Making your story more reader-friendly

[Top-of-the-hill]

   I have been back to re-read some of my narrative family histories. The ones of grandfather and gr grandfather are not bad because I have stories I was told as a child, but further back it gets more difficult to avoid the lists of dates. The trouble is that they are a very ordinary bunch of country folk, barely worth writing about really, and imagination is not my strong point! A reference my gr grandfather got during his navy service sums up the family pretty well - "a sober, steady, intelligent and thoroughly trustworthy man."

[Mowsehowse]

A few thoughts on writing facts into a narrative, which, (I hope,) becomes easier with practice. 

I remember my English teachers begging us to think about "what, when, where, why, how, who?" when writing compositions.

The competition that I entered was helpful, as the rules specified the piece should be set in local, national and world context.

Professional authors try and visit the locations they will be writing about to make descriptions accurate, and provide atmosphere.  For instance, I was able to visit a farm that cropped up in a census entry. Though the farm and most buildings are no longer as they were, the cider press, (with resident barn owl) still stands, and walking the surrounding lanes also provided extensive material regarding local flora and fauna.  When considering that kind of detail for a place you can't visit, try searching  "images".

[andrewalston]

I have found it easier to write about individuals rather than sort out a list of who begat who.

There are some good ideas about writing about people, documents and heorlooms in your history at http://auntiemabel.org.

I first came across the site because it mentioned Edwin Crew, who is on the fringes of my tree. It prompted me to write up a proper story about him and which is now on the site. The process got me looking more meaningfully into the society in which he lived.

I'm sure that most people would have somebody in their research who is worth writing a few hundred words about!

[Regorian]

I have just started writing up all my researches over the years. Just hope I live long enough to complete. I have no intention of just a documentation. Luckily I have an interest in history and will add everything I can think of locally and nationally.

Recently, a cousin employed a genealogist to take back my researches in time. Unfortunately only one generation due to the start date of the relevant PR. He found one relation, brother to our gggrandfather born 1785 who was in the Army 1803 to 1818. The Discharge Papers and a website on 90th Regiment provide a wealth of detail of service in the Caribbean to Canada. fantastic stuff. I found images for most of the relevant uniforms, I know about uniforms. Whether any family is at all interested is another matter.   

 

[Rena]

    they are a very ordinary bunch of country folk, barely worth writing about really, and imagination is not my strong point!

I've written in general terms about one family of millers and what type of wind/water mill there was in the area and just life in general when they were living in the 18th century.  i actually thought I had another miller in the tree and then discovered last year that although he was a miller, he worked in a factory milling flint for the porcelain industry  .   When you look at old maps, it can be seen that the vast majority of us descended from ordinary "country folk", who (despite their official occupation stated on the census) had many skills and knew how to live off the land surviving whatever mother nature threw at them.  What did our countrymen do after the busy harvest season of making preserves from the fruit, or storing produce in dark cool places and making sure the potato pie in the corner of a field was properly made. Depending on the requirements of the nearby large town the families might be making nails,or making & selling home brewed alcohol and the women might be spinning, dying and knitting wool collected during the summer months, they might not have had any sheep but even today there's sheep's wool to be found on hedgerows, etc.

 It's worth researching whether the land was arable (used for growing crops) or pastural (less rich soil used for grazing animals).  I guess mowsehowse's farming ancestors had a fruit orchard, hence the cider press. Before the industrial revolution people wore linen cloth, which was the end product of the stalks of a crop of flax - the flax seeds would be sent to the local windmill to be pressed to gather the flax oil (linseed oil). Besides making garments, there were many uses for linen cloth; it was used to make sails for ships. Additionally, prior to industrialisation farmers also used large pieces of the linen cloth when they were threshing and winnowing their crops, which would have been cut down at harvest time by  men using scythes and sickles.
  One use of the flax oil was for light in the hours of darkness - there'd be a holder on a wall which held a long piece of wood with an oil soaked taper at the other end which could be lit (probably seen in old Errol Flyn movies lol).  It wasn't just farmers who produced liquid refreshment to sell - many farm labourers would also supplement their income by something similar but on a smaller scale, they would either buy a few bushels or sheaves of grain crops such as barley to make ale,  which was very profitable.  Bees were another source of income because the honey was used as the original sweetener, and a medication and it was also used to brew mead which could be sold on to the local innkeeper. 

Some archives have records of people who rented small plots of land in addition to the piece of land their home stood on and it wasn't unheard of for labourers to have a pig to breed from, a goat/cow for milk, some chickens for eggs, etc. in an effort to be self sufficient. As the country got richer in the industrial revolution, some used those small plots to grow sought after types of cut flowers because the nouveau rich liked to display their position in the pecking order. For centuries beet crops were grown for animal fodder but it could also be used as a supply for sugar which would be bought by the rich - imported sugar was taxed - but not the beet sugar, which was a source of income for "country folk".  There's a piece on how to make it here:  http://www.survivopedia.com/how-to-make-sugar-at-home/

[Mowsehowse]

Gosh RENA.  Thanks for that.

Just thinking about the average household jobs would fill pages.
Fetching water. The procuration of food, cooking, cleaning, laundry.... all while being pregnant or nursing.  Don't know what the men did!! 

[jaybelnz]

I decided to base a story around the life and families of my maternal great grandfather, starting with his birth and family in Scotland, his work as a miner, his 2 marriages, children's births etc etc. His immigration and life in NZ, his writings, poetry he had written, plus other writing he had done!  He wrote a lot about Robert Burns, speeches he wrote to give at the local Scottish Club.  I haven't added in the speeches yet, as they've been written in pencil, very tiny writing and very faded. (They're currently being scanned professionally for me) of the poetry and speeches he wrote were published in a local paper, so I've been able to copy those in as well.

That's worked well for me, and with him as the central character, from his birth to his death, dates, obits photos etc, and I've been able to paint a picture of his life and times that I'm very happy with.  Although I can still add to it as I find more detail, - I typed it up in a word document. I also need to add in a few more generations, down to my own wee Great Grandaughter, who just had her 1st birthday party yesterday!

I intend to do the same sort of format for my paternal Irish  Greatgrandfather, using the same sort of layout, as he also led an interesting life, he was the son of a "Gentleman", and was a Troop Sergeant in the 12th Prince of Wales Lancers. 

I'm quite happy to email you a copy of the one that I've written, might help you decide how to run (or not 😜) with your own stories!  If you're interested, flick me a PM with your email address, and Ill send you a copy!

[Rena]

Gosh RENA.  Thanks for that.

Just thinking about the average household jobs would fill pages.
Fetching water. The procuration of food, cooking, cleaning, laundry.... all while being pregnant or nursing.  Don't know what the men did!! 

    You missed out a couple of chores. making fires and handcrafts. - I made most of the family's clothes from offcuts of cloth and wool bought from the local outdoor market.     

These days our clothes are mainly made from synthetic fibres and i reckon future generations would either laugh or be in awe that we didn't use highly educated scientists or have to drill down into the earth to clothe ourselves.

"Polyester fabric is a synthetic fabric created by bonding polyester fibres together. Polyester fibres are the product of a chemical reaction between coal, petroleum, air, and water."

[Mowsehowse]

Gosh RENA.  Thanks for that.

Just thinking about the average household jobs would fill pages.
Fetching water. The procuration of food, cooking, cleaning, laundry.... all while being pregnant or nursing.  Don't know what the men did!! 

    You missed out a couple of chores. making fires and handcrafts. - I made most of the family's clothes from offcuts of cloth and wool bought from the local outdoor market.     

These days our clothes are mainly made from synthetic fibres and i reckon future generations would either laugh or be in awe that we didn't use highly educated scientists or have to drill down into the earth to clothe ourselves.

"Polyester fabric is a synthetic fabric created by bonding polyester fibres together. Polyester fibres are the product of a chemical reaction between coal, petroleum, air, and water."

I missed out LOADS of stuff..... think you mentioned the allotment, and the possible pig. Not forgetting collecting eggs for the chickens. Leading the fire grate. Whitening the door step. Oh and what about that glorious "Cardinal" (?) polish for keeping the floor tiles looking up to standard, (which I was still using in the early 70's).