Preserving Memories: How to Write a Family History 

THE WRITING PROCESS

You’ve planned the project, chosen the format and distribution, overcome the paralysis of getting started, and now you’re ready to write! But where do you begin?

The Story

Remember, even when you’re writing history, you’re telling a story. When you do genealogical research, you end up with records showing birth, marriage, and death dates; information about where your ancestors came from and where they went; and other strictly factual details. But when you write your family history, you need to include all the details, thoughts, and emotions that can’t be found in historical records — how your mother and father met and fell in love, how it felt to move from your hometown halfway across the country to take that exciting new job ...

You may also want to share your family’s beliefs and values. You’re telling a story — not teaching or preaching; however if spiritual, social, or political beliefs and activities have been important in the story of your family’s life, then you should definitely include them.

Your history doesn’t necessarily have to be in chronological order, but its presentation does have to make sense to the reader. Begin with something that captures the reader’s attention immediately. In my mother-in-law’s case, she began with her birth , something that ordinarily would be pretty dry, but there was a twist — she was born on the grounds of an Insane Asylum (that’s what it was actually called back then)! Now that captures attention; you immediately want to read more. Most people’s birth doesn’t offer such a captivating hook. So you may want to start the story at a dramatic moment in your personal or your family’s history, then move forward or backward in time in future chapters.

The Genealogy

You can include important facts — the birth, marriage, and dates that are so important to genealogists — but the focus of your story should be the story. You can weave the facts into the way you tell it: “I made a mad dash to catch the plane and barely made it back from that trip in time for the birth of our second daughter, Eloise, on March 2, 1982.”

If you think the dates interfere with the flow of your story but want those facts available, you can include a family tree and other genealogical information at the back of the book or in an appendix.

When writing, include only the specific details that are important to you and the tale you’re telling. Keep in mind, however, that genealogy is a popular activity and its popularity is likely to continue or even grow. Future generations may want to know not only how you and your spouse met , but also the specifics of when and where you were married. You’ll need to balance the factual and narrative aspects of your history to reach the audience you’ve chosen.

The Pictures

Not only do we enjoy stories, but we also appreciate pictures. Photographs of those we love bring back cherished memories in ways that words alone can’t. Photos of our ancestors bring us closer to them, and pictures of you and your family will help future generations feel they know you even better.

The number and placement of pictures you use will once again depend on the format you choose.

If you prepare your manuscript in your word processor — either for a loose-leaf binder or a spiral-bound book — you can scan as many pictures as you like (or have them digitized by a photo or print shop) and place them appropriately in the text. For example, you can place your wedding photo next to the description of your wedding and a picture of your son’s graduation alongside the paragraph where you talk about not being able to see him walk across the stage because your eyes were so filled with tears.

However, if you print your book as a paperback or hardcover, you'll probably find it most economical to group the photos in the middle of the book. Discuss this with your printer, designer, or subsidy publisher.

And choose your pictures wisely. Remember this is a history — his (or her) story! Pictures should add flavor to the story by showing the people you describe, usually at key moments in their lives. But don’t overwhelm the story with the flavoring. The reader should be able to see the “picture” your words describe in their minds without having to flip back and forth between text and photos.

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