Fleshing Out Your Ancestor’s Character
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5 Ways to Describe Your Ancestor in a Story5 Ways to Describe Your Ancestor in a Story
When we write our family history stories one of our primary goals is to bring our reader and our ancestors closer together. Our goal is to help our reader to emotionally connect with our ancestor. There are five ways we can help make this happen in our family history stories.
The 5 ways we are going to cover involve both interior and exterior characterization. If you try to merge all five into your story when describing an ancestor, you’ll have a three-dimensional ancestor.
What is a three-dimensional ancestor? This is an ancestor that comes to life on the page for your reader. It is an ancestor that appears alive and real and standing in front of us and not lifeless and flat. It is an ancestor that your reader can connect with, through physically being able to see them in their mind’s eye, but all being able to connect with them emotionally. It involves using both interior and exterior characterization to bring our ancestor to the page.
Exterior characterization is achieved by showing your ancestor’s behaviour towards other people, their attitude to their surroundings and their physical characteristics.
Interior characterization involves using their thoughts about themselves and other people to help us to understand who they are.
We can tell or show the reader about aspects of our ancestors’ personalities and lives. We want both. We do this by showing them interacting with their surroundings, their body language and with dialogue.
1. Telling: Tell the reader who your ancestor is and what he or she does.
Example: Henry loved to wear a cowboy hat.
2. Showing: Allow your ancestor’s actions to show the reader their character.
Example: Henry headed out the door of his 5th Avenue Manhattan apartment. He grabbed his white cowboy hat from the table by the door. Pushing his sandy brown hair from his forehead, he eased the hat on his head and checked his reflection in the mirror.
3.Thinking: You can show an ancestor by allowing the reader to see the thoughts behind their actions and words. What an ancestor thinks about can help explain a great deal about them.
Example: Pushing his sandy brown hair from his forehead, Henry eased the hat on his head and checked his reflection in the mirror. Although he had been in the city for more than a year, he just couldn’t part with his cowboy hat. Besides, the ladies loved it.
4.Others: You can show us who your ancestor is by how he or she treats other people and the way others treat him.
Example: Your ancestor may be treated with reverence, fear or even hate. She may be treated with gentleness or insignificance. His or her prejudices and beliefs will also affect the way he or she handles others. Perhaps they show hatred for others different from themselves, religion, appearance, their class in society.
5.The Outside World: We can use the way our ancestor looks at the world around them to allow us a glimpse into their state of mind.
Example: A content ancestor sees the first winter’s snowfall as beautiful. An unhappy ancestor may be depressed by the freezing cold temperatures and being confined to indoors. The images and words you choose to create the world around your ancestor can help shape your ancestor’s mood according to his or her viewpoint.
When you incorporate showing, telling, thinking, how your ancestor treats others and how they act and react to the outside world you have a better chance of bringing your ancestor to the page. As a result, your reader is more likely able to get to know your ancestor, seeing them in their mind’s eye but also emotionally connecting with them.
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Setting as Character – 10 Research TipsSetting as Character – 10 Research Tips
When beginning any family history story, we look carefully at our ancestors as we attempt to understand and describe them for our reader. We develop an ancestor profile of them drawing details out of our research so that we can bring the most authentic ancestor to the page for our readers.
The same can be said for the setting of our family history story. The setting can be a character in our story. If we treat the setting like a character, we are more likely to bring that setting to life for your reader in a big way, in a way that adds to the story. However, before that can happen, we must complete some in-depth research.
Authentic Ancestors 2
It’s important to take the time to get to know your ancestor’s world. It’s not enough just to know the year and location of your story. We need to know details about the setting to bring the personality of the setting to the page. If there are several settings in your story, then it’s necessary to give this in-depth attention to all of them. Our goal is to be able to give the story setting a heart and soul, and for the writer to be able to show how the characters in our story are influenced by the setting.
When we take the time upfront to create not just a setting but an atmosphere we accomplish two things: first the reader will feel connected to your story; and second, the setting and your ancestor will feel more real, authentic, and understood through the descriptions and details of their surroundings.
The setting can also have a significant influence on your ancestor and their backstory. Was the setting a friend or foe to your ancestor? Did it change their behaviour and choices?
The setting comes alive partly in its details and partly in the way that our ancestor experiences and interacts with their surroundings and what is going on around them. Together they deliver a sense of place.
When we head out to research the setting of our family history story, consider the following 10 tips to better recreate the most specific and telling setting in our story.
No. 1
Look for the essential features of the location as you begin your research. The obvious physical attributes of the place, amenities, landmarks, gathering spots, etc. The more specific the details the more authentic the story feels.
No. 2
Keep your eyes open for major and concrete and specific details of the houses, the roads, the weather.
No.3
Look for what is remarkable about the setting and what is not in the surroundings. Are there things that are common place to the setting and yet other things that stand out and not common. It is the uncommon features that make the setting unique and memorable.
No. 4
Consider the history of the setting and how its back story may have influenced its current personality. Just like characters in a story, settings can have a back story, a history that occurred before your ancestor arrived. That history may strongly influence its personality and behaviour.
No. 5
Who are the major personalities in the setting? Whether your setting is a town, street, etc. there are often major personalities who inflict their thoughts and ideas on to the setting. How do they contribute to its history and how the town thinks and acts? In my story, there are two major town personalities who conflict to be the town leader and major influence. The personalities in the setting can greatly infect your ancestor’s thinking.
No. 6
Consider the local culture. What cultures make up this setting how are they reflected in the environment. What flavour and uniqueness do they bring to the setting. How do we see, hear, smell, touch and taste these cultures in our setting? Where does your ancestor stand within the cultural context of the setting? For example, the culture of my setting includes Irish, Scots and Germans.
No. 7
Is there a socioeconomic divide within your setting? How and why? Where does your ancestor stand within that divide? Are they on the right-side or wrong-side of the tracks?
No. 8
What is the political makeup of the setting and where does your ancestor position himself within that framework? For example, in my current story, there is a clear political divide between the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholics. An age-old conflict carried over from the old country.
No. 9
It can’t be overstated the importance of specificity in your setting. Look for specific names and details of the setting. Use street names of local businesses that exist in that area. For instance, my ancestor visits a general story on a regular basis. Don’t just call it the general store. What is the name of the store, who operates it, what sits in its front window? What types of items would be in this store at this time? What would my ancestor have bought there? The more specific the details, the more realistic your story becomes.
No. 10
Consider the location of your setting—weather, climate, geography, topography. Does this place create physical conflicts for your ancestor? For instance, the roads in my ancestor’s story present a challenge for my ancestors. As well, the town is built on swamp land so mosquitos present a challenge as does stepping outside your door and being met with wolves. On the plus side, the deer are plentiful. These are all important to our ancestor’s day to day challenges and how they interact with their setting and how their surroundings influence them. Does the weather, geography or topography of the setting make your ancestor’s life easier or harder?
Research your setting with the same care and detail you research your ancestor. Find the personality of the setting. How does this setting influence both to you as a writer and to your ancestor?What is the meaning of the setting? This meaning may become significant in how you portray the setting in your story, as an ally or antagonist and may offer some help in developing your theme. You also will want to consider how your ancestor’s position within the setting and local community affects their evolution and journey throughout the story?
Oh my goodness. I totally forgot I had your book, Authentic Ancestors! I just pulled it out and see I have many pages flagged. Wow! It has been a few years since I first bought it, so it is new to me again. THANK YOU! Best wishes to your niece’s family. I have to hurry now to check out Authentic Ancestors!
This is all well and good, but how do you do that for colonial ancestors for whom you know only location, marriage, children, occupation, etc. I know my ancestor traveled south in Virginia away from his brothers, married before he moved, had several children who married children from their new community. He was a farmer, probably participated in the revolutionary war, though I have no proof other than a mention of a uniform one of his children retained. That’s the sum total of what I know. I have no knowledge of physical characteristics. He was a farmer, not plantation owner as far as I can tell, in Virginia through much of his life. He was a risk taker since he moved away from his brothers and their families, but didn’t move beyond that.
He is not the only one I have that has minimal information like that. They didn’t seem to be public officials, etc.
Thank you…I enjoyed it!