I imagine it depends on the author, and on whether the series has a definite end in sight. Sometimes they decide on how they want it to end, but don't plan every step along the way.
I have written a trilogy, which may end up being a four-book series. I can't speak for any other writers, and I imagine there are numerous answers. To me, it's like a flashlight pointing into the dark.
The closer to the light (the book currently under construction), the clearer the plot. Farther from the light, I'll usually have a "big picture" view, the major developments, and how I want it all to end. That course can change, or take a shape different from what I originally envisioned as the book(s) progress, and that's part of the fun.
Don't know exactly where it's going to go until you get there. I suspect most authors have a basic plot line, or skeletal architecture, for their series that gets fleshed out as they go. Keep in mind, things can fit so perfectly because an author writes the circumstances to match the needs.
The reader may not see the machinations (e.g. the only reason author wrote B is to that A can match up; reader thinks B happens naturally), but they're there. As for Rowling in particular, I personally feel the seventh book is testament to the fact she did >not< have the entire series mapped out spell by spell, because I found it a rather rambling, aimless book with a lot of deus ex machina.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.