eBook downloads, eBook resources & eBook authors
Provides advice on how to research and document one's family history, including preserving oral histories, learning about female ancestors, and navigating genealogical resources, and suggests various ways of presenting one's discoveries.
A Recipe for Writing Family History takes the fuss out of writing stories of your ancestors - the ones you've met and those you have not. This writing recipe will flood your mind with family stories and give you the confidence to put their lives in a readable form. You will move past writer's block and fill pages with facts and details you never thought possible. A Recipe for Writing Family History is the best way to start writing today. Your ancestors will be "Gone, But Not Forgotten."
“Inspirational and very useful . . . quite literally packed with valuable tips and exercises and is almost a mini-course in writing your family history.”—Bedfordshire Family History Society Gill Blanchard’s practical step-by-step guide to writing a family history is designed for anyone who wants to bring their ancestors’ stories to life. She looks at ways of overcoming the particular problems family historians face when writing a family history—how to deal with gaps in knowledge, how to describe generations of people who did the same jobs or lived in the same area, how to cover the numerous births, marriages and deaths that occur, and when to stop researching and start writing. Her book provides examples to help readers find their own writing style, deal with family stories, missing pieces of information and anomalies. It also offers advice on key aspects of composition, such as adding local and social history context and using secondary material. The focus throughout is on how to develop a story from beginning to end. Exercises are a key feature of the text. There is guidance on the various formats a family history can take and how to choose the appropriate one, with examples of format and layout. Production and publishing are also covered—books, booklets, newsletters, websites, blogs and ebooks. “If you’re toying with the idea of writing a family history-themed book, whether it be for general publication or simply for family members, read this first and then take the plunge. Who knows, it could be a bestseller!”—Family Tree Magazine
This Family History Record Book is an easy-to-use, usefully organised way to record the details of your ancestors as you progress your genealogy research. It provides generous, clear space for recording eight generations of your family - a whopping 255 individuals in total. Available in both paperback or hardback, this is the ideal way to store your family tree for the future. The book contains: a handy set of summary charts for all 8 generations lots of space to record up to 16 pieces of information about all ancestors going back to the 5x-great-grandparents, including dates and sources used a cousin calculator chart for working out family relationships a unique timeline showing the span of more than 100 types of records (for researchers of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish family history)
Do you have a box of mementos you'd love to turn into a book? Discover where to start and how to choose a format to bring your ancestry to life. Have you inherited the responsibility of preserving your family history? Do you wish you could transform your old photos and artifacts into entertaining tales? Want to record all those great remember-when's but worry your writing will bore your relatives to tears? Author and writing instructor Annette Gendler has helped countless eager writers over her many years of teaching at StoryStudio Chicago. Now she'll show you how you can turn your treasured family saga into a captivating narrative you'll be proud to share. How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History is a concise guide for converting your heirlooms and oral anecdotes into engaging prose. Following Annette Gendler's step-by-step instructions, you'll learn how to decide which memories are best suited to chronicle your loved ones' unique journeys through life, and what makes them an absorbing read. Supported with personal examples and writing prompts at the end of each chapter, you'll quickly be giving voice to your ancestors' adventures. You'll discover: - How to prioritize all those photos, letters, diaries, and official documents- Sample passages and an extensive reading list to inspire your creativity - Ways to craft stories that won't put your readers to sleep - Tips for dealing with negativity, missing materials, or too much information - Methods for conducting research to ensure accuracy, and much, much more! How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History is a must-have resource for anyone interested in preserving their lineage. If you like actionable advice, no-frills-added instructions, and guidance from a memoir specialist, then you'll love Annette Gendler's easy approach.
Using examples from NEHGS's publications, this writing guide outlines how to write your family history clearly and accurately -- from building a genealogical sketch to adding images to indexing. An appendix on genealogical style covers alternate spellings of names, when and how to use lineage lines, how to include adopted children and stepchildren, aspects of double dating, and other issues faced by genealogical writers.
Writing a family history does not have to be an overwhelming task. This book outlines a simple process that will aid your research and create pages of information that can be read and understood by all family members. Your research will become faster and more accurate and your family can enjoy the family history. Remember, our writing should go beyond finding documents and filling in charts. Hopefully, the methods discussed in this book will show the reader a simple format that will make this task much easier. You may be reluctant to write down these stories because you do not consider yourself a writer. Our ancestors were ordinary people. Why should we write about them? All of our immigrant ancestors contributed to America’s history and their stories should be saved for our grandchildren. Our family histories should give clues of their roles and this will help us understand our roots.
The author shows readers how to create a detailed family history by conducting research, organizing materials, "plotting" a story, and collecting illustrations.
