Writing Excuses Podcast Interviews Abraham Verghese
Just a quick note today. As I've mentioned, I'm planning to send this newsletter every two weeks to keep my focus on the Work in Progress. However, this morning, when taking a break from a new research slog, I refreshed my podcast player and discovered the latest episode of Writing Excuses features an interview with Abraham Verghese, the writer of The Covenant of Water. In it Verghese talks about the challenge of making his story’s medical details true to life while not overwhelming the reader; trying to see these details through the eyes of the characters rather than from his own medical experience, and the challenges of translating insider knowledge for the reader—when to explain terminology and when to allow the context to show the meaning.Â
(Apparently, I’m not the only reader who skipped some of the medical parts!)
I was encouraged to hear that his first novel took eight years to write. The Covenant of Water took fourteen.
Anyway, there’s much of interest in the discussion, so I wanted to provide you all with a link to the Writing Excuses podcast.
If you are a writer and are not aware of Writing Excuses, you need to check it out. It's been around since February 2008 (!wow!). I think I’ve been listening since 2012 when I finally started writing. It has always focused on craft and so has been a major resource for me over these years.
Since I'm here, about that Work in Progress research: I've finished working through the scenes of my two primary characters (Alex and Mariam). On 1/1/24, I started my review of the next character in the line-up. Oy. So much still to flesh out for this one. It is requiring a return to the source material to clarify and strengthen some still-too-vague ideas. I need to keep the pressure on this guy through the long-haul of the story. So, this feels like a screeching halt, but that's what I'm working on.
I'm not a big podcast listener, but I'm always encouraged to hear about authors who take their time to write a book. I have a mild panic attack whenever I read about writers who crank out a book (or three) every year. I've been working on my trilogy for over ten years and still don't feel the first book is 100% ready for prime time. Books 2 & 3 aren't even close to ready for anyone else to look at. Granted, I have a day job and a life, but I can't imagine speeding up the process that much!
Can’t wait to check it out!