One of my pet projects is encouraging others to write their family stories. It's been a trend for quite some time. A company called Storyworth (https://new.storyworth.com )makes it very easy. They send you one question each week; you answer the question delving back into your memories, send it back to them, and wait for the next week's question. At the end of a year, the company organizes your answers into book form along with photos you might want to provide. The book is a nice qulaity. It comes with the initial purchase of the program. Should you want additional books for family members, you will pay extra. The cost of the original program is $99, and additional books can be purchased, they say, for as low as $39. The 'low as' sends up a red flag for me. How the pricing is done, I'm not sure, but I imagine the number of extra books purchased has a bearing on the cost. I have heard several times of children who might give Storyworth as a gift to their parents., as well as people who do it on their own.
When you receive this kind of gift, you're probably pretty likely to go through the question and answer period each week because you are doing it for the person who gifted you. If you purchase it on your own, I wonder if you would be as apt to go through the entire 52 weeks. I have a feeling that most people do finish the entire series of questions. Each prompt they send is sure to trigger memories.
Storyworth is a good program for those who cannot seem to get started on writing their family stories. I prefer encouraging people to write on their own. Set a goal for yourself. Vow to write one a week, or one a month, and stick to it. It doesn't mean you're limited to one; write as many as you like but at least one.
If you're in a muddle as where to start, google 'prompts for writing family stories'. You'll come up with several sites that give lists of prompts that will help you get started. Reading the prompts will trigger memories.
Family history and family stories are two different things. Both are worth pursuing. Family history concerns dates of births, marriages, deaths,and places, while family stories are more personal and written in story style.
My friend, Annette Gendler has written about the art and joy of writing family stories, and she teaches classes to help others do the same. Google 'Annette Gendler--family stories', and you'll find some very interesting information on this topic. You might consider taking a class to help you get started.
People have asked me how long each story should be. There is no minimum or maximum number of words. One day you might write 200 words about your Great Uncle Henry. Short and sweet, but if you can capture him in 200 words, that's great. Another story about your grandmother's lessons to her grandchildren could be 1000 words. That's fine. You're in charge. You decide.
I'm also asked if you should write the stories in chronological order. That's not necessary. Write whatever comes to mind. Later, you can assemble them in some kind of order. If not chronologically, then perhaps by family units within your larger family.
Write conversationally. By that, I mean to write the story as though you were having coffee with a friend and telling him/her the story.
Details add to your story. Include things like specific clothing, weather, personality traits. You're not giving a report, you're telling a story. The small things bring the story to life.
All of the above is very general information, but perhaps it will get you to thinking about writing your family stories and how you're going to do it. The important thing is to capture your family within the stories and to have fun while you're doing it. Lastly, remember that this is something anyone can do. You do not need to be a professional writer.
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