We're sailing very close to the holiday season, beginning with Thanksgiving next week. Holidays bring families together, and this year may be one of the best since we were not able to gather with our loved ones last year due to the pandemic. Each smile and hug and special family food will seem a little more special this year for many.
When families spend time together, family stories are bound to be one topic of conversation. You can glean a great deal of information, especially from the older family members at the table. They can be of great help when writing family stories. You can initiate the family stories conversation by asking questions. Or bring an old photo album and ask who remembers the people and places and the time in the photos within. Ask what it was like to live through the years of WWII, Korean War, or Vietnam. Not necessarily the war service, although that is worth delving into, too. You want to learn what life here in the USA was like during those periods of war. What working life was like and more.
Listen and learn from other family members. Make some notes soon after being together, then start writing before too much time elapses. Do it while things are fresh in your mind.
Family stories do not have to be written one right after the other. Write one and another one later. Include a sense of place and the time period when the story occurred. Give a bit of description of the people involved and what they meant to you. Maybe one made you feel loved and safe while you were a bit afraid of another one.
You need not write family stories in chronological order. Write as you remember them, or are told by a family member. You can organize them in your book later as to the period the story happened. There is no all right or all wrong when working on a family stories project.
Even if you're not a professional writer, you can write your family stories. But just like writers who write for publication, you should write the story, then let it sit a few days. After that, edit the story. You'll see places where you might want to add something or leave something out that might be hurtful to another family member.
Write your story as though you were sitting across the table with a friend, having a cup of coffee, and telling a story. Make it conversational.
Write those family stories for yourself, your children, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and grandchildren. Every family needs someone to write those stories. You can be the one to do it.
Family history and family stories are two different things. Even so, they go hand in hand, and they can both be a part of your book. One good place to find family history is in the front of a family bible where births and deaths are often recorded.
I keep mentioning 'book.' My suggestion is to purchase a large 3 ring binder notebook. You can add your stories one at a time.
As you gather with family members for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's, listen and learn. Then start writing.
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