Writing Your Story-What's Your SET Up?

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Genealogy tip for the day: Writing Your Story-What's Your Set Up

Ready, Set, Go –

Don’t take on too much in the beginning. You may become overwhelmed and quit altogether. Start with something small, but something that can be added on to.

As with genealogy, the best place to start is with you. If you want to write about your immediate family, first talk about your childhood and teen years, and family experiences. Then, lead up to meeting your future spouse – your romance and wedding.

Or, talk about your siblings and parents then progress on to your spouse and the birth of your children. Include family trips, adventures, and vacations etc., -anything that would be a “Kodak-Scrapbook” moment!

Setting Goals –

Who are you going to write about – or how many people are you going to include? Do you want to just do your immediate family – and if so which one, which side? The one with your parents or the one with your children? In other words – which 2 generations do you want to record? Or, maybe you have a particular ancestor you have done a lot of research on and want to share his story. Maybe there is an ancestor that stands out on each of your lines (depending on how many lines you have been able to research.) But you must decide.

The Setting –

Whatever you do pick out central characters for your book – give a lot of details – or as much as you can – and go from there. Once you have decided on the main figure, decide if you are going up (the tree) or going down, the tree top or the roots; their ancestors or the descendants.

If you think you may sell this someday, the more lines you have, the broader the appeal of the book, therefore the more books you may sell. So keep this in mind as you set out writing your book. This also plays into what goals you have.

Include as many photos as you can, also charts, images of documents, information from history (what kind of world they were living in), the town or community. I’ll never forget the “aha” moment I had when I realized that my Caleb Trask (you’ll probably hear me reference him frequently in this blog) lived before and after the Civil War period. That meant he had no car or truck, he had no lights (electric) in his house, his wife, Mary, cooked with a wood burning stove, they traveled by horse and ‘whatever’. When I pictured this in my mind it gave me a new perspective and appreciation for how he lived.

So, try to find out as much as you can about that person’s world as you do about him, - or her.

“History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

Lady Jane Grey

Today in History

February 12

1294		Kublai Khan, the conqueror of Asia, dies at the age of 80.
1554		Lady Jane Grey, the Queen of England for thirteen days, is beheaded on Tower Hill. She was barely 17 years old.
1709		Alexander Selkirk, the Scottish seaman whose adventures inspired the creation of Daniel Dafoe's Robinson Crusoe, is taken off Juan Fernandez Island after more than four years of living there alone.
1793		The first fugitive slave law, requiring the return of escaped slaves, is passed.
1818		Chile gains independence from Spain.
1836		Mexican General Santa Anna crosses the Rio Grande en route to the Alamo.
1909		The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is formed.
1912		China becomes a republic following the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty.
1921		Winston Churchill of London is appointed colonial secretary.
1924		George Gershwin's groundbreaking symphonic jazz composition Rhapsody in Blue premieres with Gershwin himself playing the piano with Paul Whiteman's orchestra.
1929		Charles Lindbergh announces his engagement to Anne Morrow.
1931		Japan makes its first television broadcast–a baseball game.
1935		The Macon, the last U.S. Navy dirigible, crashes off the coast of California, killing two people.
1938		Japan refuses to reveal naval data requested by the U.S. and Britain.
1940		The Soviet Union signs a trade treaty with Germany to aid against the British blockade.
1944		Wendell Wilkie enters the American presidential race against Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1949		Moslem Brotherhood chief Hassan el Banna is shot to death in Cairo.
1953		The Soviets break off diplomatic relations with Israel after the bombing of Soviet legation.
1966		The South Vietnamese win two big battles in the Mekong Delta.
1972		Senator Edward Kennedy advocates amnesty for Vietnam draft resisters.
1974		The Symbionese Liberation Army asks the Hearst family for $230 million in food for the poor.
1980		The Lake Placid Winter Olympics open in New York.
1987		A Court in Texas upholds $8.5 billion of a fine imposed on Texaco for the illegal takeover of Getty Oil.
1999		The U.S. Senate fails to pass two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. He had been accused of perjury and obstruction of justice by the House of Representatives.
Born on February 12
1768		Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor
1775		Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams
1809		Charles Darwin, naturalist and influential theorist of evolution (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection).
1809		Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President of the United State (1861-1865).
1828		George Meredith, English poet and novelist.
1857		Eugene Atget, French photographer, took over 10,000 photographs documenting Paris.
1874		Auguste Perret, French architect, pioneer in designs of reinforced concrete buildings.
1880		John L. Lewis, American labor leader.
1893		Omar Bradley, U.S. army general during World War II. Louisa Adams

Word for the Day

tardis

PRONUNCIATION:

(TAR-dis)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A time machine.
2. Something that is much bigger than it appears from the outside.

ETYMOLOGY:

From TARDIS, a time machine in the British science-fiction TV series, Doctor Who. Earliest documented use: 1969.

NOTES:

In the Doctor Who television show, the title character, known simply as the Doctor, travels through time and space in TARDIS that looks like a police call box from the outside. It's much bigger on the inside though, and includes a swimming pool, a library, and more. The name TARDIS is explained as an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space.

USAGE:

"This revival disco tune is a must on any party list. For those born post-1980, it's like taking a tardis back to the heady heights of the 70s funk revolution."
Paula Yeoman; Songs for Summer; The New Zealand Herald (Auckland); Dec 29, 2013.

"Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe said: 'It's a bit of a tardis -- once inside there's lots of corners to explore and enjoy.'"
Kathie Griffiths; New City Library Opens With A Flourish!; Telegraph and Argus (Bradford, UK); Dec 10, 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities...still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin. -Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (1809-1882)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Total Time: 15 min

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 5 min

Yield: 8 strawberries

Level: Easy

Ingredients

1 cup pretzel rods

1 cup almonds

3 (4-ounce) bars semisweet chocolate, melted (recommended: Valrhona chocolate)

8 long-stemmed strawberries

Directions

Chop pretzels and nuts and place in 2 separate bowls. Chop chocolate.
In a double boiler, melt chocolate until smooth and velvety.
Dip strawberries in chocolate and then in pretzels or nuts.
Place covered strawberries on a 1/2 sheet tray lined with waxed paper. Allow to set at room temperature and serve

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

ENJOY!

Now You Know!