When I was small, I never wanted to step in puddles. Not because of any fear of drowned worms or wet stockings; I was by and large a grubby child, with a blissful disregard for filth of any kind.It wa...
Sometimes twenty years seemed like an instant, and sometimes it seemed like a very long time indeed.
Sassenach. He had called me that from the first; the Gaelic word for outlander, a stranger. An Englishman. First in jest, then in affection.
Randall! Of course! Roger smacked himself on the forehead, and felt his cheeks grow hot at Brianna’s giggle. You’re going to think me a complete fool, but I’ve only just realized who you are.
One never stops to think what underlies romance. Tragedy and terror, transmuted by time.
Oh, I said, very touched. Thank you.
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,...
It occurred to me—belatedly, as so many things did these days—that John’s intimate memories belonged to him, as well. I didn’t mean to pry, I said apologetically. He smiled faintly, but with real humo...
I put a hand up to cup his cheek, warm and lightly stubbled. I didn't fool myself that this was paradise or even a refuge from the war - wars tended not to stay in one place but moved around, much in...
I marched into the shop and bought the vases.
I love I have loved ye from the moment I saw ye, I will love ye ’til time itself is done, and so long as you are by my side, I am well pleased wi’ the world.
I leaned back on my elbows and basked in the warming spring sun. There was a curious peace in this day, a sense of things working quietly in their proper courses, nothing minding the upsets and turmoi...
I knew too well that deadness of heart; the sense of sleepwalking through days and lying open-eyed at night, finding no rest, knowing only emptiness that was not peace.
How was yer first time, Jamie? Did ye bleed? shouted Rupert
Aye, beg me for mercy, Sassenach. Ye shallna have it, though; not yet.
As a rule of thumb, four consecutive lines of dialogue is about as much as you want to have without a tag.
You dinna need to understand me, Sassenach, he said quietly. So long as ye love me.
One of the general patterns of good (i.e., striking and memorable) writing is the effect of repetition. If you use a certain element—a plot device, an image, a noticeable phrase—once, readers may or m...
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.
I had one last try.Does it bother you that I'm not a virgin? He hesitated a moment before answering.Well, no, he said slowly, so long as it doesna bother you that I am. He grinned at my drop-jawed exp...