Genealogy Chat

I have been asked to write an article about my family history - one aspect of which is particularly interesting. Has anyone done this before. Any tips?

One tip I could offer is to build up a good narrative and not to let it just become a list of names and dates! I dont know what aspect you will be writing about, so it might not even be the case that you could worry about doing that. Perhaps delve a little more into the social history of whatever the aspect is?

I recently had an article published in an Australian magazine about an ancestor who was described as the most important lithographer of the pre-goldrush era. I had never heard of him before I started my family history research but I managed to gather so much good information that it has been warmly received in academic circles in Australia. He was only known for his work, but now I have compiled the history of the man and his family. The most important thing is to keep your focus on what the reader would find interesting, not what you find interesting as a relative. My finished article represented less than half of the story I have written for family consumption. It's all too easy to drift off into areas that could actually bore the reader. Secondly, stick to facts, not assumptions. Not as easy as it sounds, I know. Try wherever possible to cite your sources. Try to place events in context. When I wrote of a family emigrating to Canada I got weather reports from local newspapers so I was able to include truthful descriptions of the departure and arrival.

Many thanks for your useful replies. I would love to see a copy Marion of your article. I love to read those anyway. My article is about the loss of my gg grandfathers wife, brother and 3 young children on a shipwreck in the late 1800's.

I used to write some nursing articles for a magazine. It is important to agree the word limit so you do the editing not them. Also try to get a copy of the magazine and guess the age of the readership and profile. In my case a lot of the readership was nursing students so I needed to explain a lot of basic terminology. Good luck with the article.

I've had several articles published in assorted magazines including Your Family Tree and Norfolk Roots. Happy to send any of my articles to you if you PM me your email address. Paul's advice was good. Magazines usually want an interesting story but for you to tell it in a way that other family historians could learn from and pick up useful advice and tips. Cheers, Horatia