It is Family History Month
Whether it is an autobiography, memoir, personal history or life story, biography or article, many family history researchers and others see the value in recording the events of a lifetime and putting these in writing, for themselves, their family or a wider audience. Writing short biographies for our ancestors is also a worthwhile endeavour and a great tool for sharing our family history research as well.
Here are some handy tips and resources to get started in writing a life story:
FamilySearch, among the genealogy giants for family history research, provide a guide on their Research Wiki: Write a Personal History.
Considerations:
Audience. The audience for your final product may inform the length and your style of writing.
Format. Book (printed, digital or both) or maybe a photo book with a briefer text component.
Style of writing. Examples to consider include a timeline, chronological order, a specific event only (e.g. work life) or a creative non-fiction form.
Tech Skills. Do you want to insert photos (are these sourced, identified and scanned?), charts, even an index.
Budget. Aspects such as printing, (number to be printed), printing in colour, designing a cover, binding options can be considered early in the process.
Legal Deposit - read up on your legal deposit obligations to the National Library of Australia and consider donating your final work to the State Library Victoria as well.
Content:
Timeline of events
Specific stories (memories of grandparents, childhood friends, memories of childhood home, holidays, career highlights, significant relationships, mentors, favourite places, and more)
Contributions from family members (quotes, stories, photos and documents)
Research the context of events. Resources include: Takemeback and National Museum of Australia's Defining moments. Check the catalogue for non-fiction books in our collection.
Read:
Read (and listen) to a variety of biographies to inspire for ideas. We have lots!
Simple biographies can be read in The Dictionary of Australasian Biography (which you can browse or search) via Ancestry Library Edition.
Other examples include My Story by Robert Barnes and Personal Reminscences by U3A members.
Join:
Join Writing and Family History Groups .
