Want to Use a Letter as the Basis for a Story? Here’s an Easy But Really Important Tip for Getting Started
A cache of family letters, or maybe even just one amazing letter written by an ancestor, is a great source for writing a story from family history. Martha McCallum's book Unknown Valor: A Story of Family, Courage, and Sacrifice from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima, or Sarah Wildman's Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind are [...]
How to Solve One of the Biggest Challenges When Writing Family History Based on Letters: Context
This is the carbon copy of my grandfather’s tightly typed letter, on which I based my story The Flying Dutchman, that also became a pivotal chapter in my memoir Jumping Over Shadows. The left photo shows my grandfather in the late 1930s, the right shows the area he was from. Letters are a [...]
How to Transform a Father’s WWII Letters into a Fascinating Story – Begin Writing Family History with these 5 Tips
The pile of letters the father of my reader Donna sent to his sister in Chicago while he was stationed in India during WWII, including the silk he sent for making a dress. Writing family history based on a cache of old letters is a particular challenge. However, it is so worthwhile! Letters provide a personal [...]
How to Capture Family History in a Book of My Things – Course Countdown Last Day – Nana’s Coat
Welcome to the last day of my countdown towards my online course Capturing Family History in a Book of My Things. I'm really excited that it begins tomorrow! Today is the last day to enroll! Each day I've been sharing a story about a family object. I've heard from several of you. It's been lovely to see your reactions and [...]
How to Capture Family History in a Book of My Things – Course Countdown: Day 9 – Mom’s Costume Jewelry Box
https://youtu.be/vokcUrrds3k Welcome to Day 9 of my countdown towards my online course Capturing Family History in a Book of My Things! (begins on January 16, 2022). Each day I am sharing a story about a family object, including tidbits of my process of putting it together. I hope this gives you some ideas and inspires you to come up [...]
How to Capture Family History in a Book of My Things – Course Countdown: Day 8 – Opa’s Desk
My main goal right now is to get out of the gate with these stories about my (and our) things. So, if I don't have all the material I'd like to have, I still put together the story. I can always update it later!