Heather asked Diana Gabaldon:

how long did the first book take you to write? (Working your regular job, raising your son, and writing without the intention of publishing it) I know you spend 2-4 years now on the big novels, but you are practiced and wonderful and everyone asks daily for the next book. I've been interested in how you pushed yourself to complete such a task when you had so much else going on and writing novels wasn't your job.

Diana Gabaldon OUTLANDER took me about eighteen months to write. It was the first book, so no backstory and no internal engineering (such as is required with a series, so later books will make sense even if a reader hasn't read the earlier ones). Also the shortest. Also no interference from the outside world (PR, interviews, travel, etc.) (It doesn't seem to occur to anyone that 'asking daily' for the next book is not likely to help me finish it any sooner...)

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