August 03rd, 2024

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

​I realize that most of my blogs are focused on researching and fleshing out information to help you write your family story. However, we all need inspiration in helping us do the actual writing. Let’s look at some writing tools and great sites/blogs that can help.

​There are more resources and tools than I can include in one article but I thought I’d share what other writers have written as well as links to applications and tools that can be helpful.
 
What the heck is subtext? | The Family History Writing Studio  The Family History Writing Studio is an excellent resource. You can invest in your writing skills with their webinars and information that is focused specifically on writing your family history. The link provided is to a video that talks about using subtext in your stories. It’s an excellent example of how to make your writing more interesting. Take some time to look at the programs that are offered. They might be the inspiration you need.
 
Using ChatGPT for Genealogy — Accurately | Amy Johnson Crow  Amy Johnson Crow has a great site and blog and I found this article about using ChatGPT informative. There are pros and cons. It sounds a bit like garbage in/garbage out. However, if you are having trouble starting to write about a person, you could include the facts that you wanted and see what it would write for you. Remember to proof-read and consider this your first draft to get you started. Be sure to read the comments. People have used ChatGPT to transcribe wills or create charts. The key to all of this appears to be extremely specific about what you want it to do.
 
https://Ancestry.com   If you have your information in an Ancestry.com online tree. The Life Story of an individual will provide a written summary of a person’s life. Again, it is just a start but if the thought of a blank piece of paper freaks you out, you could start with those facts. Another option is using the reports from FamilyTree Maker. If you choose a person on your tree, then publish and then Other “Smart Stories.” You can have the system populate the facts and from there you can freestyle author their story. You can choose to include the basics or information from your notes, timelines, and sources. You can print, save, or copy this. I chose to copy it and paste it into a word document. I can see how this would be helpful to gather some of those facts and figures to help you format your timeline for your story. It works great to focus on an individual rather than a larger ancestor or descendent report.
 
9 Writing Prompts for Your Family History Stories - The Creative Family Historian  This covers the basics to help you get started and identify what you want to write about. There are additional articles and courses to purchases. I have not taken one of her courses but her site looks interesting with promising ideas to check out.
 
If you are writing your history in a more formal way, meeting genealogical standards for footnotes and sources, Guide to Genealogical Writing | American Ancestors is available for purchase as an eBook. American Ancestors mission is to “to advance the study of family history in America and beyond, we educate, inspire, and connect people through our scholarship, collections, and expertise.”
 
There are many other resources and books regarding writing in general or writing your family history. Doing a quick search online or on Amazon will bring you many options. There are other writing applications such as Scrivener, Best Note Taking App - Organize Your Notes with Evernote, and others. I find using Microsoft Word works well as it has many tools to help you organize.  And perhaps you are a pen and paper person. That is ok. You can write your story and hire someone to type it up or just make copies for your grands.
 
Whatever way you choose to write your family story is ok. The most important thing is to write it! Happy Writing!