AOL, May 1996

The following is an abridged transcript of an America Online chat that was conducted in May 1996. Be forewarned that there may be Spoilers for upcoming books in the text of the interview. You may find that some of the information is outdated. Updates on the publication of books, tours, etc. are more current on the pages of this site that are devoted to those topics.

Question: One of my favorite secondary characters is Master Raymond I was wondering if he will ever be back, or is he just a happy memory?
DGabaldon: Oh, let’s see...{g} Well, there are seven books, total, in the Outlander series, but only six of them... are Jamie and Claire’s adventures; the seventh is a “prequel,” dealing with Jamie’s parents. As for Master Raymond, he won’t reappear in the Outlander books; he gets his own series, following it.

Question: I’m confused: the 4th is Drums, the 5th is King, if 7 is the prequel, what is #6?
DGabaldon: Er....well, the fifth is actually The Fiery Cross, which (we hope) gets us up to the first battle of the American Revolution. Then six is King, Farewell, which gets us through the rest of the war and out the other side.

Question: Diana, what can you tell us about one of our favorite characters that’s not in a book yet, such as the Comte being Fergus’ father.
DGabaldon: Oh. Geez. I could probably tell you lots of things, but then I might change my mind before I got to that, too, and then what? {g} Though as far as Fergus goes, I don’t know that we’ll ever find out that particular bit of information. As for some others--like where Mary Hawkins is, and what happens to her child....well, you do recall that there were three Randall brothers, right? {g} I think we’ll get to that in the sixth book--but maybe sooner, who knows?

Question: Do you have writer friends crit your work or does it go straight to the publisher (with a side trip past your husband)?
DGabaldon: Oh, pretty much straight to the publisher, with in-house marginalia about nipples. {g} There are two or three friends to whom I send excerpts, but it’s pretty much just FYE sort of thing, not a request for crit. If somebody tells me something, though, I always listen.

Question: Loved the scenes between Jaime and his sister, so moving and realistic in tone are there people like this in your life? Your dialogue is always straight on.
DGabaldon: Well...I don’t know. I mean, I have a sister, but our relationship isn’t like that. {g} No brothers, unfortunately--I always wanted one. I don’t know.. I can just hear most of the people talk--so I listen.

Question: I’m sure you are asked this all the time, but how did you get into writing fiction--did you take classes, use certain writing books, which ones?
DGabaldon: No. I just...um...started writing fiction. Mind you, I’d written nonfiction for some fifteen years before that--scholarly articles, grant proposals, textbooks, magazine articles etc., etc.--and made a decent living at it, so I knew one end of a sentence from the other (the end is the one with the period). But as for fiction, what training I had/have is merely that I’ve read the stuff for forty-some years. {g}

Question: Do you know now how the Outlander series will end, or are you as anxious to find out as the rest of us are?
DGabaldon: Well, I know what the last scene and the Epilogue are, because I’ve written them, but I don’t know everything about how it will come out, no.

Question: Are there still plans for an Outlandish Companion book?
DGabaldon: Yeah, though I haven’t mentioned it to my agent or editor yet. I thought I’d better wait and see how Drums sells. {g}

Question: You may have already answered this, but how long did it take you to write Outlander, and did all of the stories come from the first basic germ of an idea?
DGabaldon: It took me about 18 months to write Outlander. Yes, the stories all came from the germ--but it was the characters, rather than any specific premise.

Question: Sort of on the same track. . . was there something going on in your life when you decided “ok, I’m going to try and write fiction”. i.e. were your children getting to be an age or your current life’s work no longer filling the void - what made you “cross the Rubicon”?
DGabaldon: No, I just wanted to see if I could get from one end of a novel to the other. I’d always wanted to write fiction, and finally thought I should try, before I got to be 65 and thought I should have done it when I was younger.

Question: Will your contemporary novel come in between the Outlander books?
DGabaldon: Yes. I told my editor--who agreed--that I wanted to do the first contemporary mystery next, before Fiery Cross. Partly as a break, partly to stretch my wings... and partly because I don’t like them breathing down my neck for the big historical fantasias. I figure I can finish a mystery in somewhat less time. {G}

Question: Terrific. Will it be out in the 90’s or beyond?
DGabaldon: Depends how long it takes me to write it. {g} My best guess would be that it would be out in ’98, though--I’m pretty sure I can finish it in a year, and they’ll publish it pretty fast.

Question: Thanks for saying the characters talk and you listen (thank goodness!) How did you balance husband, kids and creating Jaime and Claire without leaving someone lacking?
DGabaldon: Well, it’s a considerable juggling act sometimes. The flip--and fairly accurate--answer is that I don’t sleep and I don’t do housework. I work late at night- -I go to bed around 3 or 4 AM when I’m really hauling at the end of a book--and I have a housekeeper who keeps us from being condemned by the County Health Department. {G}

Question: What constitutes a best seller? Do you have any idea of how many copies of each book has been sold?
DGabaldon: Ha! Now there’s a good question. {g} A ‘bestseller’ is any book that has been listed somewhere on a “bestseller” list. This can be anything from the local newspaper’s book column to the NYT. However, there are gradations. “Bestseller” doesn’t actually mean anything, though chances are it indicates the books’ made the B. Dalton or Waldenbooks lists at least one week. National Bestseller means it’s gotten on a “national” list, like the Ingram’ s wholesale distribution list. That’s why “New York Times Bestseller” is so valuable--it’s the only one that really means something definite. {wry g} As to copies sold--only in general, and not until about a year to a year and a half after a book’s come out.

Question: Please tell me the rest of your books will be as “thick” (read 800+ pages) as your first three!
DGabaldon: Well, I don’t seem to be able to help it {blush}. We trust the contemporary books won’t be quite so big, and therefore quicker to write, though.

Question: Another common Q, but what fiction do you love to read, authors and genres?
DGabaldon: Absolutely anything, though I lean most heavily to mysteries. I like historical mysteries-- reading Steven Saylor’s The Venus Throw right now--but also contemporary, though I like “mystery” mystery, rather than serial-killer thriller, for the most part. I read some fantasy and sf, though mostly stuff recommended to me by friends; ditto for romance. Some literary fiction--I like Susan Howatch’s Church of England novels, and enjoyed A.S. Byatt quite a bit.

Question: Have you read Shari Tepper? She’s great SF
DGabaldon: No, Tepper’s on my list. Tim Powers--he’s a good one. The Stress of Her Regard was a great book!

Question: Ever suffered a crisis of faith in your writing (besides pre-pub jitters)?
DGabaldon: Sure, all the time. That’s not meant to be flip, by the way, it’s quite serious. You always wonder whether you can do “it” again--whether “it” is a day’s decent writing, a good scene--or, God help you, a whole book. It ebbs and flows--confidence, I mean-- but luckily, it does seem to come back.

Question: Who will be the main character in your contemporary novel?
DGabaldon: There are two main characters--I seem to need both male and female--the male character is who’s talking to me, so it’s mostly in his voice, so far--haven’t decided whether to let them alternate, or let him tell it all, though. His name’s Thomas Kolodzi.

Question: Do you know of any other authors who have been “discovered” online?
DGabaldon: Well...I’ve discovered one or two, I guess. {g} Meaning, there are a couple of online friends whose work I’ve liked, and who I’ve introduced to agents or editors. Sometimes it “takes”, sometimes it doesn’t; there’s a terrible lot of luck to this business.

Question: How do you manage to handle time transition without it seeming too *hokey*? There seem to be IMHO limits to what a reader will accept as plausible.
DGabaldon: You can get away with anything in a book, provided only that you believe it yourself. If you don’t believe it, the reader won’t, either.

Question: How did you get comfortable putting your work out online, not always knowing who might be reading and how they might be reading into your work - where the criticism comes from?
DGabaldon: Well, the first time I posted something, it was to win an argument with a man about what it feels like to be pregnant. {g} Everyone who’d been following the argument went and read the piece and all raced back saying, “Hey, this is great! Put up more!” So I did. Nobody ever really does criticize it much, aside from offering comments or observations. And those I can pretty much judge the validity of myself.

Question: Do you use outlines? And do you set goals for each scene, or follow your instincts?
DGabaldon: No, I never have used outlines; I don’t seem to be able to work with one. For the most part, I start scenes with a “kernel”--something I can see or hear--and work backward and forward around that, letting the scene develop in layers, until it seems to be complete. Toward the end of a book, though I will have scenes written specifically to fill “holes”; those do have necessary elements or goals. Harder to write, too. {g}

Question: A two-parter: If this would not be giving too much away: in your contemporary novel, what was the “kernal” that you started with (assuming you’re not using an outline for that one either) and b) Do you find it hard to distance your new characters with Jamie and Claire?
DGabaldon: Um....kernel. I’m not sure. It’s been in my mind for so long, I have quite a bit of “plot” much more than usual for the historical books. As for the characters...no, I don’t think so. I can’t work on both books in the same day, usually, because I kind of sink into the world where I’m working--but it’s like going home from work and dealing with your family-- different people, but you adjust. {g}

Question: Will you have a collaborator for the Outlandish Companion when you’re ready to work on it? There are a lot of willing assistants here! {g}
DGabaldon: Never occurred to me, actually. {g} I doubt I’d need one, but who knows?

Question: Have you ever had a problem with someone plagiarizing stuff you’ve put online? I worry about that a bit. {g}
DGabaldon: Well, no. I mean, what would they do with it? Somebody could take a piece and send it to an editor, and then the editor says, “Great stuff! Send me the complete manuscript!” And then what? I figure anyone talented enough to write a whole book in my style, using one of my pieces, is way too talented to need to snitch stuff.

Question: The debate is furious on the message boards - who would you cast as Jaime and Claire, if they could ever manage to make these books into movies, could they???
DGabaldon: Ohhhhh...goodness. How would I know? I mean--I know what these people look like. Sort of like asking who would I cast to play my mother, in the filmed story of my life. {g} Frankly, it’s always seemed pretty irrelevant to me, since the chances of film- makers asking or taking my opinion is rather less than of my flying to the moon. Oh, there’s always talk. The books have even been optioned--and likely will be again. How long does it take a book to get made into a film? Anything from six weeks to sixty years (or more. Disney’s just getting around to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, aren’t they? {g}).

Question: Two-Parts: 1. Did you have to discipline yourself to writing a certain amt of time each day, or do you just write however much you like?
DGabaldon: In the beginning, I was stealing time from everything else, so it was an escape, rather than a discipline. Later, when I started doing it full-time, I evolved sort of a routine, but it’s still more of an addiction than a discipline, most days. {g}
Question: 2. Do you keep a journal?
DGabaldon: Yes, I keep a journal, though it’s nothing deep--just a straight recording of the events of the day. I use my online correspondence for things like philosophy and essays. {g}

Question: Does your husband ever get jealous of all the time you spend with Jamie, or do you do that old “my hubby taught me everything I know about love” thing?
DGabaldon: He doesn’t mind Jamie--he’s as interested as I am, most times, in what Claire and Jamie are up to. {g} It’s the book tours and signings he hates.

Question: This is a longer question...when you’re writing from a “kernel” from scene to scene, how do you best connect the dots? I spend more time doing that than I’d like.
DGabaldon: I don’t really know. I don’t write in a straight line; I write in little blobs, all over the place, and then as I write, the small pieces (scenes) begin to stick together and form larger chunks, and eventually, when I have a handful of very large chunks, I line them up in rough order and look at the shape--then write to fill the holes. It’s more like doing a jigsaw than anything else.

Question: Do you take regular days off to do “normal” things (i.e. weekends to do stuff with kids/hubby)
DGabaldon: Well, depends where I am in a book. In the early stages, I usually take one day/evening per week “off”--but it’s a different day, depending. Later on, I don’t, because I’m writing pretty much round the clock, and everything else goes to hell in a handbasket. {g}

Question: What kind of research places do you find most helpful in Phx? And how do you go about organizing what’s important?
DGabaldon: Well, the university library is the chief place here, though I do a lot of research online. As for organizing....um...well, if it’s interesting, it kind of falls into place in the story’s “shape,” and then it’s stuck in my mind. If it isn’t interesting, I probably don’t want to use it anyway. {G}

Question: But how do you narrow it down, instead of getting so involved w good history
DGabaldon: I don’t narrow it down; that’s why my books are so big. {g} No, really-- I’ve written scenes on purpose to take advantage of some fascinating fact--like the bit about “hanged-men’s grease” in DIA.