The Tools of a Family History Writer

March 8, 2015| Lynn| 0 Comments|

One thing about writing, you don’t need a lot of tools to write, a pen and paper if you really think about it. However, we’ve come a long way from pen and paper, there are all kinds of tools to make writing a litter easier. Of course, I mean in terms of the act of writing, nothing I share below will do the job for you but they can organize you and make it easier to plot and rewrite and edit. Saving you time and frustration and those are all good things with today’s busy schedule. There is no point going old school when you really don’t have to. Here’s my list. It is hand-picked for the family history writer.

Organizational Software

Before you begin writing I strongly suggest you put in to place a program or programs to help you manage your research and create a workflow for yourself. My recommendations for assembling the necessary research for a particular story would be Onenote or Evernote. They are both exceptional tools. Pull all your research together for a particular story in to a binder in either tool. Makes for easy reference and keeps you from being distract by all your other research. Keeping your research organized keeps the brain focused. Also choose a citation manager such as Zotero or Refworks . Zotero is free, while Refworks has a price. It’s hard for me to suggest one, as they all work a little differently and it will depend on the scope of your project and your own personal preference. Choose one, and assemble your sources along the way. I cover creating a workflow in further detail Getting Ready to Write Guide. Thinking ahead and creating a workflow with organizational software goes a long away from you feeling like you’re drowning in a sea of research.

Writing Software

When it comes to writing your family history stories, Microsoft Word will be the go to for most of you, and Pages if you’re on a Mac. However, several years ago I started using Scrivener for writing all my articles, stories, and ebooks and I’ve never turned back. I’m not going to spend a lot of time discussing it’s merits here. I’ve written many articles on the subject and created some videos on my You Tube Channel showing the family history writer how it can serve them in their writing endeavours. I will just add that it is the best $40 I have ever spent on a piece of software, not just writing software, any software.

Visual Aids

I love all visual aids, I use two mindmapping programs, imindmap, which is a little more formal lots of bells and whistles and as well as Scapple. Scapple is from Literature and Latte, same developers as Scrivener. I use it for those quick mindmaps of random I ideas I want to quickly see quickly. I also love a white board and cork boards for mapping out my stories and then there is also the Pinterest board for creating an Ancestor Collage. We discuss this in detail in Authentic Ancestors.

Grammar and Style Guides

I will be the first to admit that grammar is not my strong suit and feel like it might take my entire life to master. When I write I see the creative side of the craft and the rules of grammar get in the way. However, you can’t be a writer without developing your grammar skills or at the very least implementing a few tools to help you out. There are three tools I will suggest.

1.Grammarly

My first line of defence is Grammarly. Grammarly is a software program you download to your computer, works much like spell check, but is much more sophisticated. You can check out my review of Grammarly today on The Armchair Genealogist, and enter for a chance to win a one month subscription.

2. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by Strunk and White
This old-school standard nevers goes out of style and has prominent place on my desk. Every writer should own a copy.

3. Dictionary.com App

The Dictionary.com App is an all in one tool for today’s writer. It offers a dictionary, thesaurus, word of the day, example sentences, pronounces the word for you, and so much more. Invest the $4.59 and get the upgraded version of the app.

Notebooks

You should have an abundance of notebooks both paper and digital to help capture your ideas. Don’t forget that all important writer’s notebook we discussed earlier. Pretty or plain, your choice, just make sure you got notebooks in place to capture your ideas and to practice your writing.

Study of the Craft

There are many books that can help you to understand the craft of writing. I read 3-4 books a year. In my opinion, here are some of the best books you should have in your writer’s toolbox. Some apply to all writers, while a few are specific to creative nonfiction. In my opinion they all have something to offer the family history writer.

On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Writing Creative Nonfiction by Philip Gerard

You Can Write Your Family History by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction–from Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between by Lee Gutkind

On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser

Writing Groups and Classes

Seek out writing groups online or in your community. Writing groups offer moral support from like-minded individuals. The critiques from fellow writers is invaluable in your growth as a writer. The same goes for classes. There is always something to learn, I take at least one class every year. It keeps me motivated and pushing my knowledge of the craft. Look to your local University, or through the many online resources available today. I find writing groups not only offer that invaluable feedback they offer motivation and accountability.

How Scrivener Can Help You Complete ‘The Challenge’How Scrivener Can Help You Complete ‘The Challenge’

January 15, 2018| Lynn| 0 Comment| 11:41 pm

If you haven’t heard of Scrivener before or maybe you have, but you’re not sure how it works or what all the fuss is about, then I would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief explanation. Scrivener is a writing management software program that has amazing capabilities. It’s a fantastic app for writing long text such as family history stories but offers you many features that make it much more effective and efficient then let’s say Word.

Scrivener is built on four core ideas.

Write your story in sections as small or as large as you like and easily rearrange them.
Add synopses to sections, so that it is easy to work with an overview of your manuscript.
View research and other parts of your writing side-by-side with your writing.
Export your work using different formatting for different requirements.

Of course, this is stating the program very simply. While I’m confident, you can see how this program can benefit you in writing your family history stories. Let’s take it one step further and get a little more specific with a few tips on how it can help you in our upcoming Challenge.

Set Your Targets.

You can set a goal of how many words you want to write each day. Scrivener will keep track of your targets for you. Knowing you’ve met your target for today will make it that much easier to write tomorrow. You’ll find Targets under ‘Project’ the menu.

Incorporating Your Storyboard into Scrivener.

In our Challenge Prep Course, you learned how to create a storyboard, a story plan so that you know exactly what you are going to write each day during these four weeks. Create your storyboard in the Research section of your Draft. This will allow you to reference the storyboard as you go but will also enable you to have the freedom of keeping the storyboard as a separate entity from your draft.

Jump Between Sections.

It’s so easy in Scrivener to jump around and write different chapters or scenes as you see fit. You don’t have to write in chronological order. If you followed our Challenge Prep Course and created a storyboard then you can pull anyone of your scene cards and write.

Create Some Target Points.

If you don’t have a storyboard ready you can still create an outline to help guide you.

In the Draft folder in Outliner mode, create some blank documents with titles and short synopses for each of the critical scenes you identified for your storyline. This will help to tell you where you are going. Not as detailed as a storyboard but it can still be very helpful in keeping you focused. However, you can work towards filling in the spaces in between. They’ll sit in the binder and make sure you know where you’re going. If your story changes direction, you can change them or delete them as needed. Having a destination can help you to keep moving forward even if you decide to change course later.

Import Your Inspiration.

In Scrivener, you can split the editor, so that half of your screen is your story and the other half allows you to view your research. This can also be a great help when you are in need of inspiration. For example, when it comes to describing the setting of your story, take some time to search the Internet for some setting pictures of the location of your story. Upload them to your research files and then when it’s time to write that setting you’ll have inspiration at your fingertips.

Make a Research List in Document Notes.

This is probably one of my favourite tips. When you are writing the last thing you want to do is stop writing and get pulled on the Internet doing research. Keep your writing and research times separately. I like to use Project Notes to keep me on track. In the Inspector, under Project Notes, I create a new note that I’ll title Research List. As I’m writing and I come across something that I need a little more information on, rather than leaving my writing, I will make a small note in my manuscript where I want the information and then add the item to my Research List. When I’m not writing and I have some time, I can pull up my research list do some research.

Scrivener Special

This year during the Family History Writing Challenge, I am going to offer some small tips in our Daily Dose emails on using Scrivener and helping you to improve your use and knowledge of Scrivener. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about using Scrivener then this is the year you may want to give it a try.

A Discount From Scrivener

Scrivener has been kind enough to create a coupon code that will give you a 20% discount on the purchase of a standard licence for either Scrivener for macOS or Scrivener for Windows. For your discount use coupon code: FAMILYHISTORY

If you don’t yet own Scrivener, you can download the 30-day free trial. Click Here.

A Discount From Us

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.

Extended to Monday Jan 22, 2018.

Use coupon code: challenge2018

If you’re still not sure about Scrivener, check out our Scrivener Video Page where you’ll find videos that will give you a look inside Scrivener.

Incorporating Prep Time into Your Writing RoutineIncorporating Prep Time into Your Writing Routine

January 16, 2024| Lynn| 4 Comments| 11:59 pm

You know, writing is a lot like baking a cake. You don’t just throw all the ingredients into the oven and hope for the best, do you? No, you measure, you mix, and you prepare. So, why should your writing process be any different?

Today, we’re going to look at one of the most overlooked yet crucial ingredients in the recipe for a compelling family history narrative – prep time. Just as a chef sharpens his knives before cooking, a writer must also hone his thoughts, ideas, and research before setting pen to paper.