Doug Peterson Uses Historical Fiction to Bring History to Life (With Video)

It all starts with an idea, as they say.

For Doug Peterson, his big idea came in the form of a small exhibit at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

Peterson came across the exhibit about a slave named Henry "Box" Brown, who, in 1849, sealed himself inside a wooden box and mailed himself to freedom — all the way from Richmond, VA, to Philadelphia. The journey took 27 hours.

"It's possibly the greatest escape story in American history," Peterson said in front of a handful of classes inside Tuesday. He spoke as part of the county-wide reading program One Book One Community.

Peterson became fascinated with Brown's story and the thought of fleshing it out with his own storyline and plot twists. And, what started as an idea later turned into the historical fiction book The Disappearing Man.

That was his first work of historical fiction after a career in newspapers and magazines, writing about science and authoring 42 VeggieTales books.

Now that he's broken into the realm of historical fiction, he plans to stay there for awhile. He already has completed another book, The Puzzle People, which is based off the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"History is filled with so much more than dates and battles and big events," he said. "Because in those dates and battles and big events are real people and real amazing stories."

His writing always has four elements, he said. Those are an inspirational aspect, an exciting adventure, a romantic angle (which got some snickers from the young audience) and a metaphor. The metaphor in The Disappearing Man is in Brown's "death" and "resurrection" — his sealing himself in the box as a slave and his emerging as a free man.

He walked the students through his writing process, which, after the idea, requires an outline. Then comes research. After writing the first draft, Peterson conducts more research, this time in the form of a visit to whatever city he's writing about.

And, once he has the final product, he hopes for success in getting the book published, but has to be prepared for the worst.

Rejection isn't something only writers face, but it's more frequent in that field, he said.

“So you have to keep trying and keep trying to improve yourself. Because rejection is something you’re going to have to handle in all areas of life.”

Adding another bit of advice, Peterson told the students to take pleasure in the unpredictability of life, which often reads just like a book.

“You can plan all you want, but you never know the twists and turns that are coming. I never realized when I went to that museum that day that my life was going to change. But really that’s the joy of living. It’s like your lives are a story and you don’t know the plot turns that are going to happen.”

More about One Book One Community:

Stark County residents read the same book and attend special events throughout the county to discuss the book's issues. Upcoming events that are open to the public include:

• Oct. 12, 7 p.m. — "Slavery, the Underground Railroad and the Civil War." Roundtable discussion in small groups. Malone University's Johnson Center dining room, 2600 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton
• Oct. 16, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. — "Tour of Spring Hill Underground Railroad Station" in Massillon. Includes discussion session. Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for students and seniors (65+). Free for members and children 5 and younger. 1401 Springhill Lane NE, Massillon
• Oct. 20, 6:30 p.m. — "Family Celebration of Freedom" featuring the children's book Henry's Freedom Box. Explore a replica of the box that carried Henry from slavery to freedom and make quilt squares for the "Freedom Quilt." Stark County District Library MicKinley Room, 715 N. Market Ave., Canton
• Oct. 27, 7 p.m. — "Video Dramatization of Key Scenes from The Disappearing Man." Locally written and produced video, followed by discussion of the issues presented in the story. Malone University's Johnson Center (Memorial Chapel), 2600 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton