Saturday, Sony announced they were surrendering their Twitter handle to Outlander author Diana Gabaldon for a fan Q&A. Today, she delighted readers and watchers alike. #AskDiana
Come ask me questions on Monday! Use #AskDiana ! pic.twitter.com/ebMrEe38t9
— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) November 18, 2017
Alrighty, then….! Welcome to the next small chapter in the wild and wonderful World of #Outlander! I'll answer all the questions I can in the next hour—and may be able to pick up a few more later, as I dash in & out today. Who's first?
— Diana #AskDiana— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Jigsaw is maybe misleading, as it implies I have all the pieces before I begin fitting them. The book comes together (slowly) in bits, pieces and chunks—but yes, I move things around. #AskDianahttps://t.co/lehoIt4xll
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I love the show and I think they've done a spectacular job in adapting an IMMENSE (and immensely complex) story within the limits of a 13-hour season. Naturally I don't agree with every choice—but I usually see why they made those choices. #AskDianahttps://t.co/w6KKF8CkSL
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I don't know that there's any objective measure, but it sure seemed like a hit when the first couple of episodes aired! #AskDianahttps://t.co/JZYhXXSqWd
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Yes, it has. I loved every second of Jamie's part of 304 (loved the episode as a whole, of course, but especially the Helwater story). #AskDianahttps://t.co/r2PNP6UN7V
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Haha! No. If I want to revisit a character, I do. I don't outline or plan, and I play with time ALL the time; it's not a problem to do anything I want to, basically. #AskDianahttps://t.co/s9OjgRhGkk
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I was (and am) just following the tide of history. Starting with the Jacobite Rising, when that failed, a huge number of Scots went to America. Naturally they'd be involved with the Revolution. #AskDianahttps://t.co/B7NVUKu0Us
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Man, I don't have room to keep anything more in my office! I'd certainly take home some of the weapons (the non-rubber ones) if given the chance, though. #AskDianahttps://t.co/L8d3oZPv4T
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
She wears Frank's ring because she loved Frank, and honors her marriage to him. Jamie understands this. He says, "I'd take you from him, Sassenach—but I wouldna take him from you.” #AskDianahttps://t.co/ka1z35OyW4
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Of course! How could I pass up a meeting like that? (Besides, he'd certainly recognize _her_; it's only been a few months of his lifetime since he saw her at age nineteen or so.) #AskDianahttps://t.co/j4s7cUPkS1
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Oh, of course! Not only is it slightly (or largely) different in places, having the visual stimulus of the fabulous settings, costumes, landscapes—and most of all the actors!—is a completely different sensation. (Oh, and the music!)https://t.co/uF2ZodEZfa
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I don't think I'd want famous people, unless they knew how to build things, catch fish, and set broken limbs. Well… OK. Someone who knew how to tell good stories would be good to have, too. Maybe Adrian McKinty or Jack Whyte? #AskDianahttps://t.co/R3rQUgohcb
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Rupert and Angus would have worked well. Partly because while they're vastly entertaining, they aren't really integral to any plot. #AskDianahttps://t.co/rIw77nlGhB
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
115 and 116, probably. 304, from this season. #AskDianahttps://t.co/J10d2lX9Mf
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I sent the ms. for Outlander to my agent and said, "I realized while finishing this that there's more to this story, but I thought I should stop while I could still lift it. But if anybody's interested, you can tell them there's more.” #AskDianahttps://t.co/GkU6t9TyNK
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Every book I've ever read has had some influence on me (positive or negative…) but I can't think of any that I noticed as being particularly life-defining at the time. #AskDianahttps://t.co/s4H3TVdaIr
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Adored the addition/expansion of Rupert and Angus! As for things they leave out that I wish they didn't, it's a long, long list. But they really have to; there's just not room for everything we wish we could see. #AskDianahttps://t.co/0T8OaWHLfP
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
No. It's just like life; Stuff happens, and you have to deal with whatever it is. #AskDiana https://t.co/VIHfL7KTky
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Probably her ability to swear unselfconsciously. Having been brought up in a non-swearing home (and a parochial school) I can't bring myself to use bad language. That's why the people in my books all swear freely… #AskDianahttps://t.co/pY2N2gsqu9
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Why would I need one? Though what Jenny saw was Claire's fetch, not her ghost. #AskDiana https://t.co/u2ASBrGmlR
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I don't write in a straight line nor with an outline; I write in bits & pieces, which gradually begin to stick together & form shapes. Each book has an internal shape that develops as I write, and when the shape is complete, so is the book. #AskDianahttps://t.co/PNJEfQ2WUy
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
No. I (luckily) have all the room I want & total control over what happens, how & when. The adaptation process is a highly collaborative, highly restricted one & while it's lots of fun and interesting, it has nothing at all to do with how I write books.https://t.co/w3ebG6w9yu
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Just keep watching and being enthusiastic in public! My beloved first editor used to say, "These have to be word-of-mouth books, because they're too weird to describe to anybody." Which is dead right… the show is pretty much the same way. #AskDianahttps://t.co/5YBCxuFlE9
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Sure. There are quite a few real historical people in there, like Washington. But I also write in occasional friends of mine, as jokes (vide the foul-mouthed smith named Heughan in the last book). As for me…hey, they're ALL me. Who else would they be.https://t.co/i2NTZlpKf3
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
They show me the outlines for the episodes, and I can (and do…) comment on those, as well as on the scripts (and their many (many, many) revisions.https://t.co/Q7QSqlfROQ
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I don't often comment on the dailies, because there isn't usually any way to correct things once filmed, bar an occasional line that can be recorded over. #AskDiana
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
If you watched him do it in person, you'd understand. He's close enough in size & physical presence to make it a believable resemblance, but when he becomes Jamie—he becomes Jamie. Which is kind of startling. #AskDiana https://t.co/SUWdzVANNr
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
That's like asking do I prefer the husband I met 45 years ago to the one presently waiting for me to come eat lunch with him. I.e., it's the same person, and you love them at all ages and appreciate the differences. #AskDiana https://t.co/bLR9nuvjGI
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
No, but there will be in book ten. #AskDiana https://t.co/VWyOnwRbWQ
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Why would having links with Scotland matter? As it was, I wrote OUTLANDER for practice—not meaning to show it to anyone, let alone get it published.https://t.co/NIZwvgqxia
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I thought a historical novel would be the easiest thing to write, and chose Scotland in the 18th century on a whim, having seen a really old "Dr. Who" rerun with a young man in a kilt from 1745.
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
No. I don't write whole storylines; I write bits and pieces (in which very often, you have multiple storylines impinging and overlapping in the same scene), and if something's not working, I usually see it before I've finished the scene. #AskDiana https://t.co/hfihAmp1AT
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
No idea. Well…I hope I'll be finished by the end of 2018, but no guarantees. Books have their own time. #AskDianahttps://t.co/p2U2MDFKvk
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
In the book, she does. Briefly, but vividly. #AskDianahttps://t.co/UQDHYsdlSj
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Lord John. He's a mushroom; one of those people who just spring up out of nowhere in nothing flat. Jamie and Claire are always pretty easy to hear, but most others take a little living-with to get used to the feel of them. #AskDianahttps://t.co/RWtaWhsZwR
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Hm. Most of them don't look at all like they do in my head—but I suppose Colum comes closest to being the way I imagined him. And yes, Ned Gown…Oh, and Jenny. Laura Donnelly is a great Jenny. #AskDianahttps://t.co/j198xCJqyb
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I'd love to—but there's no way I could possible do it until Season Five (assuming we were to get a Season Five, which naturally we hope we do). I HAVE to finish this book, and scriptwriting and overseeing takes an immense amount of time. #AskDiana https://t.co/UOY2uQQTs4
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Not in this season—though the last scene of Claire sewing Elias's shroud did make me cry. #AskDianahttps://t.co/HgCwMDJd7G
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I actually was a scientist in my previous professional incarnation. (I have degrees in biological science, including a Ph.D. in <cough> Quantitative Behavioral Ecology—which is basically just animal behavior with statistics, don't worry about it.)https://t.co/kJNHCigOLQ
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
I'm frequently appalled at things that happen in the books, but it's not like there's a choice about it. It just happens that way, and if it does (like Henri-Christian), it's terrible, but there it is. #AskDianahttps://t.co/k2iuzZBpM5
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Oh, yes. I have a few things on the side, that bubble up now and then. Though I suppose you might consider Master Raymond part of "Outlander" world–but his books are quite different. Then there are a couple of modern crime novels… #AskDiana https://t.co/POBZx7B38y
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
They're all wonderful, but I suppose it's Claire's Boston apartment. #AskDianahttps://t.co/nC5tkbL5bI
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Overall, Jamie. But Claire has certain set points from which she will not budge, come hell or high water. Aside from those few points, though, she's quite flexible. #AskDianahttps://t.co/Um63CZxLYs
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Thanks, everybody! Really enjoyed tweeting with y’all—and as I said, I'll look out for other questions as I come and go later today; may be able to answer some of the more complex ones that take more than one tweet! Enjoy the rest of your day! — Diana
— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2017
Source: Sony’s Official Twitter
