What is a good structure for writing family stories/histories

1. 84

   SheilaMilneposted 10 years ago

   What is a good structure for writing family stories/histories
   
   Since my mother died and a lot of family stories are now lost, I want together together recollections for future generations.  Where would you start?  What would you include?
   
   I don't want it to read like a family tree because it's not a question of tracing the family back through history.

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2. 82

   Millionaire Tipsposted 10 years ago

   I think it is great that you want to document your family stories. I would write up each of the memories, one per page, in a word document.  Then I would think of things I could add to show that visually - either photos of the people involved, photos of the heirlooms, a scan of a recipe card, even drawings you or other family member (grandchild?) makes to illustrate the story. 
   
   Then I would take all this stuff, and put it in a photo book, like the ones from Snapfish or Shutterfly.  Have only one printed. I find that I always find something I forgot or want to change after looking at the final version.
   
   Then when you are satisfied, order copies for everyone who wants one. You can ask them to reimburse you for the cost of the printing, or even extra that you can use for a family reunion.

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   1. 84

      SheilaMilneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Nice idea!

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3. 63

   Cerulean Crayonposted 10 years ago

   What was your favorite chapter book as a tween? More than likely, you chose it because the style was somewhat matched to your thinking process.
   
   It would be pretty cool to write a family history cloaked in your preferred style of story.

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   1. 84

      SheilaMilneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That would be a really fun approach.  I'm not sure that my writing skills would be up to that, though.

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4. 61

   Joe Fiducciaposted 10 years ago

   You should check out AmericasFootprints.com.  It's a place where you can build a digital profile, in private, that does exactly what you're looking to do.  Hope this helps!    -Joe

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   1. 84

      SheilaMilneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It looks like a great site but you need to be American or have an American address.

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   2. 61

      Joe Fiducciaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah I guess that might complicate things if you don't live in North America.  I'll look around  to see if I can find anything similar for other countries and will let you know if anything comes up. 

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