Your first draft is complete now what? Understanding story editing, including the 4 stages of editing your draft and when to use them is critical at this stage. In today’s Storylines, we look at the 4 stages of editing your manuscript. Learn how to present a polished story to your readers by ensuring you walk your draft through this process.
It goes without saying all the benefits of reading to your children and grandchildren. The more you read to your children the more you set them up to succeed. They develop language skills, exercise their brains and enhance their concentration through reading. Reading encourages their thirst for knowledge, it teaches them about different topics and promotes imagination and creativity. If that wasn’t enough reading books with children helps them to develop empathy. When a child can put himself into the story, it helps them to build understanding. They identify with the character, and they feel what the child is feeling. Children begin to understand and relate to the emotions expressed in the story.
The characters in children’s books are often remembered for a lifetime because they are fundamental moments in a child’s development. Did you know that children who know stories about relatives who came before them show higher levels of emotional well-being, this according to a research report at Emory University. Family stories provide a sense of identity and help children understand who they are in the world.
Now allow their favourite hero to be a great-grandfather or great-great grandmother and your children will grow to appreciate their family story and develop what the professionals call an ‘intergenerational self.” The intergenerational self as interpreted by Emory University is defined as understanding one’s place in a familial history. They determined “the development of an intergenerational self, becomes a significant factor as children approach adolescence.
So, it occurred to me that instead of trying to force family history upon our relatives it might be easier to introduce it a little more subtlety when they are young through children’s books.
Having I just finished my first family history children’s book early this year I thought I would share with you some information to help you consider if you have a children’s book lurking in your research.
Children’s books are divided into 3 categories:
Pictures Books
0 to 3 years – board books, novelty books
3 to 5 years – picture books, ABC books
5 to 7 years – picture books, reading primers, colour storybooks
Middle Grade
8-12 years old
Young Adult
12 and up
Before you decide to write a children’s book, I urge you to get acquainted with children’s books, especially if you been away from children’s book for a while.
Next, you want to familiarize yourself with children’s themes. Most children’s book will address one of the topics listed below. Understanding these themes, it will make it easier to help find stories within your research. Now, there certainly are other themes, but these are the major ones and are a great place to start.
Consider the themes listed about match them with events in your family history research. Think about your own childhood – list memories from your childhood, including favourite food, sweets, clothes, board games, toys trips, adults, holidays or particular incidents. Consider the journey of a family history artifact.
To find further inspiration for writing a children’s book consider reading what others have written.
Seven Brave Women by Betsy Hearne, 1997 for age 4-8 years old
This book is about the author’s unique female ancestors, including her grandmother who was a harpist-architectural-historian who passed on many of the stories in the book. The first page says that history books often marks time by the wars that men fought. Then each spread tells about an ancestor in the author’s family who made history by not fighting in wars. We read about a Mennonite woman who immigrated to Philadelphia, a hardworking homemaker, a horse-riding painter, a missionary doctor, a single mother working as a secretary, and a storyteller. The storyteller is the author’s mother. Seven brave women who left their imprints on the past and on her. Beginning with the great-great-great-grandmother who came to America on a wooden sailboat, these women were devout and determined and tireless and beloved.
My Mother’s Pearls by Catherine Myler Fruisen, 1995 Preschool-Grade 3
My Mother’s Pearls is geared toward little girls. It taps into their love for jewelry, beautiful dresses, and getting ready with mom. Going back in time through seven generations, the young narrator shares short anecdotes from her grandmothers and great-grandmothers who once wore (or played dress up with) the pearls. Little girl relates the story of her mother’s heirloom pearls, handed down each generation from mother to daughter on her wedding day. Readers glimpse a day in 1968 when the unnamed protagonist’s grandmother wore the pearls; a day in 1938, when her great-grandmother wore them; and so on, all the way back to 1788, when the young girl’s 6th great grandmother first received the necklace as a wedding gift from her husband.
Fancy Nancy: My Family History by Jane O’Connor, 2010
Nancy introduces readers to the fancy term “ancestors.” She wishes she had famous ancestors like her classmates. Instead, she learns about her great-grandpa who was plain and hardworking. She exaggerates his life in her school report but has a change of heart when she realizes she has something in common with her great grandpa.
Maman’s Special Job, by Lynn Palermo and illustrated by Josiane Vlitos, 2018, age 5-8.
Maman’
Many of us start out with the best of intentions when it comes to turning our family tree research into a family history book. But then something happens. Our book project is completely thrown off course, and we can’t seem to get back on track and bring it across the finish line.
You are not alone when it comes to struggling to complete your family history book. There is any number of detours, delays, and disasters that can keep you from finishing.
Let’s look at a few of the more popular problems that can happen to your project and how to fix them and get you back on track.
I’ve written my book, but it is too big. I mean really big and I can’t afford to print it. This is a disaster first because the entire goal of writing a family history book is to be able to share it. If you can afford to print it, or your family can’t afford to purchase a copy what is the point. What was all that work for?
Break your family history into sections, one book per surname or couple. You can even create a book on a single ancestor if you have a lot of research for them. Don’t think that your family history must be one giant book. There are so many more viable options that will not only interest your family but make the book more affordable. If your book is already written, consider natural breaks in your book. Turn the book into a series and print it in volumes reducing the cost to your family.
I really want to create my book, but life keeps getting in the way. I just can’t seem to find the time.
You need a detailed plan with manageable tasks and deadlines that takes you from start to finish. You also need to carve out time each week to work on your family history book. If you don’t make it a priority in your life no one else will. The only way to do that is to schedule it into your weekly calendar and make that time non-negotiable. When you have a plan, you have a focus, and it becomes much easier to stay on track.
I want to get a little bit more research done before I start writing my book.
Stop it. The research will never be done. Create a book with what you have. If you keep waiting to find that next piece of research to include in the book, you’ll never get around to making your book. You need to adopt a new mindset. Create a book with what you have – One ancestor, one story at a time. Learn the process of building a book on something small and manageable. Then later you can take on that bigger book. Also, many on-demand printers allow you to make changes to your book at any time. You can always go back a few years from now and make any changes you want, provide updates and second editions.
My book is chaos, it has no organization, and I don’t know how to fix it.
Taking some time upfront to identify the scope and span of your book before you start will go a long way in keeping chaos at a distance. Identify very clear parameters for your book, including the ancestors that will be in it, what years you will cover? How many pages, how many stories? Without these clearly defined parameters, you’ll quickly get off track, and the whole project can become a runaway train that is hard to bring back under control. Mindmap out your contents. Divide your book into parts, sections, chapters, and stories. When you compartmentalize the book, it becomes easier to organize. Don’t try to write your family history as one long story from beginning to end. Family histories are comprised of many individuals each with their own story. Don’t try to make them all fit together in one story.
Many family historians are intimidated by the software available to create beautiful coffee table style descendant’s books.
Build some time into your schedule to learn. If the tech element of producing a book is not your strength, then create a team. Find family members with these skills who are willing to help you. There are also lots of online courses and videos to help you learn book building software. Most of this software has simple drag and drop features. Explore what is out there. It’s easier than you think.
My stories are boring, and I want them to be better before I print my book. What good is a book that won’t be read?
By learning to write narrative nonfiction, you can turn the true-life stories of your ancestors into entertaining and engaging stories. Narrative nonfiction uses details, description, plot, tension, and dialogue to bring family history stories to life on the page. Take a class and learn to turn facts into real stories.
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The most important thing you can do before beginning to build your family history book is to create a content plan. Whenever we take on a project of this size, it’s always best to invest in some time upfront to think through your project.
If you start to write without a content plan, you’re likely to waste a lot of valuable time staring at a blank screen. This is because you’re trying to simultaneously figure out what you want to write, who you want to write about while trying to write. You don’t have a clear idea of structure, organization and contents of your book.
With a plan, you’ll be more likely to start writing immediately. You’ll have a clear outline of each section, chapter, story and profile, the contents and how each will flow into the next.
By creating a content plan, you also engage your brain. The process of thinking your book out in advance will result in you brainstorming about your book as you work, drive, relax, even sleep. You will continually be searching for ideas and making connections.
Trying to put together a family history book without a plan is an invitation to disaster. Most likely resulting in false starts, wasted efforts and low productivity.
You don’t have to know the content of each paragraph, each sentence, but you should aim for a well-thought-out strategy.
There is no one single right way or tool to organize your family history book. What might be a productive process for one can be very frustrating an inefficient for another?
But there are many planning tools available to help you take your brain dump ideas and organize them. We listed a selection below including both low-tech and high-tech.
Before diving in feet first to create a family history book, take the time to brainstorm and organize your thoughts into a content plan. Explore the various options to outline your project and choose the one that works best for you.
The sooner you come up with your own efficient way of organizing your ideas before you begin writing, the sooner you can embark on your journey of writing your book!
Brainstorming and organizing a content plan is just two steps in the process of building a
family history book. In our new workbook, Build a Family History Book, A Planning Guide to Getting it Done, we identify an 8-step process for creating a family history book. It includes numerous templates to help you clearly define and organize the content for your family history book and the process to get you across the finish line.
Stories – Your stories can come in a variety of forms. They may be a collection narrative nonfiction short stories about a variety of ancestors. You may choose to write a longer form story taking the reader through an epic adventure based on one ancestor, a couple or a surname line. 
Profiles – You can include ancestor profiles in your book to give your reader a snapshot look into an ancestor. Use profiles when you have too many gaps in your research to tell their whole story. If the ancestor has a great story, they are an interesting person, but they are not directly part of your main narrative consider writing a profile in the sidebar or give them a single on off page. This page is dedicated to a great-uncle who died at Passchendaele in WWI. He wasn’t directly part of the story, but we felt the need to honour him.
Pedigree Charts – Pedigree charts can serve the readers as a beautiful big picture view of their family history. If you are covering several surname lines in a book, consider including one for each.
Group Sheets –Each time you start a new family, a group sheet a is a great way to give the reader a big picture view. You can also include some smaller details and facts on the group sheets. By making sure all these details are on the group sheet, you won’t feel required to cram it all into the story. The story can then be a story and not a collections of facts woven together.
Descendants Chart – The descendant’s chart can help you to include the children of a couple, along with their spouses and children. This conveys a lot of information that may not be part of the direct line you are writing about but still expresses your research and can be an excellent resource for the family.
Pictures – Choose pictures that enhance your story and show your ancestors in various stages of their life. Unfortunately, not everyone will take the time to read the stories. Sigh.
Picture Collage – Consider creating a picture collage, it can demonstrate a life without words.
Documents – Choose poignant documents that reveal essential turning points in your ancestor’s life. Passenger lists, land document, will. Don’t feel obligated to include every census and vital record you have uncovered only the ones that were critical to the direction of your family history. If you wish to share the rest of your research and documents, save them to a cd and insert in the back of your book.
Sources – Don’t forget to include your sources. While footnotes may not be ideal for an Heirloom Family History Book, you can still add a list of sources at the end of your book referencing the page numbers and quote the line of the fact. You can also add your list of sources to the cd if you want to keep a clean look to your heirloom book.
Current Family – Don’t forget to include your present family in your book. If they are in it and they can see their connection to the past they are more likely to take up interest and buy your book.
We’ve fleshed out the idea for our family history book. We’ve outlined the process with our milestone goals. We’ve identified the tasks we need to carry out our milestone goals in our project planner. Now it’s time to create a daily schedule and incorporate daily habits that are going to support your tasks in getting your book accomplished. It’s time to make this project fit into your daily and weekly schedule. Let’s move it from being a dream to a reality.
We can’t create more hours in the day- we are all stuck with the usual 24 hours- but we can get more out of each hour by making our time count. I’ve listed below 5 practices that you can put in place to help you move your family history book project out of the planner and into your daily calendar.
First, we need a calendar to complete this part. Decide whether you want to use Microsoft Outlook, or Google Calendars or a good old-fashioned analog calendar. I like the Ink & Volt Planner to merge by projects into my daily life. By the way, my newest love is this lovely erasable gel pen to use in my planner.
Once you choose your calendar of choice let’s start pulling your tasks from your Family History Book Project Planner into your daily calendar.
The first task we make a habit is to plan ahead. Sit down each night and plan out the activities for the next day. You’ll be amazed by how much more you can get done if you always know what you should be doing. Where you’re going next. Create a list of all tasks you wish to get done the next day. Include everything, not just your book-related tasks but taking the dog to the vet, grocery shopping etc. It will help you to balance the time you have for your book project and the time you have for life.
This is key to your daily schedule. Otherwise, you might find yourself wasting away the day on a task that does not advance your book project. Each day name your big 3 priorities, the top three items that must be accomplished to advance your family history book. These tasks should be taken from your project planner that you created. When you first try planning your day, you may find it hard to decide which are the most important and should move to the top of the list. Sometimes it can feel like everything is crucial. But with practice, it will become easier. It is really about asking yourself, which items on the list will have the most significant positive impact if I get them finished tomorrow. Move them to the top of the list.
Also, show how time much is required for this job. Write down exactly what times you intend to spend working on your three highest-priority tasks. Making an appointment with yourself and your project task is essential. You’re saying these are important to me. They don’t have to be completed in order of importance only that tomorrow you will finish them. They are a priority and are deserving to be on your calendar. Your schedule doesn’t have to be set in stone – in fact, you will almost certainly end up shifting things around as new tasks come up and old ones lose their urgency. This is why I love my erasable gel pen. Deferring things to the next day because sh*t happens is ok. But don’t make this a habit.
At the end of each day, review your accomplishments. What got deferred, were there any new tasks that were added to the list. Begin planning for tomorrow, identifying your big 3 once again, and scheduling. Make this a daily habit, and you’ll soon find yourself checking off those tasks on your project planner one by one.
At the end of each week, I like Sunday to take a few minutes to review my week. Review your project planner. Identify your big priorities for the upcoming week. Review what you accomplished on your project in the previous week. This habit is not so much for identifying your gaps but for no other reason than to give you confidence and to keep you motivated. Be proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Review your milestone goals and the tasks, are there any you can mark as completed? Move the next tasks in project planner to your weekly calendar.
If you continue to repeat these 5 steps each week and make them a habit, you’ll very quickly find yourself closer to the finish line of completing your dream project of building your family history book.
With a little organization, scheduling and daily habits, you can make your family history book a reality.
In addition to your Scrivener discount, we are offering a 30% discount off our eBook Scrivener for The Family Historian. It regularly sells for $9.99 we are offering it for $6.99. This price is in effect for the next 72 hours.
