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On January 20th 2009, I
had the pleasure of speaking to the lovely
ladies of Fredericksburg's Kappa Delta
Gamma (Beta Eta Chapter), a sorority of
retired educators. The event was held in
the conference room at the new Heritage
Center in the Maury Commons. The evening
began with a wonderful tour of the
Center's extensive archive collection of
historical documents. Most impressive is
their collection of local slave
documentation, as well as the Chancellor
family's papers. Following the tour, I
gave a 25 minute talk on my process for
historical research and writing. A Q&A
session followed.
NOTE: I have also added
some lessons learned and exercises that
may benefit new writers at the end of this
transcript.
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Tips for historical research and
writing
(BONUS lessons-learned and writing
exercises)
Good evening ladies, it is
certainly an honor and a privilege to have the
opportunity to speak to you tonight. I'd like to
thank Ms. Becky Guy for her gracious invitation,
all of you for your warm reception, and I certainly
hope that my presentation will be worthy of your
attention. This is a first for me.
Now
there is no doubt that I have been very blessed
over the last few years with having the opportunity
to speak on a wide variety of subjects at
universities, museums, churches, and of course now
a sorority. Usually I am lecturing on one of my
books, or a special program that I developed for
the occasion; tonight however, Becky has asked me
to talk a little about the mind-set involved with
researching and writing these materials.
More specifically, how I went about
researching and writing one of my recent books on
Fredericksburg's historic churches. Now this
request posed a great challenge for me as it forced
me to examine how I do what I do. So tonight, I'd
like to share some brief insights into my work,
which is by no means the only process and I hope
that you will find something that may help in your
own writing endeavors. I promise I won't talk too
long as I would love to take your questions. And
I'll stay as long as you like.
Please let me start by saying that
I had absolutely no intention of writing this book.
In fact, I will have 6 (maybe 7) books out by the
end of this year and this one in particular, which
was my 4th, was the first time that a publisher had
contacted me first. All of my previous books were
completely written and edited. Then the manuscripts
were shopped around. This was a completely new
approach to me.
At
the time that The History Press had first queried
me in regards to doing a regional title, my
previous books were doing fairly well, and another
manuscript was receiving excellent feedback from
several publishers. My freelancing career had
spread over into the magazine genre, and I was
finally taking on larger newspaper articles and
cover stories. I started accepting more regular
speaking engagements, and I was even doing guest
spots on Voice America radio.
With a full-time job, and my wife
expecting our fourth child, you could say that my
cup runneth over, and that my plate was more than
full. Frankly, starting another book at that point
in my life was the furthest notion from my mind.
All that changed however, after one of The History
Press' Commissioning Editors contacted me following
a reference from Ms. Gwen Woolf who is my mentor
and my editor at The Free Lance-Star. Immediately
their enthusiasm and total openness to the
possibilities of a regional project impressed me.
And
it is not very often that a publisher of this
caliber asks an author as relatively new as I am
what he would like to write about. The answer for
me was obvious, as I had entertained doing a
mainstream, or 'secular history' on a local scale.
A study of our area's landmark churches during the
Civil War and Reconstruction period was a perfect
subject matter for a Christian historian like
myself, whose previous books had all been
religiously influenced.
(On
a side-note, I am very proud to say that I have
recently signed with The History Press again to
produce a book for the new American Chronicles
Series. It will be called "Campfires at the
Crossroads: Confederate Encampments in Spotsylvania
County.")
I
typed up a very detailed proposal and my rep at THP
pitched the idea to the board and it received some
excellent feedback. Still, I wasn't sure if a
regional piece would be met with any enthusiasm
outside of our conversations. Fortunately my
trepidation was put aside after I was able to
acquire the support of each of the landmark
church's congregations as well as John Hennessy's
validation. John of course is with the National
Park Service and their opinion really matters to
me.
It
was John in fact; who told me that a study of our
historic churches, especially when incorporating
both the white and black perspectives during the
Reconstruction period, would be a rich and welcome
topic. This was the genesis of "Historic Churches
of Fredericksburg: Houses of the Holy."
National Park Historian Eric Mink
also expressed an endorsement of the subject matter
and both men were extremely helpful in directing me
through the collection of bound volumes, which are
kept at the NPS offices in the magnificent Chatham
Manor. When you have this many wonderful people
supporting you, it's impossible to say 'no,' the
next thing I knew, I was signing a contract and
meeting with archivists.
I
made a point to mention each and every one of these
people in the back of this book, as it is only
through their generosity that I was able to write
it. Becky of course was a great help to me.
Everyone I worked with contributed information and
insights that I would not have been able to obtain
anywhere else. THEY are the reason why this book
came out a well as it did. Not me.
I'm
sure you'll agree that one of the best sources of
both primary and secondary reference is of course
the National Park's archives. We are so blessed to
live where we live as they are an invaluable
resource for reference, photography, and
illustration files.
It
also pays to be a historian in the 21st century. I
say this as their entire catalog has been entered
into a searchable database. Each item in their
bound volumes has a series of keyword designators
and a short abstract telling you what the item
includes. By typing in a keyword, such as
"churches" it provides a PDF document (Adobe
Acrobat File) with all of the volumes on file and
associated information featuring the word
"churches."
Now
what this enabled us to do in mere seconds is
identify 44 volumes that held potentially usable
reference material and sources. It would take
months to do that by hand. Each item with the word
"churches" in it was listed by vol. number, section
number, page and chapter number, and a brief
description outlined the major topics. I then told
the NPS guys which ones I needed and they pulled
them for me to research. I spent days up at
Chatham, copying and photocopying page - after page
- after page of documents and memoirs,
recollections, and other unpublished sources. The
pile that I walked away with was staggering.
Research of course is only step
one: obtaining reference. But how do you manage it
- especially when you end up with everything from
old newspaper clippings and diary pages - to
official reports and meeting minutes?
Organization is a top-priority. For
"Houses of the Holy", each church had its own
folder with a contents and index. As I gathered
more and more sources, books, clippings, photos,
contacts, and archived materials, they all went
into the folders. By the time I was done I had a
stack of folders bursting at the seams with
reference. This kept everything categorized and
organized for me as I wrote each church's section
separately. It also helped when it came time to
credit people and I referred to these sources for
the bibliography.
What is extra nice is that I now
have an extensive collection of prepared materials
that I can refer to again and again for future
projects. So through this one book, I now have
sources for a dozen more projects. I would like to
add that I simultaneously collected the data on
Spotsylvania's churches and I am already prepared
to draft a companion volume when the time
comes.
Of
course I also made a point to personally contact
and meet with representatives from each of the
churches. All of them were very gracious and I had
the opportunity to sit down with historians and
librarians in some cases who also provided me with
copies of information.
Two
rare gems that came out of this particular project
were copies of all of the church's insurance claims
petitioning the U.S. Government to pay for damages
incurred during Yankee occupation and the
subsequent battles. These documents contain the
damage estimates, associated govt. inquiries, and
the local interviews that were held.
The
other gem was copies of the rolls for Shiloh
Baptist (Old Site) that recorded the date that the
African-American members were dismissed when the
Baptist church split into separate white and black
denominations.
Without the firsthand assistance
and insights of members of each church's
congregation, this book would have been
one-dimensional and stale in my opinion. They
provided me with materials that were not available
anywhere else. I also used (sparingly) some
previously published church books, commemorative
programs, sermons, and timelines that are available
on most of the church's official websites.
The
Internet of course has opened up a whole new world
to historians, but it must be used with caution. We
can now get access to tons of cyber information,
but we must always keep in mind that the facts on
the Internet are only as good as the person who
posted them. Therefore I always compare multiple
sources whenever possible. And I tell my kids that
Google is NOT the end all. It is a great tool - but
it does not provide all of the answers.
So
research is THE most important aspect of my
creative process. It's the brick in the foundation
of my work. And with the assistance of our National
Park Service, which is the BEST in the country, I
was able to assemble a priceless library of my own
and in turn share it with my readers.
The
focus of this book was rooted in a much broader
perspective and I intentionally entered this unique
project knowing that:
1.
I knew very little ahead of time about the
subject.
2.
I had to compose something original and
inclusive.
3.
I had to get feedback and fact checks from the
experts.
I
actually went through 2 major rewrites after
completing the manuscript due to the critical
feedback that I got from my friends at the National
Park Service. It created more work, but it also
made the book so much more well-rounded. It forced
me to grow as a writer. John Hennessy's critiques
and in some cases corrections, helped me to paint
an accurate and unapologetic look at our town's
legacy - especially in regards to race
relations.
Many Southern historians who
specialize in the history of the Confederacy,
myself included, tend to approach this period in a
'bubble' of sorts. As a result, we often find
ourselves writing strictly from the perspectives of
the white-southern-secessionists. And although I
maintain that it is extremely important to honor
and acknowledge this aspect of our heritage, we
also have to recognize that there were two other
groups of our citizens sharing in the same wartime
experience.
This would be the local Unionists
and the free and slave African-American population.
Therefore, there are actually three completely
different perspectives to our areas' experience
during the Civil War. Far too many times we only
show one. With this book, I hoped to encompass all
of that in order to present a complete narrative in
regards to our landmark churches. Each one is just
as important as the other and they all deserve to
have their stories told.
I
didn't shy away from the ugliness either. It was
not my intent to paint a negative impression of any
of these fine churches and I worked hard to include
a balance. But I was also brutally honest when it
was required. The sensitive nature of secession,
state's rights, and the institution of slavery, as
well as other racial tensions and injustices were
acknowledged when applicable. Some of the verbiage
that is used in this book, specifically when
quoting slaves and/or overseer narratives contain
obvious racial slurs. I decided to keep them in
their entirety for historical accuracy and to
illustrate period-speak.
Throughout this project I also
discovered a distinct difference in how the white
and black churches viewed the War Between the
States for obvious reasons. The whites in many
cases were either benign about slavery or practiced
paternalism over the black population. In some
cases conflicting stories were presented while
giving equal weight to both sides. It was my hope
that by sharing these accounts, however
uncomfortable at times they may be, I would pay
tribute to the congregations of today whose
ancestors survived the 'Great Divide' to form a
much stronger community.
Why? Because to me this is not just
a story about our city's churches during the Civil
War. It is a story about faith under fire, and the
spiritual strength of these extraordinary houses of
worship.
All
of these churches witnessed some of the most
significant events in our nation's history, and
many of them hosted some of the most influential
citizens who make our area's history worthy of
remembering. Each one stands today as a testament
to the generations of believers who built them,
rebuilt them, and who have maintained them. This
book is about their legacy.
I
spent months researching these little-known tales
of triumph and tragedy and tried to select the most
interesting and/or inspiring pieces for the reader.
And
I sincerely hope that my readers will enjoy these
stories and share them with future generations.
After all, that is precisely what we as writers -
and as historians - and as Americans should
do.
Thank you Ladies. I would love to
take your questions.
ADDED: The following
lessons-learned and writing exercises are quoted
from a piece I contributed for FaithWriters.
Find YOUR inspiration.
When I do a speaking engagement for
a local historical or heritage group, I always try
to work in a part of my presentation based on
memories. I show a slide of one of our local
battlefield sites that I took on a beautiful sunny
day. Then I cut to a shot taken after a battle,
with bodies littering the exact spot I had just
shown.
And
I say this: "It's far too easy for us to look back
today, especially here in our little piece of
Central Virginia, known as the 'Crossroads of the
Civil War,' and forget the carnage that took place
here. People come from all over the world to tour
our hallowed grounds. And when they get here,
everything is perfect. The grass is neatly trimmed
and the markers are polished. The freshly painted
cannons are all lined up in neat rows. Yet they are
standing in the 'shadow of death.' Can you imagine
the stench of rotting corpses and animal carcasses,
or the resultant proliferation of millions of flies
surrounding them? Try to picture the nightmarish
scenes that were witnessed by the townsfolk
following the battle. So the next time that you
find yourself touring one of these postcard-pretty
places, remember that although our local National
Parks appear romantic, the war that took place
there was anything but that. Today this ground is
beautiful, but the reason we hallow it was ugly."
Still in the middle of all this
death and destruction, in the midst of all this
ugliness were countless examples of God's glory.
That is the reason why I write what I write.
Historical non-fiction requires a
lot of research.
I
use a wide-variety of materials. I study our local
National Park's archives, historical society
records, old newspapers and magazines. I have a
large reference library in my house and I also use
the Internet (cautiously). Over the years, I have
developed a wide network of sources and friends who
are usually gracious in sharing their contacts and
information.
My
background as a baseball historian also helps me,
as the research that I did for Baseball-Almanac was
extensive. I learned very early on to use many
different sources and to verify accuracy. If 5 out
of 7 sources said "X=Y," then I'd use it. If not,
I'd either dig deeper, or go another way. In the
historical genre, bad research and writing becomes
sources for future pieces of bad research and
writing. I made mistakes from time to time and
readers let us know and we corrected them. Nobody
is perfect, so strive for perfection, and be
willing to admit your mistakes. Readers can be some
of the best editors, especially baseball fanatics
and Civil War buffs.
Another technique that I use is
outlining. It helps me to see the overall structure
of a project. It also helps me determine what
sources are required, what visuals can accompany
the piece, and what I need to do to accomplish my
goal.
It's very easy as a writer to
become egotistical.
First off: GET OVER YOURSELF. When
you are just starting out, and writing for free,
YOU make your own deadlines, YOU choose your own
topics. YOU edit your own work. When you get picked
up by a publication whether it is a website,
newspaper, magazine, or book, YOU are no longer in
charge. Chances are someone else with far more
experience and qualifications will be selecting
your topics, setting your deadlines, editing your
copy etc. This is a shock at first. But I say
listen to these people. THEY know what they are
talking about. And if you work hard enough at it,
you start to earn that control back a little at a
time. Today, I pick my own features, pitch the
ideas to the various newspaper, magazine, and book
editors that I have a relationship with, and we
collaborate. I learned that after doing years of
assignments.
Second: THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. I'm
a fairly active webmaster and blogger. I have been
recognized in the industry for my websites and
editorial postings and I am part of a thriving
Civil War Blogger's Community that has been
featured in magazines like North and South and
Civil War Interactive. We all post about our
various projects and interests and sometimes people
can get personal and/or political. Unfortunately
these tend to erupt into heated debates and
sometimes even arguments. The reality of cyberspace
is that once something is uploaded it can come back
to haunt you in the future. Always try to think
before you post something online. The Internet is a
great tool, but it is also a repository for things
you wish you could take back. I learned through my
own mistakes that professionalism must always be
maintained. You never know who will be at your next
lecture or signing. Treat everyone with respect,
even those who attack you online.
Determine what your strengths and
weaknesses are as a writer. Play to your strengths,
but never stop working on your weaknesses.
An
editor once told me, that to be a truly good
writer, you have to be able to write about the
things you don't care about with the same passion
and enthusiasm as the things you do. I took that
advice to heart and decided to test myself. I wrote
1000 words on a topic that I really enjoyed and
then another 1000 words on something in which I had
no interest. I put them side-by-side and the
difference in the quality of the pieces was
startling. Clearly, I needed to work on looking at
each and every piece individually and commit myself
to giving it my best effort. Try it
yourself.
Remember… it will have your name on
it.
Finally, remember to enjoy the
process. Pursue it passionately, but also remember
that someday it will become work. That is if your
goal is to do this professionally. If so, then
approach it like any other craft. Practice your
skills. Educate yourself. Stay abreast of the
industry. Make contacts and build a network. And
once it becomes a job, it is no longer a hobby.
Your feelings about it will change. Not necessarily
in a bad way, but it will be looked at differently.
It will be serious, and you will have to be serious
doing it.
Your reputation is your greatest
asset, but it can also be your downfall. Miss a few
deadlines, or turn in something less-than-par and
you can blemish your rep. Always do your best work
and protect it. It's YOUR name on the by-line or
cover, no one else's.
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