Scott Westerfeld — American Author born on May 05, 1963,

Scott David Westerfeld is an American writer of young adult fiction... (wikipedia)

Sometimes you have to delete characters from a scene just to keep from overcrowding the image.
The difference between being a part-time writer and a full-time writer is like the difference between dating someone and living with them. Some of the romance is gone, but you learn things you'd never know just by dating.
Ninety percent of the research comes first. I mostly blunder around reading stuff and talking to smart people until an idea batters or oozes its way through to my narrative brain.
I've learned a lot about stage-managing for illustration. Sometimes you have to delete characters from a scene just to keep from overcrowding the image. I've also learned to making big-scale design decisions early.
I have no problem with commenters stating strong opinions, except for my usual annoyance with people who don't agree with me.