Four Questions for the Authors of This Year's Chester County Day Newspaper

Chester County Day is an annual charity house tour that benefits the Chester County Hospital in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. It has been going on for some time - this year will be the 73^rd time the event has been held!

To publicize the event, a newspaper is issued each year about six to eight weeks in advance of the event. Most of the stories in the paper are about homes that will be open on the tour, or about notable persons who lived in the tour area.

This is a panel discussion featuring four writers who produced some of the articles in the Chester County Day newspaper. This series of interviews was conducted via email about three weeks before the 73^rd annual Chester County Day, which will occur on Saturday October 5^th, 2013. The writers are Susannah Brody, Wayne A. Conaway, Jane E. Dorchester, and Catherine Quillman.

1)  Over the years, many different writers have contributed to the Chester County Day newspaper.  Do you consider yourself primarily a non-fiction writer or a fiction writer? Which kind of writing do you prefer to do?

Susannah Brody: I am primarily a non-fiction writer, especially if you are considering the Chester County Day Newspaper.  Often, my contributions have come directly from books that I have written on Chester County history.  But I actually consider myself more of a storyteller who accidentally became a writer.

Way      Wayne A. Conaway:  I've co-authored nine business books, so people think of me as a non-fiction writer. But I've successfully written everything – except poetry, which doesn't particularly interest me. I also ghostwrite blogs, articles and speeches for executives.

Jan        Jane E. Dorchester: I am a non-fiction writer.

Cat        Catherine Quillman: I'm a former Philadelphia Inquirer Arts reporter and so I'm primarily a non-fiction writer - but I prefer to write fiction! I have a MFA in creative writing from Temple.

2) H       2)  How did you come to write for the Chester County Day newspaper?

Quillman: Funny, but I don't remember.  (Editor) Eric Chandlee Wilson may have asked me in the early 90s because he knew I covered arts and history for the Inquirer. 

 Dorchester:  Eric Wilson asked me if I would be interested and I said “yes!”

Con      Conaway: My recollection is that I asked Eric if I could write for the paper. That's also how I got into the field of local history: I went on a nighttime Christmas tour of Church Street in West Chester. I wanted the tour data, but there wasn't a set script – it was mostly in the heads of the tour guides, with just some names and dates written down. So, if I wanted to get the data, I had to volunteer and learn the tour information from an experienced guide. I contacted the person in charge and volunteered. (This was in the early 1990s, before people started publishing walking tours of West Chester.)

Bro      Brody: Many, many years ago (I think when Beverly Sheppard was Director of Public Programs at the Chester County Historical Society) I was working on a resource book about (Coatesville ironworks pioneer) Rebecca Lukens. and was asked to write something on her for the Chester County Day newspaper.

Occa    Occasionally, Eric has seen a story of mine somewhere else and has asked if he could reprint it in the Chester County Day paper.

3)           3)  Has anyone ever objected to or disputed anything you wrote in your Chester County Day articles?  For example, it's not unusual for people to dispute descriptions of architecture styles - there are still arguments whether the West Chester Public Library is Romanesque or Queen Anne with Romanesque features.

Quillman: No, but I am surprised they haven't since I once tried to trace several forges and furnaces in northern Chester County. I think I also described how they worked. I have files of old literature from places like Hopewell Furnance. 

Dorchester: I hate to be boring, but as far as I know, no one has disputed anything I wrote for the Chester County Day paper.

Brody: If anyone has objected, no one has told me.

Conaway: I actually got hate mail about something I wrote in the Chester County Day paper!

Two years ago, I wrote about West Chester native Samuel Barber, a classical composer who is best remembered today for his “Adagio for Strings.” I wrote that, in just a few decades, the position of West Chester's most famous resident has gone from a composer of classical music to skateboarder/daredevil/media personality “Bam” Margera. (And I should say that, while I'm not a fan of Mr. Margera's antics, the only time I met him he was extremely polite.)

After that year's paper came out, I received an anonymous letter excoriating me for even mentioning “Bam” Margera's name in the same article as that of Samuel Barber! Truthfully, I was flattered that someone would go to the trouble of writing out an actual piece of snail mail, finding my address, and mailing it to me!

4) Fi     4)  Finally, do you have any interesting stories about doing your articles for the Chester County Day newspaper?  

Conaway: Most of the owners of the sites on Chester County Day are very pleasant.  But some of them are bosses or executives who are used to giving orders.  One year I interviewed a wealthy boss who tried to take over the interview.  He'd ignore questions, then tell me what to write. He'd even snap, "Don't write that down!"  I have a bad knee, but he led me all over his site, chiding me to keep up.  Since this whole interview took place in 95 degree heat - without air conditioning - it wasn't a pleasant experience.  But the article came out well.

Dorchester: The stories I have written for the Chester County Day paper either have been based on research that I conducted during my work or have been an extension of other writing assignments.  For example, I used to write a series of articles about the history of villages in Chester County for the Daily Local News (DLN).  I simply continued that assignment for the Chester County Day paper and for several years picked one or more villages in the given tour area to write about (I never duplicated any of the DLN articles).  I don’t have any interesting stories about specific articles.

Quillman: I believe I have to really delve back in time to answer that question - not just my own writing chronology but historically. I often wrote my pieces based on research that I gathered for one of my Philadelphia Inquirer pieces. But one time, I had a chance to visit the 18th-century mansion, Reading Furnace Farm in northern Chester County, once owned by the Pew family and restored by the famous architect Brognard Okie (the subject of this year's Chester County Day newspaper). 

Even after years of interviewing people in their homes, I rarely find that my preconceived notion of the owner is correct.  For instance, I was told that the owner of Reading Furnace  was a cosmopolitan "Ted Turner" type who owned several  radio and t.v. stations.  This was long  before the era of the big screen tv.   Still, I expected to see at least a "media" room or something else disconcerting such as a glowing red numbered digital clock sitting on a period dresser.  It turned out that none of that was true. The owner was a historian who filled the house with early furniture and even kept the 1920 look of many of the "Okie" rooms. 

The owner was first "historian"  I met who could claim the title without being a writer. Instead, he hired late Estelle Cremers, to research and publish a book on the mansion. She also helped to place not only the mansion but a tract of land straddling the French Creek (on the  boundary of East Nantmeal and Warwick Townships) on the National Register. It's now known as the Reading Furnace Historic District and includes, thanks to the owner I met, several restored and recreated 18th-century outbuildings. 

One more thing about the owner : he was not one to boast that "George Washington Slept Here."  That was partly because the Reading Furnace Farm may be the only house along the path of Washington's travels to have solid proof.  Washington wrote letters to General Anthony Wayne and to the Continental Congress, adding both the place, Reading Furnace, the date and the even time of his correspondence after the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777.  

And that concludes our panel discussion. Thank you all for participating!

The participants:

Susannah Brody is a retired learning support teacher, as well as a storyteller and author. She earned a Masters of Arts in Oral Traditions from The Graduate Institute in Connecticut. She has researched, written and shared stories about local history in southeastern Pennsylvania and has developed living history portrayals of some important nineteenth century women.

Wayne A. “Tony” Conaway has written hundreds of articles for a variety of publications. He is the co-author of nine business books from such major publishers as McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice Hall.  He also ghostwrites blogs and speeches for executives. He can be contacted at tonyconaway@yahoo.com

Jane E. Dorchester is an Architectural Historian and Historic Preservation Consultant who has been working in the preservation field and has been writing about history and the preservation thereof for nearly 30 years.

Catherine Quillman is a former Arts journalist with the Philadephia Inquirer and  has written extensively about Chester County's history and its artistic hertitage. 

She is the author of several regional books including 100 Artists of The Brandwine Valley (Schiffer) and three walking tours of West Chester detailing the lives of 19th century black entrepreneurs and former slaves. More information about her books can be found at www.Quillman-publications.com. 

So What Have You Published Lately?

As I mentioned in my last post, last month I had an unprecedented number of stories and articles published.

I had three works of fiction published.

And I had three articles published on local history.

But that was then, this is now.  Today is September 3rd, and there's nothing on the horizon for this month.  I have a story in an anthology that might be out next month.  And that's it.

So today, I sat down at my computer and sent out ten new submissions.  (Not ten new stories, mind.  I sent out four stories to a total of ten markets.  That's called simultaneous submissions in the writing business.)

But getting those ten submissions out took me all day!  I worked on this from 1 pm to 9:30 pm, and got nothing else accomplished.  I did no new writing today!

Oh, I revised some of those stories.  One had been rejected several times, and I'd already decided it needed a different opening line.  One flash fiction market only accepted stories of up to 900 words, so I had to cut 25 words out of the story I wanted to send them.

But that's rewriting, not writing original material.

Why did it take so long, even using a good tool like Duotrope.com ?

Well, in addition to the rewriting, I try not to send stories out that are inappropriate for the market.  So I had to actually read some of these publications online.  It also takes time to read the submission guidelines.  And any interviews with the editors, in which they express their preferences and peeves.

So it takes me about 45 minutes per submission.  Ten submissions = 450 minutes.

Add 60 minutes for coffee, dinner, interrupting phone calls and bathroom breaks, and that comes to 510 minutes.  Or 8-and-1/2 hours.

Yes, I had a productive day.  I did necessary work.  But it doesn't feel satisfying.

A Record Month for Publishing My Work

I haven't earned much money this month, but August has been a good month for getting my work published.

In an earlier post, I mentioned how a flash fiction story I wrote called "Potemkin" went up on THE RUSTY NAIL website on July 29th. But I'll include it here because I didn't get a hard copy of THE RUSTY NAIL until mid-August.  This story always gets laughs when I read it at bookstore and library events.

The first story of mine to actually go online in August was a mystery called "Murder and the Muse" in DANSE MACABRE.  Writing this story proved to be a challenge, since it's entirely in the second person.  (Using "you" instead of "I" or "he/she," like the Jay McInerney novel Bright Lights, Big City.)  Even more challenging, I never revealed the gender of the narrator!

Next, a comedic flash fiction piece went up at a site called LINGUISTIC EROSION.  It was called "Bustles Went Out of Fashion by 1905."  For some reason the editor/founder of LINGUISTIC EROSION puts his name up beneath each story title, giving the impression that every piece is " by E.S. Wynn."  (I suppose he justifies it by putting the pencil icon before his name - so, if you read it like a child's rebus, it becomes "EDITED by E.S. Wynn."  But I know some friends who went to the site, and assumed that my story was missing because everything seemed to have been written by E.S. Wynn.) 


It was also a good month for non-fiction writing.

Our local medical center, the Chester County Hospital, has had an annual charity event for 73 years.  It's called Chester County Day.  On that day, people who buy a ticket can visit selected homes throughout a designated quadrant of Chester County.  It's an exciting event, since it's the only opportunity most folks have to see the inside of historic houses that are not usually open to visitors.  There are more houses open to visit than anyone is likely to get to each year, so you can pass by the ones where the lines are too long.  (I've waited outside for over an hour, waiting to enter a particularly popular site!)

This annual event is promoted through an annual newspaper, also called CHESTER COUNTY DAY.  Although it doesn't pay its writers (it is for charity, after all), I've enjoyed writing for it.  I get to go to some interesting sites and interview the owners long before the actual tour.  No hour long waits!

Each year, I've written one or two stories for this publication.  This has been going on for over a decade.  This year I interviewed the owners of a house on the site of a former iron forge in the northwest part of the county.  It's a fascinating site, and I enjoyed doing the interview.  I also took some photos of the site and, for the first time, posted them on Pinterest.

I had two surprises when I first saw this year's newspaper.

1)  I had not one, not two, but THREE articles in this paper.  My new story about the iron forge house was there, as well as two old ones.  Three stories in one issue of this paper is a record for me!

2)  There was no mention of the photos I took, nor was there the link to the Pinterest site!

Now, the CHESTER COUNTY DAY newspaper is a volunteer effort, and the results are unpredictable.  One year the layout made a mess of my article.  Sidebars might or might not appear.  So dropping my Pinterest note was not a big surprise.  But it was still a disappointment. 



And finally, a blog post I was paid to write for a Spa website went up.  It's called "The Perfect Entrepreneur," and it's not half bad.

All of these sites could use some more hits.  So please, if you're so inclined, go to any or all of them and post a comment.  I'd appreciate it.

Tips on Working a Room

While discussing how to have a successful convention with some other writers, I suggested these basic tips for "working a room."  Most of the other writers had never heard these.  So here they are:

1) At most of these events, you will be given a name tag.  Which side do you stick it on? Answer: your right.  When you hold out your hand to shake hands with someone, that person has to look at your hand.  By putting your name tag on your right side, you allow their eyes to travel easily upward from your hand to your name tag.  It's a subtle effect, but a real one.

2) If you are holding a drink, keep it in your LEFT hand. (I'm assuming you're not a Muslim or in a part of the world where the left hand is considered unclean.)  Shaking hands with someone who has a cold, clammy, damp grip is unpleasant - and it really doesn't matter if your hand is wet because you're nervous, or because you just had a cold beer in that hand.

3) Finally, to insure you don't get stuck talking to just one person in a room full of people you should meet, try this old politician's trick: have the bartender fill your glass just one-quarter full.  Then, if you get buttonholed by a bore, you always have an excuse to leave.  Just down the liquid in your almost-empty glass, then say, "excuse me - I need to go refill my drink!"

Have a successful convention experience.  And remember - you're not there just to have fun.  There's a reason it's called WORKING a room - unless you're a natural-born gladhander, it really is work.

Ready to Play Some Hnefatafl? It's Hneat-O!

Some years ago, I co-wrote a quiz which ran in every issue of an airline in-flight magazine.  Not only did the quiz have to be interesting, but (in theory) each of the ten questions had to relate to one of the destinations the airline flew to.  Plus a bonus question!

This was back before the internet came into its own.  In fact, it was so long ago that the magazine actually employed a fact checking department.

Yes, children, once upon a time there were learned men and women who made sure you didn't fabricate your articles.  They checked every fact, every single time!  Life was more difficult back then.

The editor also had to approve the topic for each quiz.  One of the quizzes was to be on games.

Matching the countries to which the airline flew with unusual games proved to be difficult.  I was dredging up games little-known in the USA, such as senet (Egyptian) and tablero de Jesus (Andalusia, Spain).

Tonight on the PRI radio show The World I heard of another game, called hnefatafl.  The name apparently translates as King's Table.  Supposedly, it dates back to the Vikings, although the hnefatafl world championships are now played in Scotland.

It's a board game, of interest because it's a two-player asymmetric game.  One side starts out surrounded  and outnumbered two-to-one.  That side's goal is for it's King to escape the encircling horde.  The encircling side wants to capture the King.  Interestingly, it takes two soldiers to kill a single opposing soldier, which is a rarity in board games.

It sounds interesting.  And it sounds like a perfect game for zombie fans.  Can you escape the ravening horde of encircling zombies?  Practice your moves with a round of hnefatafl!

Good Writing, Bad Week

Last week wasn't fun.  My mother was in the hospital, and my car needed a new starter motor.

But at least it was good for my writing.  I had two short stories accepted for MAIN LINE VOICES, an anthology set in the Philadelphia area.  And a story of mine, "Bustles Went Out of Fashion in 1905," was accepted by LINGUISTIC EROSION.

Finally, my flash fiction story called "Potemkin" just went online today on THE RUSTY NAIL site. I've read that story to audiences at several bookstore and library events, and it's always gotten laughs in the right places.  So I'm glad to finally get it published.

But I'm not sure the victories balance out the defeats.  Or maybe that's just my anhedonia talking.

Dead Flight

I knew about what is called "white flight."  And "black flight."

But "dead flight" was a new one on me.

Today in The New York Times, on the op-ed page, there is a piece by former New York Times correspondent Charlie LeDuff.  The piece, Come See Detroit, America's Future, is about Detroit's dire financial straits, and how other American cities may face the same problems.

In the article, he notes that Detroit suffers not only from white flight and black flight, but dead flight as well. He defines dead flight as when "people routinely disinter their deceased and relocate them in the suburbs."

Amazing.  Of course, I'm not the kind of dutiful son who visits the graves of his ancestors.  I do enjoy visiting a graveyard occasionally, but - as long as it's pretty - I feel that one graveyard is as good as another for a visit.  So I never would have imagined that Americans would do this.  (At least, I didn't imagine that non-Chinese Americans would do this.  I know that people whose traditions include what we blithely call "ancestor worship" will move the graves of the departed.)

But it's an interesting phenomenon, and I'd like to write a nonfiction article about it.

And, though I'm generally not interested in writing vampire or zombie fiction...if someone's willing to PAY me for it, I'll happily write a story titled Dead Flight.