How To Format Your Family Stories

 

Today, let's take a look on how you are going to format your Family Stories. You could write them and toss in a drawer, or several drawers. That isn't a very organized way, however. But, before we get to this part, let's look at how you are going to do the writing and the format you will use.

As said previously, there is no all right or all wrong way to do this project. There are certainly better ways to use which, in the end, will be to your benefit. 

First, you should decide how you will write. Will you use a notebook and write in longhand? There are people who prefer to write in this manner. Do give consideration to your handwriting if you choose this method. Is it legible to others? Or will they have to play a guessing game as to what some of the words are? Also, writing large amounts in longhand can be hard on the hand. 

Another way is to use an old-fashioned typewriter. Typewriter? Yes, there are still quite a few of them lurking in closets in many homes.  If you know how to type and that's the machine available to you, go for it. If you're a hunt and peck typist, it will take longer, but if you're ok with it, so be it.

Yet one more way is to type on a computer keyboard. Again, if you're a hunt and peck typist, it will not be as fast as you might like. If you are familiar with using a keyboard, this may be your best choice. Some computers have the feature of being able to dictate rather than type. If you have that ability on your computer, you might give it a try. 

Choose what is available to you and what is the easiest for you to use. 

If you type your stories and use single spacing, put an extra space between paragrpahs. Do not indent. If you use double space, indent 3-5 spaces and no extra space between paragraphs. The indenting takes care of letting readers know you started a new paragraph. 

Number the pages as you go so you can put the stories together with 2 pages, 4 or 5. Whatever it may be. Each new story should have its own numbering. Story A has 3 pages. Story B has 5 pages. Story C has only 1 page. Don't run them together. 

If you're writing in longhand, indent each paragraph to keep a separation. Number the pages as suggested above.

Consider putting a date at the top right hand corner of each story. It probably isn't important to you now, but it may be to a great-grandchild many years down the road. 

Choose a title for each story. Titles are helpful, but they are not always easy to select. Make the title something that will pique interest. Something like 'The Day Aunt Sue Chased Me' Readers would probably like to find out why your Aunt Sue chased you. Had you been naughty? Or was she trying to find you in a game? Or was she running after you with a home-baked treat? We won't know unless we read the story. You can also use something as simple as 'Fifth Grade.' or 'My Grandfather Peterson.' 

Now, let's go back to that first suggestion. Find a place to keep your stories. I would advise against tossing them in drawer or on a closet shelf. Keep them all in one place. My favorite way is to purchase a large 3-ring binder. Keep your stories in this notebook, and you'll never have to search the house to find them. They'll all be together in one easy place to find. You can buy dividers and separate the kinds of stories in sections. Not necessary, but if you're a very organized person, this might work well for you. If you use a binder like this, buy yourself a three ring hole punch. You'll be glad you did.