I plan an outline before I write. I value a reader's time. So to keep my writing effective, I try to make my writing tighter by omitting unnecessary words. Plenty of revisions after my first draft also keeps my writing style in check.
I have been writing since I was 12. My dad gave me an empty journal when I visited Doha, Qatar on vacation. He asked me to write on any subject. So I wrote about the culture of the Middle East, the people I came across and the lifestyle I saw as a 12 year old kid. I somehow lost that journal. I even drew rough hand-drawn illustrations in it. When I was 16 he bought me a Brother's typewriter. This encouraged me to write 3 plays and 70 poems on the typewriter. Apart from my dad, my brother Simon, had a knack for story telling. I envied him and started writing to prove I could also story tell through words. :)