Writing family history: where do I begin?

Just like the task of researching your family history, writing your family history can feel like an overwhelming task.

Just where do you begin? Should you write about one side of the family? Both sides? Or should you focus on one individual’s story? Should you decide on a theme: such as immigration or marriages?

And then there’s the medium. What form should your history take? Should you write a traditional print book? An e-book, a powerpoint presentation or a website? Or should you start smaller, such as an article?

Here are three questions to ask yourself to help you find a focus for your family history writing.

1: Whose story resonates with you right now?

Think back to what got you started on your family history research journey. Was it one person’s story in particular? Was it something a relative said that sparked your interest?

For me, it was finding out that my family had a secret. When my maternal grandmother died, I discovered that my great-grandfather, whom I had known as Grandpa, was not actually my biological great-grandfather. My grandmother had, in fact, been born out of wedlock to a single mother, my great-grandmother. This was such a closely guarded secret that my mother was not told until my great-grandmother died (at the age of 99), and I was not told until my grandmother died. Such was the shame of unmarried motherhood.

Unravelling the mystery of my great-grandmother’s struggle to survive and raise my grandmother alone (up to the age of 5) has kept me captivated for years. I wrote about it for university assignments, began a historical novel about her, and am now writing a magazine article.

Choose the ancestor who most fascinates you and go from there. You never know where it will lead you.

2: Who is your audience?

Who do you imagine reading your ancestor’s story? Is it for other relatives, for other family historians, or is it for a wider, more general audience? Try to place yourself in the reader’s shoes. Why do you think your ancestor’s story will interest them?

Does your ancestor’s story have a wider relevance, or is it illustrative of what was happening during a particular period? Can you use the particular details of your ancestor’s story to comment about its wider historical significance? Is there something exceptional about your ancestor’s story that you think readers will be interested in?

For example, my great-grandmother managed to retain custody of her daughter (my grandmother) even though it would have been extremely difficult for her to do so, given the social stigma and the need for her to work to support them both.

3: Choose a genre and length

You don’t have to be restricted to writing non-fiction when writing family history. You can also use your family history research to write historical fiction and narrative non-fiction.

Often, historical fiction can be a good choice if there are too many gaps in your knowledge. Returning to my own example, it is highly unlikely I will ever find out who my biological great-grandfather was. No name was listed on the birth certificate, and since it was such a closely guarded secret, his true identity was never revealed to other family members.

However, I used this unknowable fact as a launching point for my historical novel. I imagined a great romance between my two great-grandparents. Never mind that it was probably unlikely — this was fiction!

If you choose non-fiction, however, you must stick to the facts.

You will need to back up your work with references to primary sources. It doesn’t have to be a complicated or intrusive system of referencing, but you will need to show the evidence supporting your ancestor’s story. Often, compiling it in endnotes is the easiest. Think also about using secondary sources to contextualise your ancestor’s story.

In narrative non-fiction, you can use fictional techniques to bridge the gap between the known and the unknown. You can also bring yourself into the story as the narrator. However, you will have to make it clear to the reader that this is what you’re doing.

Finally, the main thing to keep in mind when starting to write your family history is STORY. Think about what makes a compelling story. (More on that in a later post.)

Are you having trouble deciding how to write your family history? Or have you got a manuscript but you're not sure what the next steps are? Contact me to see how I can help you.

I've been an editor since 2002 and accredited (IPEd) since 2016. I have also completed a Master of History and a Graduate Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History (UNE). I help writers of history, biography and memoir share their stories with the world. I offer manuscript appraisal, copyediting and proofreading services. Let me help you take the next step on your publishing journey.