You Can Write Your Family History

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 929.1 EAN: 9780806317830 ISBN: 0806317833 Label: Genealogical Publishing Company Manufacturer: Genealogical Publishing Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 245 Publication Date: 2008-01-02 Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company Studio: Genealogical Publishing Company
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Editorial Reviews: There's no reason a fully documented family history can't read like a page-turning novel. In this concise and accessible book, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack shows genealogists, history buffs, and writers at all levels exactly how to record the fascinating tales of their ancestors. Based on her own extensive experience writing family histories, the author shares her best methods for: Conducting historical and thematic research Organizing materials Outlining and plotting a story Illustrating with pictures and charts Making money writing the histories of other families The advice, inspiration and instruction in You Can Write Your Family History makes it possible for anyone-even those who've never written a single page-to successfully chronicle the lives of near or distant relatives. It's the next best thing to having a personal instructor by your side.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent resource Comment: Another good book by this author. Clear presentation. Explanations regarding each written family history approach -- reasons why one would pick one over the other. If you want to read someone who explains succinctly but fully ... this book is a winner But I've never read one of Sharon Debartolo Carmack's books that wasn't! You can depend on her. Customer Rating: Summary: Every aspect of the process is covered Comment: One of the best sources of genealogical information for future generations are the recorded family histories provided by our elders before they pass into history. Recorded family histories are ideal sources for 'the story behind the story' of how people met, fell in love, came to be married, of their failures and successes, their losses and their gains, the anecdotal stories of living through 'interesting times'. But these family stories don't record themselves. That's why Sharon DeBartolo Carmack has written an instructive and thoroughly 'user friendly' guide to recording our family histories in the do-it-yourself instructional manual "You Can Write Your Family History". Every aspect of the process is covered, from selecting the bet type of family history to write; to deciding on a theme; to conducting efficient research with the goal of fleshing out a narrative; to putting subjects into the context of relevant social history; to the actual work of getting the words down on paper and preserved. Every aspiring and practicing genealogist, as well as non-specialist general readers wanting to preserve the stories of their parents and grandparents for the benefit of their children and grandchildren, should read "You Can Write Your Family History". Customer Rating: Summary: The Great Motivater Comment: I have been wanting to write a family history on my family's deli for almost 12 years. School and other priorties have gotten in the way. After the passing of my grandmother last year (one of the founders of the deli) I figured that this is the year I would like to start. It is now or never. This book is very easy to read. It has a step-by-step process to gathering data and unlocking your inner writer through a narrative non-fiction. She makes writing sound so easy and provides good, and not so good, examples of writing family history to get information across. I didn't realize how time consuming this type of writing was going to be so a realistic time line is suggested so that everything is researched and not fictionalized. I truly recommend this as your first guide to collecting data. She recommends others throughout the book. Customer Rating: Summary: A Blueprint for Writing One's Family History Comment: This text is a blueprint for getting your family history on paper. I belong to a family history writing group that grew out of our local genealogy group in Oakland, California, The African American Genealogy Society of Northern California (AAGSNC). Our group, some writers, some not, wanted to get our families' stories and histories on paper and into print to hand down to future generations but was having a difficult time in how to go about doing it. The method used in this volume makes it simple; one step at a time, one story at a time. Excellent tips on bringing characters to life, collecting social history, and organizing one's data is included. In chapter ten, there is an excellent example of showing vs. telling as we looked at Gay Talese's storytelling of his family, in particular in his description of his grandmother. You could see the lace collar and smell her perfume by his use of language. I also appreciated that the information applies to writers of family history no matter if one is writing a history, a memoir/bio or fictionalizing their family history. The methods are direct and painless and our group is producing some wonderful stories that will be handed down through generations. More Reviews