Strategies to get you started

These notes from Noeline Kyle’s book Writing Family History Made Very Easy, Allen & Unwin, 2007.

·         Anyone can write and learn to write well

·         Writing is learned, it will improve with practice

·         Make time to write, excuses are just that, excuses!

·         Join a writing group, sharing your writing and listening to others is an excellent way of improving your own writing

·         Be disciplined, be determined, don’t give up

·         Keep researching but start writing now

·         Forget about doing it all, history is not everything that happened in the past

·         Write about your research journey, you are part of the  family story too

·         Ask questions:  who are your writing for, how will you write, where will you start?

·         Interpretation is the key to writing good history

·         Read and re-read your documents, interpret them and from this write…

·         Most history books are in a narrative form.  They tell a story and show the movement of people and events through time.  They also offer analysis and description, (see Ann Curthoy’s How to write history that people want to read)

·         Check your facts, check your sources against each other, and be true to recognised facts

·         Make a plan, think of a possible title, think of chapter headings and  think about how the family story might unfold

·         Be ethical, if publishing controversial material check with family members first

·         General standards and guidelines – check the website www.ngsgeneaology.org/

·         Re-read narratives (fiction and non-fiction)  you have enjoyed by other writers, and see how their story/history unfolds.

·         Get someone to read and edit your writing

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