{"id":2705,"date":"2024-06-03T22:47:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T22:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/josephrauch.com\/therauchreview\/?p=2705"},"modified":"2025-07-16T20:31:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T20:31:19","slug":"inside-my-novel-writing-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/josephrauch.com\/therauchreview\/articles\/inside-my-novel-writing-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside My Novel Writing Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

My novel writing process is a combination of unplanned inspiration and detailed planning. Life, observation and eavesdropping inspire the core idea. It bakes in my subconscious and gradually rises to the forefront of my mind. Once the premise of the book fully reveals itself to me, I frantically jot down as many notes as possible.<\/p>\n

This ideation journey is different from authors who set aside time to actively brainstorm, often with a goal, audience or genre in mind. For me, the idea comes naturally, a privilege I am grateful for. I don\u2019t think about genre or audience until after the book is written, thoroughly edited and ready to be published.<\/p>\n

After reviewing my notes on the premise of the book, I create the following planning documents:<\/p>\n

Overall Book Notes<\/h2>\n

This is where I write down the basic premise of the book. For \u201cTeach Me How To Die<\/a>,\u201d it was something like: \u201cdepressed, nearly suicidal widower dies, experiences his repressed urges to sin, then travels through my imagining of the afterlife with a bitter guide based on Virgil from \u2018The Inferno<\/a>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes this document is short. Other times I add notes to it, especially if I think big aspects of the planning could change before I start writing the novel.<\/p>\n

Prose and Dialogue Notes<\/h2>\n

When a line of prose or dialogue pops into my head and makes me excited, I write it in this document or jot it down in a physical notebook. To ensure I remember how to use the line if it ends up fitting well in my draft, I also write notes explaining the context of the line.<\/p>\n

Character Profiles<\/h2>\n

My characters are fusions of:<\/p>\n