Silver James

No treats, titles, or teases today. Not because I’m out of recipes, books, or writing snippets but because I’m jealous and I want to discuss that. To those of you who don’t have STARZ and haven’t been able to watch OUTLANDER, I apologize for waxing “fangirl” over this series so often. I haven’t read the book. I probably will at some point when my schedule evens out and I can dive into a book that long. But the series? Doin’ the fangirl dance over here. And surprisingly, as hot and sexy as Jamie is, as feisty and strong as Claire is, as maddening but sexy as Dougal is, and as comic-relieving as Rupert and Angus are? All those things total just a tiny reason why I’m so hooked on the show.

Production values. OMG! People, people, people! Granted, it’s pretty darn hard to screw up the scenery. Like New Orleans, the Scottish highlands becomes a character of the story–almost a living, breathing entity. The costumes! Historically correct in all their discomfort and yet I think we all want some of the knitted goods Claire wears and a few of her dresses. And Jamie’s kilt (or at least what’s under it… ) The set dressing, the horses, the clansmen and women, the villagers…it’s all so realistic–beautiful and terrible at the same time. The story doesn’t pull any punches. People get dirty and stay dirty. Bathing is often a pan of cold water poured over the head–or a cold stream. The show portrays all that.

But now I want to discuss The Wedding. I’m pretty sure social media lit up. There was naked Jamie and Claire. There was some hot loving–though not graphic. The director left a LOT up to the imagination. But now we’re getting to the reason I’m jealous. My writing is frequently described as “cinematic.” I write in multiple POVs and my scenes are often structured like the scene in a TV show or movie. When I write a scene, I see it in my head as a series of…camera angles, if you will. But The Wedding did something I would love to do as a writer but I’ve never figured out how to do what they did into the written word–at least not to the inspiring degree the show achieves.

The episode starts shortly after the marriage ceremony and wedding dinner/lunch/breakfast(?) in the pub. Claire and Jamie are alone in a room above the public house. Clair is sitting in her shift, corset, underskirt, etc. Jamie enters, wearing his shirt, kilt, and boots. After a bit of rather awkward interaction, the episode turns pure magic. They talked and drank and shared a plate, sharing these stories while the viewer is shown the action. They were interrupted by Rupert and Angus–checking to see if they’d done it yet to make the marriage legal to keep Claire safe from Captain Randall. The “backstory” unfolded in a series of magnificent flashbacks that felt both immediate and were damn fine storytelling. I’m in awe and truly wish I could figure out how to layer backstory in that seamlessly. Yes, I’m babbling. And here’s a short video where the producer, Ron D. Moore, explains his thinking. Yeah, I REALLY like the way he thinks. Now to figure out how to translate it into my writing…