Blog - Christopher Hind

The Curse of the Historical Fiction Author

I woke up in a cold sweat, realizing I had written a scene about four rowers ferrying four passengers across the Wantsum Channel in a small skiff. What’s wr...

Mar 20, 2026 · 1 min read

Marginalia - The Live of St. Patrick (Reconstructed for Narrative Mischief)

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here’s my reconstructed timeline for the historical Patrick. In my second historic fantasy novel, Patrick’s superiors are so e...

Mar 18, 2026 · 4 min read

How Pop Songs Made Me a Better Writer

Here are three Pop songs that inspired my historic fiction writing, and how: #1. “The Fate of Ophelia” by Taylor Swift Consider the triple-rhyme scheme i...

Mar 11, 2026 · 2 min read

Rewriting With Intent: A Paragraph Transformed

Here is a bit of my editing process, using a single paragraph as an example. First Draft My First Draft is where I focus on getting something—anything—onto...

Feb 22, 2026 · 3 min read

Progress - Sharpening a Voice of Authority

I'm back to editing my second novel. I’ve just completed the first character pass of Draft 3, focusing on one of the four point‑of‑view characters. He’s an a...

Feb 06, 2026 · 1 min read

Progress - Draft 2 Is Complete

I’ve just wrapped Draft 2 of my second novel, which is always the most physical stage of my process. This is the part where I print the entire manuscript, si...

Jan 23, 2026 · 1 min read

I Finished My Third Novel!

Last summer, I learned about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)—the annual November challenge where writers attempt a 50,000‑word draft in thirty days....

Jan 03, 2026 · 2 min read

The Ruthless Joy of Cutting 18,000 Words

I just cut 18,000 words from my 108,000-word manuscript. Not scenes. Not subplots. Just fluff: -ly adverbs, passive constructions, and personal crutch words...

Oct 29, 2025 · 2 min read

Permission to Write: How I Reclaimed My Habit and Finished a Novel

I used to write professionally. I always planned to return to it after retiring from my cowardly, corporate “support my family” career. Then last year, my wi...

Sep 25, 2025 · 3 min read

Marginalia - The Sword of Hnæf

1. Hildeburh, Finn All we know of these two figures comes from the so-called “Finnsburg Episode” within Beowulf (lines 1067–1158). Just 91 lines long, this...

Sep 19, 2025 · 2 min read

Marginalia

My novels draw from a deep well of legend, history, archeololgy and linguistic tradition. This Marginalia section offers readers a glimpse beneath the surfac...

Sep 19, 2025 · 0 min read