by Laura Hedgecock | Mar 24, 2020 | How-to, Storytelling, Writing Advice
Legal context is critical to understanding the stories of the past. Without it, readers unaware of the legalities of an earlier time period could easily draw incorrect conclusions about family members’ and ancestors’ actions. That means that including and explaining...
by Laura Hedgecock | Mar 18, 2020 | How-to, Family History, Writing Advice
With a dearth of records about female ancestors, it can be difficult to ferret out stories that highlight the women in your family tree. As Lisa A. Alzo points out in her article Strategies for Finding Female Ancestors for FamilyTree Magazine: Prior to the 20th...
by Laura Hedgecock | Feb 24, 2020 | Writing Advice, Storytelling, Writing and Sharing Memories
You know who doesn’t strive for perfection? Fiction authors. They know that compelling characters have both good and bad characteristics. Should family historians write about both good and bad sides of ancestors in family stories? Let’s look at the question...
by Laura Hedgecock | Feb 17, 2020 | Family History, How-to, Writing Advice
Timelines are visualization tools which can stimulate creatively and help you make your stories both more compelling and more accurate. Unfortunately, of the gazillion of timeline programs on the market, the vast majority are for project management. They’re not...
by Laura Hedgecock | Feb 10, 2020 | Family History, Writing Advice
OI’m a big fan of mindmapping for research and writing, but I was having a hard time finding an app which worked well for family history and writing. That quest resulted in an in-depth comparison of mindmapping software. If you’re not familiar with them,...
by Laura Hedgecock | Feb 4, 2020 | Writing Advice
As helpful as spell- and grammar-checks are, writers need more. This editing software comparison seeks to determine if the premium platforms of Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Ginger, or Hemmingway Editor help writers improve their craft. And if they’re worth the expense....