21. Decide On A Deadline Reunions and Christmas Break It Into Smaller Parts Set Short Term Goals
22. Decide On A Deadline Reunions and Christmas Break It Into Smaller Parts Set Short Term Goals Deadlines Keep Us Moving Forward
23. Decide On A Deadline A Caution About The Final Deadline
24. Future Classes Oct 19 - Getting Organized when Publishing Your Family History Oct 26 - Family History Writing, Typing, and Computer Programs
25. Future Classes Nov 2 -Writing a family history that others will want to read Nov 9 - Add Interest to your Family History Nov 16 - Preparing Pictures and Media for My History
26. Do It! Something that is done imperfectly is better than nothing that is done perfectly!
Young BYU graduated student family, with 3 children, move into Y-view village. I was 2.5, June 1959A few days later, Dad is on the roof installing 30 foot antennaDad does things big, rubber machine gunAntenna slips and hits a 7,200 volt electric wireMom is in the house feeding my 3 month old sister, hears a pop and smells electricity, and runs outsideMy big sister Mary and I point to Dad on the roof, convulsing, and Mom screams for help. Frantic Neighbor John Sawyer heard cry and came to see if he could help. He had just finished a first aid courseHe gets a couple of sticks off the ground and a ladder to get on the roofHe sees the situation and is sure Dad is deadEyes rolled back, holes in shoes and clothing from electrical burnsUses sticks to push antenna away from Dad & He starts CPRMom asks another neighbor to help John give Dad a priesthood blessing, which they doThe ambulance arrives with a resuscitation unit and works on Dad and gets him and Mom in the ambulanceDad comes to and asks “where am I” and passes out again. Mom and EMTs are worried that he won’t make it or at least that his mind won’t be the same.Dad gives phone number and Mom’s hope returns that he will be okay.At hospital they treat him for all the third degree burns that are extremely painfulMiraculous recoveryDad is called to serve as First Counselor in bishopric while in hospitalDad is released Sunday morning, 5 days later, goes to church and ordained a High Priest and set apart as counselor in bishopric.Radio reports said he had diedBYU science team examined his clothing and the situation and told him that he shouldn’t be aliveI am glad that he came back from death. I love him and he has been a great influence in my life.
There are a few decisions that need to be made at the very beginning. If you take a few hours and think them through, the rest of the process will run much more smoothly. ChildrenGrandchildrenUnborn generationsYourselfExtended family (Stevenson family)
Because you feel that you have to or have been assigned?To leave a legacy?To have influence on others?To preserve the genealogy data and family stories?It is good to write the answers down and post them on the wall by the computer. Then if you get bogged down in the work you can remember the reason for all this work and it will help you get past this hurdle.
You next need to choose a focus for your family history book.Can choose a grandmother's ancestorsMaybe just one line (Stevenson) of your grandmother's ancestors
All Descendants Of... - Begins with an individual or couple and covers all of their descendants, with chapters organized by generation. If you're focusing your family history on an immigrant ancestor, this is a good way to go.Single Line of Descent - Begins with the earliest known ancestor for a particular surname and follows him/her through a single line of descent (to yourself, for example). Each chapter of your book would cover one ancestor or generation.
A personal history or autobiography is a wonderful gift.Maybe it will just be about your father or your mother.If you have enough information about one person, this is a great way to do it.
The Grandparents - Includes a section on each of your four grandparents, or eight great-grandparents, or sixteen great, great grandparents if you are very ambitious. Each individual section focuses on one grandparent, and works backwards through their ancestry or forward from his/her earliest known ancestor.This would have limited interest for your family only.You can always change after you get going, but this will help to have this in mind right up front.
Other booksArticles, magazines, wikipediaWrote stories or history themselvesJournals
This is one of my favorite resourcesPictures bring back memories and create feelings. Don't go too fast through the pictures without writing down notes.Names, dates, and places written on themSome will be digital and others won't – we will cover handling pictures in class #6
Again, write down notes from these memoriesOur Family annual DVDIf you want to share these old movies, we will cover this in a future class about transferring old movies to DVD.
Many people saved old letters so they could read them again and againYou might have some emails in your sent box that have valuable info to save in your word processor
CertificatesAwardsDegreesGenealogy forms
Pictures of great-grandpa's cane or hat make great additions to your historyMake some notes about the memories you have with that heirloom.Grandpa's radio
Maps of where your ancestors lived will help you keep things clear in your mind and help understand how far away they moved.These can be included in your history if it would be helpful to the reader
Think through what your abilities are. This step is very helpful to avoid getting stuck. Often when we get to a step that we aren't very good at doing, we will stop and have a hard time getting going again.You will be better prepared to handle this and find solutions before you hit the hurdle.
Maybe you aren't very good at Microsoft Word, but you want to get good at it. Or scanning pictures.Plan on spending some time in the learning curve.
Do you have grandchildren with skills and a little time? A sister with a scanner?A rich uncle to finance the operationA friend that is a good proofreader
There is good help all over. In your family, hire grandkids to scan pictures or transcribe an audio file.Or hire a professionalAsk others who they used and if they were pleased with them.Freelance online: elanceTalk to your publisher to see what services they provideHaving a budget is helpful and financing can be provided by a rich relative, your own pocket, or sales of the books when they are done.
Now you are ready to determine when you want to be done. Look ahead and see what special occasion is coming up that would make sense to have it complete.Christmas 80th birthdayFamily gathering where several family members will be there to save on shipping.
Once the final deadline is determined, then break the project into several small parts, like type history of grandpa or scan aunt Julie's pictures.Break down the research and writing since this is the largest task into small parts. Like, research 3 hours this week on Civil War, or write two stories this week about my high school experience.Then decide what your goal date will be for each of the tasks.
Why are they valuable?Help us move past obstaclesAvoid procrastinationGive us satisfaction along the way as we see progress and check off each small goal
It is more important to have the book correct than to meet a deadline. The book will be around for 100 years, so it is worth doing right.If you are going to miss Christmas by a few weeks, you can always send a little card that explains when the book will be done and they will have a late Christmas present. But be careful of the opposite problem, wanting it perfect and never finishing. A healthy balance here is good. You will come to a point where you need to take the step of moving forward.
Organized:Creating and naming foldersGathering and preparing pictures and other mediaMaking several lists that will help throughout the projectUsing timelinesSoftware:What software to useWhat about margins and columnsDifferent formatting tips and ideasFonts and spacingInserting pictures and objects into the text
Want to Read:Decide on a focusEveryone has a story that needs to be sharedWhat is the best order for writing?Adding interestInterest:Telling your storyTroubles teachWriting tips and helpsEnjoy the processPictures:Organizing picturesScanning tipsPlacing pictures and captionsLetters, documents, and other media
It is hard to put aside perfectionism, but my Dad did it. Some of us need encouragement to do a better job, some of us to not do such a good job. Balance is the keyHave courage, take a leap, and keep pushing through to the finish line.
