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Family History Writing Advice YOU Really Need (That Experts Missed)
- Devon Noel Lee
- May 4
- 7 min read
"I've written 570 pages of my life story and haven't even added photos yet!"
"My family doesn't have any old documents or pictures—how can I possibly write our history?"
"Should I include details about my spouse's addiction struggles, or will readers judge them harshly?"
These are real questions that family historians asked presenters at RootsTech. While watching the writing sessions, I noticed something interesting—some of the presenters seemed either a bit nervous or perhaps weren't fully prepared to give the kind of practical, actionable advice these writers needed.
Whether you're drowning in too much content or struggling with too little, I believe you deserve clear, practical solutions to move your family history project forward. So grab your notebook, and let's dive into these writing challenges!
1: WRITING WITHOUT PHOTOS OR DOCUMENTS
"If your family doesn't have photos or documents and doesn't talk about their past, is there a way to go about writing your history?"
This is such a common challenge! Here's what I recommend:
Start with what and who you know. Write about your immediate family - your parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. If all else fails, write about yourself! Your future descendants will thank you.
Then, pair those people with available records. For recent ancestors, look at yearbooks, social media, blogs, and county records that are online. For more distant US ancestors, check out the 1940 and 1950 census records, newspapers, and city directories.
One powerful technique is to learn about WHERE someone lived and add that context to their story. For example, if your mother fled from Laos when the Communists took over and settled in Houston, Texas, you could research what life was typically like for Laotian immigrants in Houston during that time period.
Finally, tell people what you're working on! You'd be surprised how many relatives might suddenly remember stories or have photos tucked away once they know you're interested.
2: TOO MUCH CONTENT
"I'm writing my story and it's 570 pages. I don't want to leave anything out but I haven't even added photos... what do I do?"
My answer is simple: BREAK IT UP!
570 pages is a lot for anyone to read, and adding photos will make it even longer. Consider breaking your life story into themed sections or time periods:
Childhood
Marriage
Work life
Hardships
Faith-building experiences
You could publish annotated journals as one project, then create story collections with journal excerpts as another. This gives your readers different ways to connect with your history.
You might also consider hiring an editor. They can help you identify what's essential and what might be better placed in supplementary materials. What seems mundane to an editor might be gold in a different format.
Before hiring an editor, read Hiring the Right Editor for Your Family History Book With These Questions.
3: PHOTO PLACEMENT
"Where do you put photos in a story?"
The best place for photos is embedded right in the text where they're relevant! Use a program that allows text wrap like Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, or Apple Pages.
Simply:
Insert your photo
Wrap text around it
Add a caption if possible
Done!
Some people put photos at the end of chapters, but that breaks the reading flow. The middle photo section is old school from when color printing was expensive. Today, embedding photos throughout your text is affordable and much more engaging for readers.
To continue learning about including images in your books, read How to Arrange Photos in Family History Books.
4: CITATIONS AND FOOTNOTES
"What's the best way to include many sources in your book? Do you use footnotes to include details that don't fit smoothly or cite sources to add credibility?"
This depends on your format, but here's my approach:
For source citations, use chapter endnotes. They provide credibility without cluttering your narrative. To learn more, read Where to Add Source Citations to Your Family History Book.
For brief clarifying statements like definitions, name changes, or pronunciations, use footnotes.
For longer explanations or insights, use boxed text that stands out from the main narrative. To learn more, read Quickly Transform Your Family History With Boxed Text.
And for detailed research debates, analysis, or supplementary material like recipes, use appendices.
Remember, your approach should match your audience. If you're writing for family members who just want the stories, keep citations minimal. If you're writing for fellow researchers, be more thorough.
5: WRITING ANCESTRAL STORIES
"Can writing principles of including meaning and our feelings apply to writing ancestral stories? Should we include how we feel writing your ancestor's story?"
Honestly, few people care about how you felt when you researched your ancestors. They want to read about their ancestors without another person involved.
I know that’s a harsh truth. To be clear, I have read some great blogs about the author’s research journey. For example, read this blog post by Beautiful Invisibility entitled "A Renaissance of Love Beyond the Veil."
Since I love family history, I enjoy this approach, but the regular Jane and Joe- they wouldn’t like this. So if you want to write about your ancestors with your feelings, then publish a blog or research journal.
When writing about ancestors, be a third-person observer-narrator who tells what's happening without adding commentary. It's tempting to make yourself the main character in your ancestor's story, especially when discussing your research journey, but resist this urge.
If the family connections are complicated, write a separate research report. Your family members won't care about your journey, but they will appreciate clear analysis that explains the relationships.
If you want to write a memoir that involves an ancestral research discovery, that's fine – just be clear that it's YOUR story featuring your ancestors, not THEIR story featuring you.
6: WHOLE LIFE VS. STORIES
"Should you write about your whole life or just stories?"
It depends on two things: how much time you have and what your goals are.
I believe it's best to first get a general overview of your life documented so no one has to research your life in the future. Yes, it's the dreaded chronological narrative, but it has a purpose for those who come after you.
Think of it as a skeleton to organize your life stories into. And to learn why it's amazing, watch this video ORGANIZED Family History Writing Begins With Drafting in Chronological Order.
After that, go where the memories take you! I've jumped all over my timeline – from pageant days as a teen to documenting my first child, then back to childhood.
Regarding the great tip that Rachel Trotter shared in her RootsTech session, she said “writing smaller stories helps you finish more often.”
So, here’s my advice from my personal experience.
I've found that scrapbooks, photo journals, or blog posts are great ways to start writing because you can rack up tons of stories and then gather them together into a book. Additionally, sometimes these stories are very visual and could emphasize the text less.
What’s great about scrapbooks and photo journals / blogs, you can process photos and memories in any order, and you'll likely cover your entire life without it feeling overwhelming. When you’re ready to publish a book of your blog entries or a digital scrapbook, you can arrange those stories in any order.
Then if you want to write any part of your ‘whole life’ in more details, you can leverage the ‘story stories’ you’ve written and combine them together into a longer segment of life story.
Does that make sense?
7: OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION
"How do you overcome procrastination?"
Some say to make a routine or habit, and that works for many people.
But personally, I embrace the binge! I typically get a desire to work on a project and let everything else go until that project is finished. Then I take a breather before finding the next project.
Deadlines also help me tremendously. Sometimes they're real deadlines, like completing a book for a 50th anniversary celebration. Other times, they're "guidelines" and I procrastinate. Be honest with yourself about whether you have a true deadline or just a "dream date," and plan accordingly.
If you're not a creature of daily habit, find ways to trigger your creative binges.
Another effective approach is to take a course or join an accountability group. Sometimes when you put money and commitment behind a project, you'll get it done!
8: HANDLING DIFFICULT TOPICS
"My spouse was abused as a child and doesn't talk about it much. The trials made him who he is today. I want to write the story but don't know how to approach it."
"How do we handle writing about a spouse who fought addictions their whole life without having people judge them as horrible?"
For difficult topics, paint the whole picture – the good, the challenging, and everything in between. If writing about someone with addictions, explain what the addictions were trying to solve. They were "working" in some way, or they wouldn't have been effective.
For more tips about writing ethnically, watch this free webinar called Ethically Writing Family Histories.
Remember that you can't control how someone views your spouse or ancestor. Those whose lives have been affected by similar issues may have their own perspectives. Just tell the person's story honestly and allow readers to form their own conclusions.
Reading biographies of people who've gone through similar experiences can help you find appropriate approaches and language.
Leverage This Writing Advice To Enhance Your Family History Today
Family history writing isn't just about facts and dates – it's about preserving the essence of lives lived, challenges overcome, and legacies created.
I hope this writing advice you with your family history projects! If you have more questions, drop them in the comments below or head over to FamilyHistoryFanatics.com for more resources.
Don't forget to like this post and leave a comment. Until next time, keep writing those stories!
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