Connecting Stories Together in a Book
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5 Habits that Will Help You Build Your Family History Book.5 Habits that Will Help You Build Your Family History 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.
1.Plan Ahead
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.
2. Prioritizing the Big 3.
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.
3. Schedule your tasks on your calendar.
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.
4. End of Day Review
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.
5. Weekly Review
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.
Part 1: Identifying Your Dream
Part 2: Fleshing out the 8 Milestone Goals
Part 3: Making an Action Plan and Project Timeline
Creating a Legacy Family History BookCreating a Legacy Family History Book
It’s time to stop procrastinating and start pulling your research into a family history book. Is the thought a little overwhelming? Not sure where to start?
Here at The Family History Writing Studio, we believe in helping you preserve your family history in a sharable and entertaining format. We want your family history book to be a book your family wants to read and pass down for generations to come.
It’s time to stop procrastinating and start pulling your research into a family history book. Is the thought a little overwhelming? Not sure where to start? We are here to help.
We have a brand new course starting in just a few weeks. We are excited to be delivering Creating a Legacy Family History Book. Take a look at our video, it’s just 6 minutes long and we’ll take you inside a Legacy Family History Book created with the MyCanvas software.
Your book could look like this! Watch the video!
Here’s What You’ll Learn
Week 1 – Introductions
- MyCanvas Tour
- Your First Decisions
Week 2 – Getting Ready to Build and Write
- Importing Files from Ancestry and Beyond
- Creating a Workflow
Week 3 – Handling Pictures and Documents
- Prepping Your Pictures and Documents
- Copyright and Permissions
Week 4 – Structuring Your Book and Stories
- Structuring Your Book
- Structuring Your Stories
Week 5 – Assembling a Page
- Basics of Assembling a Page
- Creating a Story Framework
Week 6 – More Pages, More Writing
- Creating a Variety of Pages
- Bringing Your Ancestors to Life on the Page
Week 7 – Polishing Your Book
- Revision and Editing
Week 8 – Final Product, Now What?
- Ordering Your Book
- Recap and Final Questions
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How the Class Works
Each week you will have access to one or two videos, each helping you to understand how to build a book using the MyCanvas software but also you’ll learn about structuring your book and your stories. We won’t just talk about the book we will talk about the skills you’ll need to write entertaining stories.
You can download the videos each week and watch them when they are convenient to you. If you have any questions over the course of the 8 weeks you’ll have to two teachers in the forum to help you with your project.
The homework is completely optional but we hope you’ll complete the homework so that we can help you with any questions you may have along the way.
Here are a few comments from some students who have already taken some of our classes, so you can be sure we will deliver quality and value for your money.
What Students Have Said about The Family History Writing Studio
Kim Said:
I thoroughly enjoyed completing this course in “Writing a Family History Scene” and would recommend it to all aspiring family history writers. It is inspiring when you can see yourself and your fellow students improve so much by the end of the course. Lynn’s teachings have given us the tools to carefully craft our stories for the enjoyment by our families. I have learned so much.
Denise Said:
This course opened my eyes to scene structure. My writing improved immensely once I had the right tools and guidance to build a scene properly. This is my second Family History Writing Studio course, and it will not be my last. Between Lynn’s excellent guidance and the input from the other students, it was an interactive learning experience I highly recommend to anyone who is thinking of writing a family history narrative. In order to do any job properly, you need the right tools and, in my opinion, this is the place to build your toolbox.
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Now that we’ve answered all your questions click the link, add the course to the shopping cart and checkout. After checkout, you’ll receive an email welcoming you to the class. Closer to the date of the first class you’ll receive and email and some instruction for finding your way around the website and getting acquainted with the forum.
We look forward to seeing you in the classroom.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Hey Lynn…Great suggestion. Thanks!
I like that suggestion, Lynn,
Each ancestor’s story taking place in their own part of the book, as a separate story.
My book will be in two parts, but with the same ancestor. Part One: His life before immigration, and why he immigrated. Part Two: Immigration and dealing with a new set of problems.
Thanks for your valued wisdom and advice.
Have a wonderful Easter weekend.
Love and blessings, Paula.
Thank you Lynn for addressing my question.
I like your idea of writing three separate stories with just a small introduction of the next generation within each one. A little glimpse into the life of the son; a hint of what is to come if the reader presses on through the story.
I also love your idea of writing the individual stories as sequels. Perhaps that’s where I can draw a connection to the theme again; from the end of one story to the beginning of another.
Thanks again Lynn. Your advice is helpful in sorting some things out in my head! Brenda
Your suggestion is very useful, thanks Lynn.
I have a further complication that you can perhaps comment on.
I’m writing about my grandfather: he fought in WW1, married , lost his wife, remarried and went through WW2.
I’m also writing his wife’s story: she was an artist, she married, she died after giving birth.
So both have lives before marrying, both undergo the tragedy of her death, and he lives on afterwards in another life.
Two stories which come together in the middle.
How can I best connect these stories?
Your suggestion is very useful, thanks Lynn.
I have a further complication that you can perhaps comment on.
I’m writing about my grandfather: he fought in WW1, married , lost his wife, remarried and went through WW2.
I’m also writing his wife’s story: she was an artist, she married, she died after giving birth.
So both have lives before marrying, both undergo the tragedy of her death, and he lives on afterwards in another life.
Two stories which come together in the middle.
How can I best connect these stories?