Ever find yourself writing something that isn't working out very well? I'm pretty sure no one answered No, not ever!
The story idea may be fine, but viewing it through one character's eyes doesn't feel right to you. Go back to square one and choose a different character and write the story from their viewpoint. I've seen exercises that ask you to do something like rewriting Little Red Riding Hood using the wolf as your viewpoint character. It's going to be quite a different story, isn't it? Yes, the 'this happened, then this happened' part will be much the same, but the perspective will be completely different.
It works the same when writing a family story. Most writers will write the story from their own view. Try writing it from your grandmother's perspective, or a hired hand on the farm, or the teacher who infuriated your uncle. One point about writing family stories is that we write them from what we know or witnessed. Consider interviewing someone else who figures in the story and get their side, then try writing the story again.
You and I can go to a movie together and leave the theater with completely different thoughts. Each of us is watching the story on the screen from a different perspective which involves our life experiences, our prejudices, our attitude and more.
If I write an article on the use of make-up for young girls, my perspective will be a whole lot different than if a sixteen-year-old girl writes the article.
If you're writing a war story, which side you're looking from makes a whale of a difference. In our own present-day political world, perspective plays a huge part in the opinions formed, the op-ed pieces written and read.
How we look at things makes a difference. How we write a story can also make a big difference. Writing the same story again using the viewpoint of two, or even three, different characters can be pretty enlightening. It also takes more time, but if your aim is to write the best story possible, wouldn't it be worthwhile to give it a try?
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