Connecting Stories Together in a Book
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Top 10 Ingredients to Building an Heirloom Family History BookTop 10 Ingredients to Building an Heirloom Family History Book
One.
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. 
Two.
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.
Three.
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.
Four.
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.
Five.
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.
Six.
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.
Seven.
Picture Collage – Consider creating a picture collage, it can demonstrate a life without words.
Eight.
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.
Nine.
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.
Ten.
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.
Creating a Family History Book: An Action Plan with TemplateCreating a Family History Book: An Action Plan with Template
Now that you completed the Milestone Goal Planner that we provided for in Part 2 our series on Planning a Family History Book in 2018. You should feel much more comfortable about having a solid direction and plan for your family history book. You certainly have a lot of work ahead of you, but now with your Milestone Goals identified your vision for your book is clearer.
Now, we move on to step 3 – The Family History Book Project Planner.
Sometimes a project can go rather smoothly, and sometimes it can be a complete nightmare that wakes you up at 2 am every night. A Family History Book Project Planner is the best defense against chaos and sleepless nights. The project planner is a timeline planning tool that will help you to organize all your milestone steps and actionable tasks in a consistent and readable manner. This tool will help to make jobs, milestones and dates crystal clear. The more straightforward and more uncomplicated it is to read – the better. Don’t worry I have a simple template all ready for you. You just have to plug-in your tasks and dates.
Now, most of the information like milestones and tasks we completed in Part 2. So we just need to plug them into our spreadsheet. However, on our Family History Book Project Planner, we are going to add a few more items.
Add resources to each task. Some of your jobs may require specific resources to We want to add these resources to our planner.
Show duration of tasks. Each task should have a start and an end date. You can fall off schedule quite quickly if we don’t give ourselves hard stops along the way for our tasks. It’s not enough just to have dates for the Milestone Goals, but our tasks need clear timelines as well.
Add notes to your tasks. Add notes to the responsibilities that might seem confusing or need explanation. It never hurts to add detail. The more specific the timeline, the easier it will be in referring to and keeping you and your project on target.
Ask someone to review your Project Planner. You know the saying ‘can’t see the forest for the trees.’ Well, it never hurts to have a second set of eyes look at your Project Timeline to make sure it all makes sense. Before you finalize your timeline, have someone you trust be your second set of eyes. Have them check it to make sure it all makes sense. Even without knowing your project, the Project Planner should be clear for them to read and follow along.
We set up the Family History Book Project Planner in tow easy to use Excel and PDF formats. Download below.
Family History Book Project Planner (Excel)
Family History Book Project Planner (PDF)
Your family history book project can change, and all good plans should be flexible. But don’t let all your preparation be hijacked by family members demanding certain things be put in or left out of your family history book. The first version of your plan is your baseline, and it outlines every step you need to take to get from the beginning to the end of your project. Sure, strategies can change. New scopes can quickly creep in. But remember changes can cost you time and money. Let your planner help you to argue the case for or against these changes. Let your Family History Book Project Timeline be your project’s roadmap.
Now that your plan is complete and in place, it’s time to start doing. Don’t let the planning stage take over your life. The point of the plan is to get you to the starting line so that you can run the race and cross the finish line. Don’t just train for the race, run it. Too many family historians, talk and plan their family history book but never bring the project to the finish line. Let our Family History Project Planner be the tool to help you bring your family history book across that finish line.
Coming up Next: How to incorporate daily habits into your life that will support your family history book project.
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?