Writing Family History — Whose Stories Will You Tell?

Writing Workshop, December 4, 10 am – 12 am, Fayetteville Public Library - Sign Up Here

So many people!

So many stories!

Where do you begin?

When family gathers, the “remember-when” stories begin to flow—some funny, some sad, and some that grow better by the telling. You want to save these stories.

You’ll learn how to structure and organize their stories, choose a workable time period, make each person’s life memorable, create the context of place, and have fun writing and sharing. Start your Family Story Collection.

Marilyn H. Collins is known for her hands-on, practical workshops. Her encouragement and positive attitude create a friendly class environment. The floor is open to questions throughout the session.

To register contact: Writing Family History - Fayetteville Public Library (faylib.org) (Events, Calendar, Next Month, December 4) or if you have questions, email Marilyn H. Collins, hswc1@cox.net. www.marilynhcollins.com

Tell Your Story, Your Way

Vol. 1, Issue 3

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       Sitting at your computer, staring at a blank screen? You find that you have the time to write, but what? Like each of us, you have a story to tell—one that you actually lived. No need to search for a main character, create a setting, or manufacture a formidable protagonist. You draw on memory for the essentials of your story. And only you can tell your story, your way—from your point of view. 

       What do you most wish that your children, family, or writer friends knew about you? The real you who secretly writes poetry, has a novel tucked away but too shy to offer for critique, or writing awards only appearing on your office walls? Are you a serious nonfiction writer who has a whopper of a mystery you yearn to sit down and start writing? 

       Staying at home may be a good time to contemplate writing your story. Maybe not from the day you were born but perhaps focusing on a special period in your life—perhaps living the writer life, or experiences traveling solo, an amazing job you held, surviving a tragedy, a learning journey taking you into an unfulfilled passion of your life, or a defining moment that gave you the strength to make a 360 degree turnaround—fill in the blanks with the story only you can feel, only you can tell. 

       Do need some helpful guidance to approach writing your story, or memoir? A few sources below: 

• The National Memoir Association, www.namw.org, offer supports and guidance to assist you in writing your memoir.

• Story Circle Network, www.storycirclenetwork.org is a national organization focused on offering support for women writing about their lives. They also offer excellent online writing courses (I sometimes lead writing courses for them). Online courses are especially helpful during this time when most writers’ conferences have been cancelled or postponed. 

• An excellent example of writing a book focused on a special aspect of your life: France My Way, Adventures of a Solo Traveler, by Barbara Youree, www.amazon.com 

• CHS Publishing, offers Memoir Writing Guide: Brighten Your Leaf on the Family Tree, a step-by-step ebook to help you organize your project, choose others to include in your book, select events and places that influenced your life, deal effectively with those tough times, and a section for producing/marketing your completed memoir. www.marilynhcollins.com/books 

       Please send other support groups in the Comment section that you’ve found helpful in telling your own story.

Research Quandary

Museums & Libraries Closed

Vol. 1, Issue 2
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Oh no! Your writing is flowing exceptionally well. But you stop to accurately fact-check an important spelling of an historic name or essential birth/death dates. Your area Reference Librarian or museum director are amazing help in finding the answer to your questions. However, they aren’t in the office due to the virus. Writers in almost every genre—fiction or nonfiction—can by effected by the limited avenues for credible research.

Of course, online resources are available on the web. Libraries often have a Research tab on their website covering a host of broad areas of information. Many states (see sidebar for a sampling) and historical societies offer a compiled encyclopedia of their history with well- checked information on history and other topics.

Information found in a general check of the web should be double-checked against a primary source or other credible material.

Personally, I love to immerse myself in the file room of a local museum or historical society. I want to read the actual letters, newspaper clippings, personal interviews and quotes, diaries of folks living at the time I’m covering. I find pictures that may not be available through other sources.

I make copies of the actual documents, when possible. Even though I jot down a quote that I hope to use later—an unanticipated question about the same person or event may come up later as I write. If I copy the entire newspaper article, letter, or whatever—I have valuable collateral information. I won’t want to travel two states away to revisit the information.

My standing rule is to choose and follow an accepted format for documenting information—I use The Chicago Manual of Style (your publisher may designate their own style manual). I make note of all relevant information on my chosen style while I have the source in front of me. This saves so much time later. Some publishers (including a few magazines) require a Source Document along with your submission. For this, you supply the regular submission along with a duplicate copy citing sources beside each fact mentioned.

In my workshops, I suggest that, if as you write, you need to check a name/date/event/place that you just leave a blank and continue writing. Don’t hold up your writing while the muse is on your shoulder. When the coast is clear again, you can find or double-check the information later.

Love what you do,

Marilyn

Examples of reliable state research sources: 

Arkansas Encyclopedia of History and Culture
www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net 

Oklahoma
www.okhistory.org/publications/encyclopediaonline 

Missouri
www.shsmo.org/missouri-encyclopedia 

Texas
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/about-handbook 

Need help with writing family or town history, check these book for practical how-to steps: You Can Write a Book about Your Family, The Art & Business of Writing Local & Regional History (CHS Publishing)

www.marilynhcollins.com/books 

© 2020 CHS Publishing

Writer Alert

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Our creative time as writers most often takes place in front of our computer screen. Words flow easily one day, come to a screeching halt the next. Story plots form and reform in our minds. Characters behave differently than we expect from their profile we so carefully prepared. Only my office dog hears my exasperation—as if shouting does any good!
Every year I escape to writers’ conferences to share frustrations and even successes with those other amazing people who understand—other writers! However, the virus challenge of 2020 encourages social distancing and disrupts event dates especially those early in the year. Check for conferences that may conduct the event online.
Below are some current plans for area conferencing. I included conferences that area writers attend. Please send any new information you have on upcoming writer events or any updates to those listed below to hswc1@cox.net, subject line: Writers Conferences.

Please include:
*Conference name/location of event/event hotel
*Date(s): Original Event Date and/or Rescheduled Event Dates, if applicable
*Contact information/website

Writers’ Conferences:

OWFI (Oklahoma Writer’s Federation)
Conference for May 2020 is cancelled
Rescheduled for (tentative) Apr 29 -30 and May 1, 2021
Watch for updates including a possible virtual event this summer

76th Annual Arkansas Writers’ Conference
Hilton Garden Inn North Little Rock, AR
Original Date: June 6, 2020
Rescheduled: August 1, 2020
Contact: AWC Director Brenda Iannacone, (505) 960-5014
bdiannacone@aol.com

54th Annual Ozark Creative Writers
Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Eureka Springs, AR
October 8 - 10, 2020
www.ozarkcreativewriters.com

15th Annual Books in Bloom Literary Festival
Original date: May 17, 2020
Cancelled
1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa Eureka Springs, AR
www.booksinbloom.org

Kansas Authors Club
2020 State Writing Conference & Convention
Oct. 2, 3, & 4, 2020
Colby, Kansas

20 TWENTY Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference
August 20 – 23, 2020
Embassy Suites Nashville South/Cool Springs
Franklin, TN
www.killernashville.com

Women Writing the West 26th Annual Conference
October 15-18, 2020
The Antlers Hotel
Colorado Springs, CO
www.womenwritingthewest.org/conference

© 2020 CHS Publishing