

I recommend this because when you're writing a story, you want to get the ideas out of your head as quick as possible. Don't turn on your critic, but rather let your creativity spread and turn your draft into whatever it needs to be. You might hate your draft when you re-read it later- but this is natural.  The truth is, no first draft is perfect. Any big-name writer- Steven King especially- will tell you that. But once you're onto your editing: you can turn on that critic and let him completely abolish your draft and turn it into something incredible. But as for the first draft: anything goes.

So generally, the big things to focus on in a draft are a timeline in your plannings and writing freely to express yourself- rather than letting yourself be hammered by your critic.

Also: I want to share with you this wonderful group because I think it would really help you with the planning aspect: If you look through their journals, they have a lot of really neat professional articles about planning, and even give free ref sheets for planning your characters as well as your plot, in super easy ways. It really worked for me, so I hope it does for you too I get a lot of my knowledge from some of their articles, though I do frequently read a lot of writing books as well, and tumblr writing articles.

(Awww it's okay LOL I tend to write super duper long paragraphs LMAO I hope I've helped regardless, and don't feel like your reply has to be as long as mine I hope I've helped regardless! )