\[ **BT: [[history]] | [[writing]]** ] --- # writing history > [[‘If one thinks of the final product of the historian's labours as mosaic made up of dozens of separate bits of information …’|‘If one thinks of the final product of the historian’s labours as a mosaic made up of dozens of separate bits of information bound together by a narrative (or a genealogical chart), it becomes clear that in order to compose the picture, it must be possible to move the pieces about in order to fit them into meaningful patterns. It is best to visualize this process as a physical one wherein individual note-cards are shifted from one stack to another until the proper fit is obtained.’]][^1] ## note-taking and writing history [[‘However, the thing about facts is there are just A LOT of them. Before you write your narrative, you are drowning in facts. The writing of history is the thing that allows you to bring some order and selectivity to them, but you must drown first …’']][^2] [[The mechanical process of a good note-taking methodology can help the researcher avoid careless errors.]][^3] [[The researcher is only as good as their card-file.]][^4] Which is to say… the research is only as good as their notes. - see also: [[Goutor’s card-file system of note-taking]] --- ## ↬ external resources - [Doing History with Zotero and Obsidian](https://publish.obsidian.md/history-notes/01+Notetaking+for+Historians) [^1]: Jacques Goutor, *[[Goutor, The Card-File System of Note-Taking, 1980|The Card-File System of Note-Taking]]* (Ontario Historical Society, 1980), pp. 6–7. Internet Archive, [http://archive.org/details/cardfilesystemof0000gout](http://archive.org/details/cardfilesystemof0000gout). [^2]: ethanzanemiller \[pseud.], “Taking notes for historical writing,” Reddit Post, r/Zettelkasten, 28 November 2023, [https://www.reddit.com/r/Zettelkasten/comments/185xmuh/taking_notes_for_historical_writing/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Zettelkasten/comments/185xmuh/taking_notes_for_historical_writing/). [^3]: Jacques Goutor, *[[Goutor, The Card-File System of Note-Taking, 1980|The Card-File System of Note-Taking]]* (Ontario Historical Society, 1980), p. 12. Internet Archive, [http://archive.org/details/cardfilesystemof0000gout](http://archive.org/details/cardfilesystemof0000gout). [^4]: Jacques Goutor, *[[Goutor, The Card-File System of Note-Taking, 1980|The Card-File System of Note-Taking]]* (Ontario Historical Society, 1980), p. 36. Internet Archive, [http://archive.org/details/cardfilesystemof0000gout](http://archive.org/details/cardfilesystemof0000gout).