by Laura Hedgecock | How-to, Writing and Sharing Memories
Should family historians and memory collectors include DNA results in family stories? Back in 2019 I published Do DNA results Help You Discover Family Stories?, opining that DNA stories are not the same as family stories but they can augment them. That’s still true....
by Laura Hedgecock | Family History, Storytelling, Writing Advice
A narrative arc or story arc can help family historians write riveting stories. To decide whether your family’s stories could benefit, let’s talk about what a narrative arc is. What’s a Narrative Arc aka Story Arc? A narrative arc is the bare bones of the path a story...
by Laura Hedgecock | Storytelling, Writing Advice
Not only do family historians and memoir writers want to convey compelling stories untinged by mistruths and embellishments, they also want to tell those family and ancestor stories without judgment. How do we do that? It’s not easy to approach difficult chapters of...
by Laura Hedgecock | Writing Advice, Writing and Sharing Memories
Writing about difficult chapters in your family history is hard. Exposed family secrets and stories about sensitive topics can cause an uproar in the family if they aren’t handled correctly. They seem to prefer to lurk in the closets of our memories or our research...
by Laura Hedgecock | Journal writing, Scrapbooking, Storytelling, Writing and Sharing Memories
Whether you’re working on adding stories to your scrapbooking layouts or wanting to dress up your narratives, finding templates for family stories or family histories can be a chore. This came to mind as a fellow blogger, Carol Kostakos Petranek of Spartan Roots,...