WHEN I AM not at my desk working in the Office of Communications in Flint Hall thinking up newspaper columns, a large chunk of my life since last June has been spent studying. I am a graduate student in the Master of Military History (MMH) program at Norwich. I could write several columns about my experiences and my thoughts related to being a graduate student in general and one that juggles a full-time job and family life. Suffice to say it has been a life lesson in time management skills.

I am fortunate enough have been able to attend some of the MMH presentations during the residency on campus this past week. Additionally, as part of the residency, The Todd Lecture Series presented Pulitzer Prize winning author Rick Atkinson who writes about military history with a descriptive, narrative style.

At this point in my career as a budding military historian, I admit that I have not had a chance to read any of his books. However, any writer accompanied by the list of accolades he has would peak my interest, let alone one who writes about a subject that fascinates me.

Mr. Atkinson’s talk to the packed Dole Auditorium audience was peppered with thoughts on history and on writing. All great writers are avid readers and the variety of authors he quoted during his talk proved the point.

One of Mr. Atkinson’s crucial points was that history writing does not by nature have to be unexciting. Inserting description narrative writing into the story keeps the scene alive for the reader. He described it, quoting Samuel Eliot Morison, as the literary aspect of the craft of writing.

While he has been a prolific writer, the magnum opus of his career is a trilogy on the liberation of Europe during the Second World War. Two volumes have been published and he has recently finished the research portion of the third. He mentioned that he currently has 6000 pages of notes from “trolling the archives” for 2 ? years. He has started outlining his notes and he estimated it would take him the better part of the year. The actual writing of the book will take 12-18 months following that.

The topics in the question and answer period covered various topics. He offered advice on writing and talked in fascinating detail about the process involved and his desire to tell the unique story of the West Point class of 1966, which he accomplished in his book, The Long Grey Line. Mr. Atkinson also talked about his experiences as an embedded reporter in Iraq in 2003 which he wrote about in a book called In the Company of Soldiers. He spoke eloquently and humorously about his personal relationship with General David Petraeus and offered his opinion about the recent dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal by President Obama.

What struck me most about the talk were the reminders about the process involved in historical writing. Admitting he is an “archive rat”, Mr. Atkinson’s anecdotes about his own writing, process and search for a voice reminded me that all good history and all good writing is hard, detailed and unglamorous work. As paraphrased from Mr. Atkinson in regards to his methods, he noted that was always “looking for a way to tell the story of a titanic collision through human voices and experiences on all levels.”

In the end, while writers hope for an audience, the real motivation is to write and research for the sheer satisfaction and joy of it. During lunch with one of my professors this week we had a discussion with a former MMH student about possibilities after completing the program. My professor said, “If you are doing it to live you are doing it wrong and you won’t be happy. But if you are living to do it, you’ll find a way and you will be happy.” This advice is great advice on any question of career or life decision, as well as on the topic of writing and research.

While I can only speak for myself, I’d be surprised if I was not the only one in the audience who came away from Mr. Atkinson’s talk inspired to continue with the hard work ahead.