What’s Your Family Story?

Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month, often called NaNoWrMo? This month is a perfect time to write down those family stories! You may not consider yourself a good writer, and/or you may not want to write an entire novel. That is okay. You can start with yourself and then branch out by writing short stories or small ancestor sketches. This is an easier way to approach writing.

Writing short family stories can be a great way to share your research with your family! Many people find family trees confusing or boring, and family group sheets are not very engaging; however, these resources can come alive with short stories. (Adding photos always helps as well.) For some pointers and suggestions, check out Writing Family History for Nonwriters or How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History.

The November/December 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine (available in the genealogy collection), also has several articles about writing family stories. This includes tips for getting those first words on the page, placing ancestors into a larger context, and creating engaging stories that everyone will want to read. Check it out when you can! If you cannot make it to the library, they also have a great online article: “9 Tips for Getting Started on Writing Your Family History.”

Are you still looking for inspiration and guidance? Earlier this month, Thomas MacEntee debuted his newest webinar, “Creating an Ancestor Sketch,” at the 2024 WikiTree Symposium. His approach makes the writing process much easier by utilizing existing information on Ancestry and MyHeritage and leveraging the power of AI (artificial intelligence). These tools allow you to quickly create a timeline and short biographies. You can then build upon these with the research you have done.

Who knows? With these approaches, you may end up with a whole book (or two!), filled with many short stories about your ancestors! If you decide to publish, check out the Guide to Genealogical Writing: How to Write and Publish Your Family History or Craig Scott’s recent webinar: “Publishing Your Genealogical Material.”

Happy writing!

*Please note, both webinars will eventually expire, so watch them soon if you are interested.

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