plotting

I think my MO for writing a novel is to write thousands of words on scenes that may or may not make into the book, but which let me find out what actually happened and who the characters are. Then I go back and construct a plot out of that. My husband thinks this is mindblowingly chaotic, which may be true, but I can't make things up in advance. It just happens as I write. I have to coax out the connections from my subconsious; it's like those stars you can't see unless you look just sideways of them. The trouble with this, of course, is that it takes a long time and involves many, many revisions. Right now I'm pulling the plot together, making what I hope are the right connections, and then I'll throw my words in and see what parts I need to tell, and what parts will serve as the unseen foundation. I sure wish I was done, though!

What about you? How do you put a book together?