Author: Outlander Anatomist

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2024 SiWC Panel with Diana Gabaldon

Greetings Outlander fans! My, I have missed you all… 🤗

This weekend I find myself in beautiful Surrey, British Columbia,  Canada, attending the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, more commonly known as SiWC!

I drove from Oregon to Canada lastThursday. It was a beautiful day but the  normally 5.5 hr drive turned into nearly 7 hours due to two collisions in Washington state.  Yes, it was an inconvenience for those on the freeway, but I was grateful to arrive safely and I hope those involved in the crashes are OK.

Thus far, I have attended several events featuring Diana – she is one busy lass! All were delightful and I will share them with you, but not in chronological order mostly due to the technical issues of posting via  iPad. 😉

Today’s event was titled “Compelling Expositions,” a panel featuring Diana Gabaldon, Michael Slade, Robyn Harding, and Darren Groth (not shown).  K. C. Dyer moderated (also not shown).

Diana looked stunning, layered with in a deep red shawl because the room was freezing! 🥶

Many fruitful topics were covered by the panel. Here are some highlights including Diana’s responses:

  • Question:  Which is your fav scene from your writings? Diana chose the scene from “Outlander” book wherein Jamie rescues Claire from Black Jack Randall’s clutches. They shelter at a tavern –  Jamie tells Claire he is not ready for bed and proceeds to whip her with his sword belt. This set up a major clash between the two characters because each POV was justified from their perspective. Claire was trying to find a way back to Frank but Jamie knew her actions put all of their lives  in danger. I must confess, this choice surprised me. I suppose because Diana has written so many splendid scenes. How would one even choose? 🤔

This is wee bit of the excerpt from the scene (pp. 249-250 “Outlander” Kindle version) that is Diana’s fav!

“Come to bed, Jamie. What are you waiting for?”

He came to stand by the bed, swinging the belt gently back and forth.

“Well, lass, I’m afraid we’ve a matter still to settle between us before we sleep tonight.” I felt a sudden stab of apprehension.

“What is it?” He didn’t answer at once. Deliberately not sitting down on the bed by me, he pulled up a stool and sat facing me instead.… 😯

  • Question: How do you deal with pacing? Diana responded that pacing depends on context. For example, if there is an emergency then the writer wants to keep sentences short and terse. Pacing allows the author to create tension between two elements. A question is raised and then answered to move the story forward. (Psst…. She didn’t mention that sometimes the answers to questions she raises don’t get resolved until two books and ten years later!) 😂
  • Question: How do you deal with slang or dialect? Diana feels dialogue is the most important way to define a character.  An author using another language (e.g. Gaelic) needs to educate themself in the language. She watched films with Scottish characters to hear their spoken English. At conferences, if she heard anyone speaking with a Scottish accent, she invited them for coffee and listened to them speak. Diana also recommended reading books written by someone who speaks the language. She read several Scottish authors to help her get a feel for syntax, cadence, etc. Frankly, her devotion to her craft is a splendid example to all aspiring authors. 🥰
  • Question: Do you plan out a chapter or scene ahead of time? Diana does not. We already know she doesn’t write in a straight line. She also does not tell her characters what to say or do. She waits patiently for them to speak to her.  This being my fourth SiWC, I can tell you hers is a unique approach. Most writers I encounter plan out scenes, many even work from  a classic outline. She also doesn’t know ahead of time how a book will end. I guess the one exception here is that she seems to know how the “Outlander” books will end. Sob! 😢
  • Question: Who is your favorite author. James Clavell, she answered without a moment’s hesitation.  Clavell authored the marvelous, “Shogun,” for those who might not know. Although it has been some time since I read it, it is well worth doing so. 👍🏻

These were highlights of the panel for me.

The full panel discussion can be accessed here:

I hope you enjoyed the panel. Need I say, my fav author for “Compelling Exposition” is none other than Diana Gabaldon? 🤩 🥇 🏆

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo and audio credits: Outlander Anatomy

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Exploring 2024 SDCC

Greetings all!

Before 2024 San Diego Comic-Con fades in the rear view mirror, I want to share some of the things I have learned and experienced about SDCC over the years.

I attended my first DSCC in 2017. I had intended to go in 2016 but my husband planned a surprise trip to Scotland in honor of our 53rd wedding anniversary!

No complaints because I had a grand time. Don’t want to get distracted from my mission, but here’s a few photos to explain why I chose Scotland in 2016.

We visited the stand in for Craigh na Du.  A lovely, quiet, tree-covered mound with a lot of sheep. In the distance you can see Loch Rannoch (photo, left), the site where Claire and Ned Gowan (ep 105) quote from the poet John Donne.

Next is the shop window where Claire contemplates buying a pair of vases (ep 101). The site was supposedly Inverness but the filming actually took place in the village of Falkland in Fife.

We went to many places but one that moved me deeply was Culloden Battlefield and Drumossie Moor.

Along the walk to the Visitor Center is a lovely stone honoring Diana Gabaldon, and donated by the Ladies of Lallybroch!

I stood on a picnic table to create this short video of Culloden Battlefield and Drumossie Moor. The building in the distance is the Visitor’s Center. The video was actually made in 2017 as my daughter and I returned to Scotland one a year later! 💙

So, now you know why I didn’t go to the 2016 SDCC. I have been to every SDCC since then except during COVID shutdown.

The following is a short history of this fantastic event.

The first SDCC was held in 1970 with 100 attendees! Now, the attendance is well of 135,000 people, annually. These are attendees with badges or press passes. Many more people gather outside the venue to participate in associated events and activities.

Today, SDCC is held in the beautiful  San Diego Convention Center.   It is the long building to the right of the palm tree-lined boulevard and is located near the waterfront. It is huge –  2.6 million square feet of floor space. This year, it offered over 2,000 hours of comics, anime, gaming, discussions, workshops and other events relating to the popular arts.

The exhibit hall part is 460,00 square feet of floor space with over 1,000 exhibitors. Aisles are always packed with attendees buying all types of merchandise associated with the Comic-Con genre.

SDCC even spreads onto nearby buildings outside the San Diego Convention Center.

This year, I attended several panels, walked the exhibit hall, visited various exhibits, met with friends, and spoke with attendees.

I have already posted about two panels related to Outlander: “A conversation with Ron D. Moore,” and Bear McCreary and “World Music Building.” Click on the links if you want to catch up with these two excellent panels.

Ron

Bear

But, one of my favorite parts of SDCC is the cosplay! What is cosplay? According to Wikipedia,  the term “cosplay is a portmanteau of “costume play;” it is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.”

And, believe me, cosplayers take their characters very seriously!

The following are some of my favorites!

This is Ruby Rhod from “The Fifth Element.” Many claim he was the original influencer! You may not know, but Prince was originally cast for this role but withdrew because of costuming issues so the part went to Chris tucker.

Check out this cosplayer of Ruby!

Gandalf!

Group ensemble from Lord of the Rings! Sorry, I know zip about the guy in black with the pingpong balls. 😜

This is Roz from “Monsters Inc!” Roz is a grouchy, slug-like creature with a perpetual frown who is head of the CDA (Child Detection Agency)! 😂

Lego characters!

Captain Jack Sparrow associates! 😉

The Witcher! Maybe Yennifer and Ciri?

No comment required! 😄

Princess Amidala! 🤩

And, my personal favorite: Day of the Dead character. I now wish I had asked to photo the back of her magnificent hat.  It was covered with flowers, skulls, candles, and other symbols. Stunning costume! 😍

This is my final post of 2024 SDCC. Saying farewell until next year with shaka sign (hang loose) from me and my longtime Comic-Con buddies, Jody and Jim from Hawaii.

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo and video credits: Outlander Anatomy, Jody Chang, www.wikipedia.com, www.disneyfancom.com,  www.imbd, www.starz, www.sandiegoconventioncenter, www.youtube.com

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2024 SDCC – Bear McCreary Panel

Greetings all!

I continue my experience at 2024 SDCC with the Bear McCreary panel titled, “Musical World building!”

Before the panel came to the podium, heavy metal music filled the packed auditorium! 👂 Turns out, this music was from “The Singularity.” You can hear more of this composition by following this link: https://bearmccreary.com/thesingularity/

After the muscial intro, the panelists then came out individually and introduced themselves:

First  to the stage was Bear McCreary! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

We Outlander fans honor Bear who has brought us, over the seasons, the most wonderful renditions of the Sky Boat Song! And, of course, we fans are keenly aware of his numerous musical accomplishments beyond Outlander!

Next was Kyle Higgins who was unknown to me but, given the applause, was recognized by many audience members. He is best known for his work on the Batman franchise at DC Comics, namely writing the miniseries Batman: Gates of Gotham and for the Nightwing and Batman Beyond titles, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise at Boom! Studios, and Radiant Black at Image Comics.

Matias Bergara was next.  He lives in Uruguay and is a video game designer, comic book writer and artist. After winning numerous awards in South America,  he works almost exclusively for the international market, and illustrated a children‘s book by Neil Gaiman, “Odd and the Frost Giants.”

Last, but certainly not least, was Raya Yarbrough! Raya is Bear’s spouse who was beautiful and poised as always. Raya, is an eclectic poet, singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Although she is most recognized as the singer of the theme for Outlander, her voice and original music have been featured in many TV series, including  Battlestar Galactica, Marvel’s Agents Of Shield, Da Vinci’s Demons, and Agent Carter.  Her album “Raya Yarbrough,” was released internationally on Telarc/Concord records. 

We were not allowed to video record this session, but I did make an audio recording. I hope you enjoy hearing the session in its entirety. Here it is!

The following are highlights from the discussion in case you missed them.

*Bear talked about working on The Singularity, a graphic musical novel that required collaboration between numerous heavy metal groups and artists of word and graphics including Kyle, Matias and Raya. His goal was to develop one cohesive vision and bring it to life by collaboration. This is the backbone of musical world-building. 

In other news, Bear is working on a broadway show titled “Particle Fever!” It is based on the Higgs boson, aka the God Particle, discovered at the CERN large particle accelerator in Switzerland. He claims molecular physic’s time has come! 🤓

Bear said his musical score for Battlestar Galactic is tattooed on his heart because he got his start there at age, 24! However, his favorite score is from Godzilla: King of Monsters!

He revealed that he decided to score an original piece for the ending credits of Godzilla. When the film was first reviewed by the bigwigs, they started to leave as the credits rolled, but Bear asked them to wait. After the credits were done, they exclaimed they hadn’t authorized money for a final piece but he explained he knew that, he just wanted to do it! Presumably, for free! 🤩

*Kyle was asked what he would tell his young self. His answer: “just finish things!” 🤗 He also said clarity is very important. And, conflict with its tension and release plays an essential role in his creative efforts.

*Matias made a comic book out of music. He advised the audience to do things honestly and directly.  😇

*Raya is a poet, song writer and singer and is now a mother of two! She told us her mother wrote “Night Terrors” for Star Trek: the Next Generation. something I did not know! As a busy mom, she has to find time during the day to compose. She says while writing lyrics, she may not know what she is trying to say until she gets to the last line! 😮

Her latest project is a collaboration with Bear based on 82 ancient wheels and cogs found in the sea near Athens. These remnants comprise the oldest known analogue computer, an orrery (model of the solar system), known as the Antikythera mechanism (image below). Raya sings the voice of the machine as they explore its psychology! 🤔

There is much more to hear in the recording so I will close with gratitude for the gifts that Raya and Bear have given to the Outlander community. Looking forward to the second half of season 7! 🤗

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo and video credits: www.wikipedia.com, Outlander Anatomy, Bear McCreary