I think I always had character picked out first then the story. Good question. But I always had an idea of what to write. Sometimes the characters want to do something different than the outline. That's perfectly normal. Most of the time I am able to stay on track. I deviated a bit in book 1 for example. Didn't follow the outline. But the plot is a guide. Character is a guide too. My character is all white blue eyes for example. An albino dragon almost.