By Theresa Parker Pierce @rowanhistory
One of my favorite historical fiction novels is Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter. Joyce once shared with me how an editor who was teaching a class gave an assignment to research a story that “happened in my backyard”. So, Joyce called the local history museum and discovered the polio epidemic. A book series followed. I’ve read and recommend them all.
I thought back over the 23 years of volunteering I had done at two of our local museums and found my story in my backyard. I have given multiple tours of our National Cemetery built on the site of a former Confederate Prison hidden in our small town. I teach about the early years of the prison where baseball premiered in the south played by Union soldiers. Then as we walk through the cemetery, I point and invite guests to imagine the prison swelling from the allotted 2000 to closer to 8000. We discuss what the staff would run out of and how it would affect the growing population. Then I show students mass graves with no markers. I pause and let them take it all in. We discuss the cost of war. It is very sobering and even fourth graders get it.
In my pausing so many times giving tours, stories began to form in my mind about the people who might have lived close to the prison site. What must their lives have been like? I began to hand write about characters and their varied responses to the war. After I filled up a journal, I started typing.
I went back and forth in my mind arguing that no one wants to hear about the Civil War, but the story stayed with me. I began to think, what if no one wanted to admit they lived in a town that housed a controversial prison? What if the northerners who visit our town today for a symposium don’t like the way I portrayed a story that might include their ancestor’s stories? What if people don’t want to read anything that depicts a war that pitted brothers, cousins and classmates?
The stories kept coming. I heard about how the townspeople were afraid the prisoners would break out if they discovered they outnumbered the citizens. I visited the local library and studied maps and read non-fiction books about the Salisbury Prison. I learned that there were people in the town who helped wounded soldiers, traded apple pies for trinkets and buried prisoners when the prison population exploded.
I began to imagine living here. How would I have responded? What would I do if I encountered someone perceived as an enemy but who like myself was thrown into the frenzy of war. The story, our local history would not let me go. I blended it with my life as a teacher. Once I started writing, I could not stop. The first draft took years.
Then I retired and had dreams of doing some serious writing. I attended my first Blue Ridge virtually. The last two have been in person and they were phenomenal. Inspired, I wrote a prequel and sequel to the original manuscript using the skills from Blue Ridge, Word Weavers mentors and the 540 Writer’s Group. I encourage you to do the same.
If you like to read historical fiction, maybe you too have found or will find a story in your own backyard. Perhaps there is a lighthouse, bridge or mill in your community that you could write about. The research will take time and your job will not be easy but the payoff is worth it. I challenge you to find your local history. Listen to local historians, dig around in your library or attend a local theatre play. Find stories at home’s tours, in old schools or in the newspaper. Don’t be afraid of what you find. Let it take hold of your heart and start writing. It may take on a life of its own.
Theresa Parker Pierce lives in Historic Salisbury, North Carolina, where she enjoys spending time with family and friends. She has 35 years of experience teaching reading and history. Theresa has a Master’s degree in education and is National Board-certified. Two-time Rowan Salisbury Teacher of the Year, Theresa enjoys storytelling about her childhood in eastern North Carolina and giving tours in Rowan County.
Her manuscript, Up Dunn’s Mountain won first place for Young Adult Literature at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. She is a member of Word Weavers International and 540.
A historic docent, she shares her volunteer time between the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer and the Rowan Museum in Salisbury. With what started as one is now a closet full of costumes, Theresa dresses in period attire.
A Toastmaster, Theresa speaks to historic groups, senior citizens and of course, her favorite children.
The Conversation
This is sage advice. I’ve written my own novel about Camp Nelson, Kentucky, the third-largest recruitment center for US Colored Troops in the Civil war. It’s only ten minutes from my home, and the history offered me a gripping setting for my romance, the themes of which resonate today as we strive for racial equality and justice. I’m eagerly waiting for publishers to be ready to wade again into these deep waters without fear of reprisal. I’ve also learned the historical markers in my county offer a treasure trove of intriguing history that sparks my novel-writing curiosity and creativity.
I would like to read your completed story. Our country still has a long ways to go on healing our racial divide.
Teresa, thank you for your article. It’s amazing how words from others appear at exactly the right time. (God is good. His timing is perfect!) I currently write in the Speculative Christian Fiction genre, primarily focusing on the supernatural battles occurring when our Lord protects us against the enemy. It’s a strong calling to share salvation and redemption stories that might resonate with someone who needs to read them, perhaps planting the seed for their own salvation or return to the Lord. Still, I have also felt the pull to investigate Historical Fiction and how that might play into my calling. You have given me more to consider at a time when I was questioning my desire to step into that arena. Blessings to you. Keep writing. 🙂 _/\_
Dear Catherine, God’s timing is perfect. Follow your interest in historical fiction. Try reading a few and you may catch the spirit of a book that sweeps you away. Keep me posted what gem you find in your own backyard. Theresa
Dear Catherine, So glad you have an interest in historical fiction. There are so many good examples out there to read for inspiration. Theresa
I LOVE this Theresa! What fun to look for stories in our own backyard! Keep plugging along on those manuscripts, because I’d love to read them in book form one day, my friend!
Thank you for always cheering others on toward victory. I have prayed that if these manuscripts are supposed to be published that God will be given the credit. If they are not published, I benefited from the experience.
Theresa, I’ve enjoyed connecting with you. We have many things in common. Now I learn you also were a Toastmaster! You are the perfect person to write historicals! I enjoyed this excerpt of history. If I wrote about our current ‘backyard ‘I’d write about an area called the Hurricanes. Known for the running of moonshine. I presented a gift to our neighbors at Christmas.. It was photos taken in the snow on their property fifteen years before they built their home. It was of an old deserted cabin. It was in crumbles by the time they came. But we took pics twenty one years ago. The new owner recently had it torn up and hauled away but not before finding evidence of a possible keeper of moonshine.
We just keep finding connections. I started Toastmasters because I was called on to give speeches. They told us everyone gets butterflies. The trick is to get your butterflies to fly in formation.
So good! Great advice 😍 And thst book will be published one day. 😁 keep writing and Hold on!!!
I didn’t find my story in my backyard but in my mother’s basement….in her trunk. 🌹
Starr, That’s incredible. It was a treasure trove of story ideas. Excellent read! Theresa
Dear Star, Your stories are a treasure, literally! Theresa
I realized after reading this that there is one more suggestion. When I speak to students of all ages from preschool to high school, I remind them that there are stories to explore in their lives. I talked to middle schoolers on Friday about North Carolina’s role in World War II. Afterward, they came up to me with stories of their own. I listened and challenged them to interview that living family member and research more. As an educator, I enjoy the papers, reports, and writing of my grandchildren. Who knows? Maybe they will learn from us and become the next generation of writers.