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daca0d9
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A Highlander in full regalia is an impressive sight--any Highlander, no matter how old, ill-favored, or crabbed in appearance. A tall, straight-bodied, and by no means ill-favored Highlander in the prime of his life is breathtaking. He
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Diana Gabaldon |
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1e9d8d8
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For a moment, I saw him as he had looked the morning I married him. The sett of his tartan was nearly the same now as then; black check on a crimson ground, plaid caught at his shoulder with a silver brooch, dipping to the calf of a neat, stockinged leg. His linen was finer now, as was his coat; the dirk he wore at his waist had bands of gold across the haft. Duine uasal was what he looked, a man of worth. But the bold face above the lace w..
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Diana Gabaldon |
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2b1fcb5
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She had decided simply to tell the truth, as far as who she was, and what she was doing there. Her mother had said how much she looked like her father; she would have to count on that resemblance to convince them. The Highlanders she had met so far were wary of her looks and strange speech; perhaps the Murrays wouldn't believe her. Then she remembered and touched the pocket of her coat; no, they'd believe her; she had proof, after all. A
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Diana Gabaldon |
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875b8df
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Da mi basia mille," he whispered, smiling. Give me a thousand kisses. It was the inscription inside my ring, a brief quotation from a love song by Catullus. I bent and gave him one back. "Dein mille altera," I said. Then a thousand more."
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Diana Gabaldon |
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31caa7e
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A pirate apparently also often referred to his penis as a "yard." I"
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Diana Gabaldon |
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983a874
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Well, I don't suppose it's an impt--impeddy--impediment, after all. Not as though he'd lost his cock, I mean. He hasn't, has he?
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Diana Gabaldon |
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8b86755
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I had worn that gold ring for nearly thirty years; token of vows taken, forsaken, renewed, and at last absolved. A token of marriage, of family; of a large part of my life. And the last trace of Frank--whom, in spite of everything, I had loved. Jamie
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Diana Gabaldon |
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74d1922
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crepuscle, the mysterious half-light that comes at both ends of the day, when the small secret things come out to feed. There
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Diana Gabaldon |
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c6c9c83
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Tad buciuoki mane tu simta sykiu, Visa tukstanti, antra simta sykiu, Vel dar tukstanti, dar ne viena simta... Daugel tukstanciu kai sudesim sitaip, Juos sujaksime, kad nebutu skaiciaus.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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8c32b31
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Don't you go up on the roof in that!" I exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. "That's your good woolen shirt!" He halted by the door, glared briefly at me, then, with the rebuking expression of an early Christian martyr, laid down his tools, stripped off the shirt, dropped it on the floor, picked up the tools, and strode majestically out to deal with the leak, buttocks clenched with determined zeal. I"
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Diana Gabaldon |
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da42fb1
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We didn't speak anymore, then, as the melting boundaries of our bodies disappeared. It was slow, dreamy and peaceful, his body and mine as much as mine was his, so that I curled my foot round his leg and felt both smooth sole and hairy shin, felt callused palm and tender flesh, was knife and sheath together, the rhythm of our movement that of one heart beating. The
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Diana Gabaldon |
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6d6c14d
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Well, and he supposed a duel with a drunken midget was as good a test as any.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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a6180e7
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If there's true emotional content in a situation between characters, all you do is reveal it.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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ceed32a
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Two hundred years from now, she had--I will? she thought wildly--stood in front of this portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, furiously denying the truth that it showed. Ellen MacKenzie looked out at her now as she had then; long-necked and regal, slanted eyes showing a humor that did not quite touch the tender mouth. It wasn't a mirror image, by any means; Ellen's forehead was high, narrower than Brianna's, and the chin was round, not..
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Diana Gabaldon |
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f645753
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I glanced upward once, to see Brianna glowing, still smiling from ear to ear. Jamie was behind her, also smiling, his cheeks wet with tears. He said something to her in husky Gaelic, and brushing the hair away from her neck, leaned forward and kissed her gently, just behind the ear.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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5533a7e
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A good sex scene is about the exchange of emotions, not bodily fluids. That
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Diana Gabaldon |
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1ffe6c6
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Though I could wish your own limits went a bit further.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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4f233df
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What it is between us, when I touch you, when you ... lie with me? Is it always so between a man and a woman?" In spite of his difficulties, I knew exactly what he meant. His gaze was direct, holding my eyes as he waited my answer. I wanted to look away, but couldn't. "There's often something like it," I said, and had to stop and clear my throat. "But no. No, it isn't--usual. I have no idea why, but no. This is ... different."
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Diana Gabaldon |
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4af3099
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smelt
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Diana Gabaldon |
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ef9ce3f
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The removal of his infected adenoids and tonsils had not cured Keziah's deafness, but had improved it markedly. He
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Diana Gabaldon |
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cc39649
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ground like
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Diana Gabaldon |
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ab079f0
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hummingbird.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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b4e4dbe
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Getting up once in the dark to go adventuring is a lark. Twice in two days smacks of masochism. No
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Diana Gabaldon |
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e6e72c4
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slowly from the fire to her son, then snapped abruptly, focusing on the two little boys, who
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Diana Gabaldon |
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67b365f
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His half-visible presence reminded me faintly of Jamie; he was nearly as tall as his uncle, and very nearly as strong, though still lean and gangling with adolescence. We
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Diana Gabaldon |
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38537c5
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There comes a turning point in intense physical struggle where one abandons oneself to a profligate usage of strength and bodily resource, ignoring the costs until the struggle is over. Women find this point in childbirth; men in battle. Past
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Diana Gabaldon |
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42d9a4c
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I was used to paying a great deal of attention to my hands, one way and another. They were my tools, my channel of touch, mingling the delicacy and strength by which I healed. They had a certain beauty, which I admired in a detached sort of way, but it was the beauty of strength and competence, the assurance of power that made its form admirable. It was the same hand now, pale and long-fingered, the knuckles slightly bony--oddly bare withou..
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Diana Gabaldon |
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2bf3ae0
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When I asked my da how ye knew which was the right woman, he told me when the time came, I'd have no doubt. And I didn't. When I woke in the dark on the way to Leoch, with you sitting on my chest, cursing me for bleeding to death, I said to myself, "Jamie Fraser, for all ye canna see what see looks like, and for all she weighs as much as a good draught horse, this is the woman."
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diana-gabaldon
jamie-fraser
outlander
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Diana Gabaldon |
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5003be7
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According to the vicar, many of the local folk thought the War was due in part to people turning away from their roots and omitting to take proper precautions, such as burying a sacrifice under the foundation, that is, or burning fishes' bones on the hearth--except haddocks, of course," he added, happily distracted. "You never burn a haddock's bones--did you know?--or you'll never catch another. Always bury the bones of a haddock instead."
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Diana Gabaldon |
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afd434a
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ornamental yew bushes. There
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Diana Gabaldon |
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5b5a204
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It's a sword, aye? Not a bloody club. Use the tip!
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Diana Gabaldon |
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f16ffe2
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What is it about ye, Sassenach, I wonder?" he said conversationally, eyes still fixed on Myers. "What is what about me?" He turned then, and gave me a narrow eye. "What it is that makes every man ye meet want to take off his breeks within five minutes of meetin' ye." Fergus"
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Diana Gabaldon |
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49e1c45
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It was only as the tension went out of her shoulders hat he noticed it had been there.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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5f693d7
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It was only as the tension went out of her shoulders that he noticed it had been there.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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1e8ead8
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The eyes were steady, and told me no more than would my own, seen in a looking glass.
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Diana Gabaldon |
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b3fa4a3
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You want to anchor the scene with physical details, but by and large it's better to use sensual details rather than overtly sexual ones.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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fead8f6
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It's not what's happened or what's about to happen; what's important is the sense of emotional uncertainty between the characters and the delicacy of the mutual trust being established.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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d54fefa
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You don't need to know the purpose as you write, but when you read over something you've written, you should be able to point to any given element--be that a line of dialogue, a descriptive phrase, a plot point--and say why it's there.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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1197902
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Don't go overboard in avoiding "said." Basically, "said" is the default for dialogue, and a good thing, too; it's an invisible word that doesn't draw attention to itself."
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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6371fe2
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Who you jiving, L.J.?" I heard Joe Abernathy's voice say, derisive and affectionate. I"
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Diana Gabaldon |
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7c7190a
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Watch a good movie sometime without reference to what's happening but only with attention to how it was photographed; you'll see the change of focus--zoom in, pan out, close-up on face, fade to black, open from above--easily. You want to do that in what you write; it's one of the things that keep people's eyes on the page, though they're almost never conscious of it.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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096141b
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Just as an effective advertisement or page layout includes a lot of white space, a powerful scene requires immense restraint. Show things as simply as possible.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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0f74c22
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Jamie's viewpoint is expressed almost entirely in metaphor: If she was broken, she would slash him with her jagged edges, reckless as a drunkard with a shattered bottle. He's using physical language, but he isn't talking about the physical details of the situation. Claire alludes to her emotion and shows it by her actions, but Jamie is thinking directly in pure emotions.
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |
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8c22690
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For a different woman, a different relationship, a different situation, gentleness might have been the proper, the only approach--but not for this woman, in these circumstances. The only thing that will cleanse Claire (and reassure her: look at what she says at the end of it. She feels safe again, having felt the power and violence in him) is violence. And--the most important point here--Jamie pays attention to what she wants, rather than p..
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sex
writing
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Diana Gabaldon |