“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.”

American author and television writer

Diana J. Gabaldon is an American author and television writer best known for the Outlander book series. She has built a wide readership through fiction that blends historical settings with romance, mystery, adventure, and science fiction or fantasy. Her writing is marked by that mixed-genre approach, which gives the Outlander novels their distinctive shape. The series was adapted for television and premiered on Starz in 2014.