How do you know when to start writing?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kay Adkins on July 24, 2009 at 3:00pm

You start writing this week when your heart tells you that your grandmother is getting on in years and you want to do something sweet for her to enjoy, something that will be a lovely keepsake for you when she's not here any longer. You start writing today when you realize that time is short and her memory is getting even shorter. You start with what you have, realizing that these kinds of projects are never really "done". There's always another memory to be cherished, another moment in time to memorialize.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Linux, but the beauty of using computers is that you can start to assemble everything in a rough draft and move things around innumerable times until you find the style that best suits you. The hardest part is when you have to take a hachet to your work to keep it simple and flowing. Too many words, too many concepts, can turn your little book into War and Peace. Don't be afraid that it won't be perfect. It won't be. But the love you put into it will make it perfect to her and that's what really matters.

Permalink Reply by Betty Snow on July 24, 2009 at 11:35pm

You write NOW, your research will never be finished and you have a beautiful purpose for writing. Put down on "paper" what you have and it will help to identify what you don't have. Present what you have to your grandmother and you may be amazed at what memories it stirs and how much more she can then tell you - there may be precious snippets which you can then add to your record. Hope the writing goes well.
Betty

Permalink Reply by Trudy Doolittle on July 25, 2009 at 4:09pm

Just remember the best of the non-fiction authors often come out with "Updated Version". We all know things changes.Write it in the software that you know and are comfortable with. Don't let the software be your brick wall. I think the others have done a wonderful job of answering your question.

Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on July 25, 2009 at 4:38pm

Thank you to everyone, I will start writing this week, and see what happens. :) Thank you for the encourragement.

Permalink Reply by Catherine Davis on July 30, 2009 at 6:51pm

If you are making a special book just for your grandmother, as opposed to one you also want to distribute to the whole family, have you considered a scrapbook? It's a nice way to keep the story simple--mostly pictures with a few journaling spots. Some of the scrapbook stores are now selling special family history background paper--family tree space coupled with pre-arranged formats for pictures, for instance--although designing your own formats and choosing papers that complement the pictures or articles is a lot of fun and can really personalize your gift.

Permalink Reply by Nancy House Barron on July 31, 2009 at 7:25am

I am writing a"book" about my immediate family. I started with myself, then my parents, then my grandparents. I am telling what I know about them (and find i wish I had asked more questions when they were alive) and including funny or interesting stories that I know and remember. I don't want it to be just charts and family trees. I have that in my Family Tree Maker already. I just add to it whenever I think of something. I am using Microsoft Office Word 2007, and it can be edited. My goal is to finish it and give a copy to each of my sons. If I am lucky enough to finish this part, I will continue to include the previous generations.

Permalink Reply by William S Dean on July 31, 2009 at 1:34pm

Finding a simple easy-to-follow narrative style is the best beginning of genealogical gift books, I think. Write as conversationally as possible as if you were telling someone the background of your family saga -- it doesn't have to be strictly chronological but should include interesting, fun, and poignant anecdotes when possible. Relate the family events to what else was going on in the country, state, region, or world at the same time for a perspective. I also agree with the poster who said, write it now and keep a record of revisions as you add more later.

Permalink Reply by Rose Marie Morrell on August 3, 2009 at 3:13pm

I just joined this group, so my advice is a little late, but hopefully helpful.
Since I write histories as my profession, I would do as everyone has suggested: DO IT NOW! Write what you've got.

If you haven't ready many biographies or autobiographies, just glance through some and you might get some ideas you like.

Clients come to me because I use a natural, conversational style that is easy to read and clearly creates images in your mind. When I coach people who are writing histories, my number 1 rule is: This is not a high school or college research paper. It will not come back to you with red marks and a low grade on it. It is YOUR (or your grandmother's) story. Write it like a conversation with an old friend--filling in the details you know for the events that are included.

Old Jewish Proverb,

"Give a person a fact and you enlighten their mind; tell them a story and you touch their soul."

Family stories are the best!

Permalink Reply by Shawn Collins on August 9, 2009 at 10:11pm

For e, the best way to "write" was to break out the video camera, and just sit and talk with my grandmother. As she spoke, I asked questions, and prodded her memory, and when the weekend was all said and done, I had four two hour video tapes wth her telling stories about her youth. I was amazed at how reviewing these tapes opened doors for genealogy, and was shocked at how much talking about it, jogged her memory, and unleashed a flood of other memories I had never heard before. I transcribed the videos, and printed them out and shoved it in a genealogy folder, and am working on transferring the videos to dvd.