| Compiling and writing your family history book | | | | sort of information can prove interesting on its |
| may take a lot of work, but it is a very | | | | own and will help set the context and background |
| rewarding experience and a great gift for future | | | | of your family story. |
| generations. Here are some ways you can get | | | | Writing it Out: |
| started. Compiling and writing your family history | | | | Keep in mind that you don't have to start at the |
| book may take a lot of work, but it is a very | | | | beginning and end at the end. Some of the best |
| rewarding experience, and a great gift for future | | | | narratives start in the middle and work outward |
| generations. Here are some ways you can get | | | | and inward from there. The key is to not fear |
| started. | | | | the writing part. Start with an outline, and fill your |
| Gather Your Material: | | | | story out from there. Don't judge your first |
| The first thing you will want to do is to sit down | | | | efforts too harshly. Just write from the heart, get |
| and interview the longest-tenured (oldest) | | | | words on the page, and edit and organize from |
| members of your family while you still can. Start | | | | there. |
| with a few basic questions about their early life | | | | Since you can't know what was in your ancestors' |
| and where they grew up, and ask them to | | | | minds when they did certain things, you will have |
| remember everything they can about the | | | | to fill in the blanks as best you can with historical |
| generations that came before them. The key to | | | | information and the like. Perhaps old Uncle Zeke |
| these kinds of interviews are to record them. As | | | | left his stable banker's life and headed out west |
| people talk, more and more tangential material will | | | | because of the great incentives offered by the |
| come up, and this sort of thing can turn out to be | | | | government at the time, or simply to join the |
| golden when you are conducting other types of | | | | gold rush. Historical information will be invaluable |
| research, or simply on its own. If your generation | | | | for putting pieces like this together. |
| is the oldest remaining, contact your siblings and | | | | You will, of course, want to use a lot of |
| cousins to see if they have any information that | | | | photographs. These can also be very helpful when |
| you may have forgotten, old photo albums, family | | | | you are doing your interviews, as they will help |
| records, diaries or journals, and anything else that | | | | your jog subjects' memories. |
| may be of use to you. The more material you | | | | Whatever you do, please make sure that you |
| can get, the better, more accurate story you will | | | | save your document often and back it up onto an |
| be able to construct, so don't be shy about asking | | | | external drive or uploading service on a regular |
| them to dig around in their attics, or see if they | | | | basis. There is nothing more disheartening than |
| will let you do some digging yourself, if they don't | | | | losing you work. |
| seem too enthused about the project. | | | | Binding: |
| Visit the towns your ancestors lived in and search | | | | You should consider purchasing your own thermal |
| local records for their names, and any news | | | | (hardcover) binding machine for this project. They |
| stories that may have involved them. You can | | | | are very easy to use, and inexpensive. You will |
| also use materials from the period they lived | | | | save money over a printing service, and can |
| there to paint a picture of what daily life was like | | | | create your books on an on-demand basis. |
| for them in the region in which they lived. This | | | | |