A year ago tonight I sat down at this keyboard and wrote the first paragraph of a novel about Hild of Whitby. I wasn’t sure I was ready to begin but I’d been thinking about this woman, her times, her place, for years, and for some reason I just had to put my stake in the ground, right that minute, and start this book before I turned 47. So I did. And tonight, exactly twelve months later, I have 69,000 words.
I’m pleased. It’s a new kind of work for me, using a new voice, new point of view, new kind of character, and involving a time period where new research is published just about every week. The people of this time were balanced at the corners of at least four languages, several religions, many new paradigms, tropes and fashions. It’s thrilling to live behind their eyes, to grow and change with Hild.
The thing is, I have nearly 70,000 words and she’s only twelve. This is going to be a big book…
Anyway, for the forseeable future I’ll be away from the Intarweb every afternoon between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm. (I’ve been testing out the new timetable and my productivity has tripled.) With any luck, you won’t notice a difference. Except perhaps for today when I’ll be working my way through my list :)
Nicola Griffith 
I have never experienced the immediacy of someone writing a book in the way you have shared with Hild. The different elements of the book sound so fascinating, I look forward to the final product.Have a wonderful day working your way through the list.:)
Happy Birthday Nicola!Good luck with hitting all the items on the list and making your day special. All the best to you!
Happy Birthday, Nicola. And Happy Hild Anniversary. I am grateful that you keep choosing to write. I am glad you’ll be going through your list of delights today. I think I will, too. I like piggy-back rides (more special occasions to celebrate = more good times). Enjoy!
Happy Birthday! Never hurts to hear it too many times, so < HREF="http://www.jenniferdurham.com/audio/Happy_Birthday_To_You_FS.mp3" REL="nofollow">here’s Frank to sing it<> to you too. And Happy Hild Day! Now you have another thing to celebrate in September.Have fun with the list – especially with those items you get to more than once. :)
Happy Birthday Nicola. I hope you have a great moments with the people you appreciate
Happy Birthday!!
rory, I’m glad you’re enjoying the Hild updates. I’m trying to walk a line between sharing what I’m up to and diluting the kind of internal pressure which is necessary to write. Oh, and I’ve already crossed several things off my list today :)patti, thank you. This really is shaping up to be an excellent day. Some of the list items will get crossed off twice. Or more.karina, what a lovely blog post you did today, thank you.jennifer, frank is brilliant. No one phrases a song the way he does.Falcon, thank you (and welcome).ssas, v. happy so far. Now I have to escape the house before I talk to anyone else on the phone (I’ve talked to more people on the phone today than in the last two months put together).
I still need to get some truffles so I can cross that off. I’m glad you liked the post. I’m enjoying the exchange. It’s been interesting over email, too.
I like that “Happy Hild Day.”I think writing a book in general is commendable. Writing a good book takes it up a notch. Writing an epic is just too mind boggling for me to imaging doing. I like Rory have never experienced this the way you present it. This is a facinating experience. Do you think it will take as long to do the next 70,000 words? Or does it get easier once you are on the path you want to be on for a novel?duff