No, it is not “start at the beginning and proceed through the middle till you get to the end.” Seriously not. Especially because people hang up with “but what’s the beginning?”
I now lay upon you: The Sandwich Theory.
How to make a sandwich (or write a term paper, or write a novel)
- rummage in the fridge for the stuff inside the sandwich. (The Meat* of the Matter is in the Middle)
-
put down slice of bread (bottom slice). This is the Conclusion (if term paper) or End (if novel) Now, filling goes on top of the bottom slice.
-
put down slice of bread (top slice). This is the Introduction (if term paper) or Opening/Prologue/whatevs (if novel). Top slice goes down last! Do not lay down the top slice and try to slide the rest of the sandwich under it. Messy!
- Final step (for sandwich eater): unhinge jaw, swallow sandwich like a freakin’ boa constrictor. (Turn it loose to the beta readers / professor / great public)
OK, maybe not that last bit. That might make you phobic of your readers if you imagine them as giant boa constrictors.
If making sandwiches in zero g, process is very different. But fortunately we have gravity!,
***
*or Meat-Alternative, for vegetarians in the audience
E. P. Beaumont 
I know quilters who see the process as making up all the blocks and then putting them together in the right sequence on the backing…
Quilting is a great example, too (storytelling isn’t strictly linear, and we look for patterns to repeat and recur).