The next Best of Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL series webinar is on Friday (a members-only event). Learn more here. 

The next Best of Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL series webinar is on Friday (a members-only event). Learn more here. 

By
By
Webinar Library
Writing and Publishing Writing

Structuring a Family History – class 1 of 4

Carol Baxter
Oct 27, 2022
2.2K views
Advanced
CC
Want to watch the full webinar?
Join now to access all 2,309 webinars and unlock all features.
Join now
Syllabus
Chat Log
Join now

Content

Play. Playing.
Welcome
2m 46s
Play. Playing.
Speaker's Introduction
1m 04s
Play. Playing.
Introduction
4m 05s
Play. Playing.
Multi-generational Family Histories
6m 47s
Play. Playing.
Pyramid-shaped Family History
4m 10s
Play. Playing.
Broom-shaped Family History
8m 09s
Play. Playing.
Hour-glass Family History
13m 16s
Play. Playing.
The Introduction
17m 13s
Play. Playing.
Biographical Structure
13m 28s
Play. Playing.
Announcements / prizes
8m 24s
Play. Playing.
Questions / answers
10m 08s

About this webinar

To write a family history, we must convert our ancestral information into paragraphs of prose. But how do we group the resulting paragraphs to produce a coherent structure? We start by asking ourselves what we wish to achieve. Are we writing a history that focuses on a surname line? Or one that covers all of our ancestors, or all of our descendants, or all of the ancestors and descendants of a particular person? And how do we craft an individual biography? Do we produce a family history that is a group of stand-alone biographies or one that has a narrative-style flow? These and other subjects are discussed in this simple guide to structuring a family history.

Classes 2-4 will be part of our October 2022 conference on Saturday, October 29. Visit https://familytreewebinars.com/conference/ for the details.

About the speaker

About the speaker

Carol Baxter
Carol Baxter is an experienced and informed historian and genealogist, an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning author, and a dynamic, inspirational presenter. Carol has been a genealogist for four decades having first become interested
Learn more...

Comments (108)

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

1000 characters remaining
Cancel Submit

Sort by Newest
Sort by Close.
  • Newest
  • Oldest
  • Likes
  1. MM
    Marg McIntyre
    2 years ago

    Was unable to watch this live, but Carol is fabulous! Very funny and has great advice about writing family histories. I’ll be watching all of her other webinars.

    Reply
  2. JV
    John Vitale
    2 years ago

    Scrivner does make writing easier

    Reply
  3. HS
    Helen Schenkelaars
    2 years ago

    Carol’s writing webinars are a must if you want people to actually read your family history. This was a great presentation on something that is quite a dry topic and not the easiest thing to teach. Looking forward to the rest!

    Reply
  4. BB
    Brian Boneham
    2 years ago

    Brilliant webinar with lots of great information and ideas to enable us to write a readable family history.

    Reply
  5. DN
    Denise Newton
    2 years ago

    very useful info, I like Carol’s presentations

    Reply
  6. DM
    Douglas Murphy
    2 years ago

    Now I see! The hard part is putting this into practice in my own work.

    Reply
  7. KA
    Kaye Arnold
    2 years ago

    Communicating how to write any kind of product is a challenge. Carol Baxter met that challenge with superior expertise, an organized presentation, and great examples. I would recommend her work to any genealogists who want to write a history others will want to read.

    Reply
  8. CM
    Carole McCulloch
    2 years ago

    Carol’s explanations of the types of family history enable me to categorise my own published book as a pyramid shaped multi-generational memoir-style bio. Now I am equipped with excellent strategies for structuring my next family history book.

    Reply
Show all comments

Related Webinars

1:16:44
Writing and Publishing
Publishing – class 4 of 4
Carol Baxter
329 views
CC
Publishing – class 4 of 4
Many researchers are daunted at the thought of publishing a family history or memoir or “how to” book because they lack knowledge about their publishing and marketing options. Carol has been associated with the publishing industry since the 1980s and her 24 books have been variously mainstream, boutique, indie, and self-published. In this webinar she discusses the editing processes that all works of prose should experience before they are published, whether it be in a journal article or a family history. She discusses publishing and printing options, along with marketing approaches to family members and the broader public. She also covers the practical aspects of self-publishing: writing and publishing programs, font choices, paragraph and column layouts, page sizes, book weight and postage requirements.
Writing and Publishing
Publishing – class 4 of 4
CC
Carol Baxter
329 views
Many researchers are daunted at the thought of publishing a family history or memoir or “how to” book because they lack knowledge about their publishing and marketing options. Carol has been associated with the publishing industry since the 1980s and her 24 books have been variously mainstream, boutique, indie, and self-published. In this webinar she discusses the editing processes that all works of prose should experience before they are published, whether it be in a journal article or a family history. She discusses publishing and printing options, along with marketing approaches to family members and the broader public. She also covers the practical aspects of self-publishing: writing and publishing programs, font choices, paragraph and column layouts, page sizes, book weight and postage requirements.
Sat, October 29 2022: 0:00 UTC
Register for free
1:02:37
Writing and Publishing
Crafting Vivid Sentences that hook our readers – class 2 of 4
Carol Baxter
610 views
CC
Crafting Vivid Sentences that hook our readers – class 2 of 4
Financial planners advise that the best way to acquire more money is to make the most of what we already have – aka, don’t fritter away our money. The same can be said for writing. The simplest way to craft an interesting family history, or other piece of prose, is to make the most of the words in our language. There’s no need to send our readers to sleep when a simple word replacement or two can bring a sentence, a paragraph, a story to life. This webinar discusses the basic tools in our writing toolbox, the tools that were once monopolised by fiction writers but are now used by nonfiction writers to hook our readers.
Writing and Publishing
Crafting Vivid Sentences that hook our readers – class 2 of 4
CC
Carol Baxter
610 views
Financial planners advise that the best way to acquire more money is to make the most of what we already have – aka, don’t fritter away our money. The same can be said for writing. The simplest way to craft an interesting family history, or other piece of prose, is to make the most of the words in our language. There’s no need to send our readers to sleep when a simple word replacement or two can bring a sentence, a paragraph, a story to life. This webinar discusses the basic tools in our writing toolbox, the tools that were once monopolised by fiction writers but are now used by nonfiction writers to hook our readers.
Sat, October 29 2022: 0:00 UTC
Register for free
1:10:34
Writing and Publishing
Crafting vivid scenes from a few dry facts – class 3 of 4
Carol Baxter
458 views
CC
Crafting vivid scenes from a few dry facts – class 3 of 4
We’ve learnt how to craft vivid sentences but how do we combine them to produce a vivid scene, especially when we have little information to work with? This webinar describes the process of doing so, using practical examples from Carol’s own writing. It shows how she began with very little information then followed one path after another in a desperate attempt to find something … anything … to make her description interesting. It shows how you too can apply the same strategies to your own research and writing, whatever the subject.
Writing and Publishing
Crafting vivid scenes from a few dry facts – class 3 of 4
CC
Carol Baxter
458 views
We’ve learnt how to craft vivid sentences but how do we combine them to produce a vivid scene, especially when we have little information to work with? This webinar describes the process of doing so, using practical examples from Carol’s own writing. It shows how she began with very little information then followed one path after another in a desperate attempt to find something … anything … to make her description interesting. It shows how you too can apply the same strategies to your own research and writing, whatever the subject.
Sat, October 29 2022: 0:00 UTC
Register for free
1:32:16
Down Under SeriesWriting and Publishing
Once upon a time: It’s all about the story
Carol Baxter
7.3K views
CC
Once upon a time: It’s all about the story
‘Facts’ send people to sleep; ‘stories’ keep them awake and alert and eager to learn what happens next. In this seminar, Carol shows you how to tell a gripping story within a family history, and by extension, how to write a gripping a family history.
Down Under SeriesWriting and Publishing
Once upon a time: It’s all about the story
CC
Carol Baxter
7.3K views
‘Facts’ send people to sleep; ‘stories’ keep them awake and alert and eager to learn what happens next. In this seminar, Carol shows you how to tell a gripping story within a family history, and by extension, how to write a gripping a family history.
Tue, December 1 2020: 0:00 UTC
Register for free
1:31:20
Writing and Publishing
Turning dry facts into exciting narrative
Carol Baxter
18.9K views
CC
Turning dry facts into exciting narrative
The literary world condemns most family histories as ‘fact-driven and tedious’ because they are usually little more than prose timelines. Yet the phrase ‘family history’ communicates the three ingredients needed to produce a piece of prose that is interesting to read: ‘family’ (the facts about the family), ‘history’ (the...
Writing and Publishing
Turning dry facts into exciting narrative
CC
Carol Baxter
18.9K views
The literary world condemns most family histories as ‘fact-driven and tedious’ because they are usually little more than prose timelines. Yet the phrase ‘family history’ communicates the three ingredients needed to produce a piece of prose that is interesting to read: ‘family’ (the facts about the family), ‘history’ (the...
Wed, July 8 2020: 0:00 UTC
Register for free
1:11:59
BCGMethodology and SkillsWriting and Publishing
Dear Me: Writing Research Reports to Yourself
Yvette Hoitink, MLitt, CG, QG
1.0K views
CC
Free
Dear Me: Writing Research Reports to Yourself
Research reports are not just for professionals, but are a great tool for anyone who wants to answer their research questions. Write a research report to yourself to organize your thoughts, analyze the evidence, document your findings, and solve your puzzles. Using an example from the Netherlands, this presentation demonstrates how you can organize a research report to spot more clues in records, discover and resolve discrepancies, and build reliable conclusions.
BCGMethodology and SkillsWriting and Publishing
Dear Me: Writing Research Reports to Yourself
CC
Free
Yvette Hoitink, MLitt, CG, QG
1.0K views
Research reports are not just for professionals, but are a great tool for anyone who wants to answer their research questions. Write a research report to yourself to organize your thoughts, analyze the evidence, document your findings, and solve your puzzles. Using an example from the Netherlands, this presentation demonstrates how you can organize a research report to spot more clues in records, discover and resolve discrepancies, and build reliable conclusions.
Tue, November 19 2024: 19:00 UTC
Register for free
1:26:42
Best of ESMWriting and Publishing
Genealogical Research & Writing: Are You a Saint, Sinner, or Bumfuzzled Soul?
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL
1.5K views
CC
Genealogical Research & Writing: Are You a Saint, Sinner, or Bumfuzzled Soul?
As researchers, family historians, compilers, bloggers, or writers of other ilk, genealogists face legal and ethical perils they often do not anticipate. This crash course offers practical guidance to enhance your skills and keep you safe as you explore history, reconstruct lives, and “write up” your findings. While the issues are serious—from the legal issue of copyright to the ethical issue of plagiarism—the lessons are taught with a light heart and humor.
Best of ESMWriting and Publishing
Genealogical Research & Writing: Are You a Saint, Sinner, or Bumfuzzled Soul?
CC
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL
1.5K views
As researchers, family historians, compilers, bloggers, or writers of other ilk, genealogists face legal and ethical perils they often do not anticipate. This crash course offers practical guidance to enhance your skills and keep you safe as you explore history, reconstruct lives, and “write up” your findings. While the issues are serious—from the legal issue of copyright to the ethical issue of plagiarism—the lessons are taught with a light heart and humor.
Fri, July 26 2024: 18:00 UTC
Login to register (for webinar members)
Login to register (for webinar members)
1:24:18
BCGMethodology and SkillsWriting and Publishing
Editing Your Own Work – Part 2
Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGG
1.3K views
CC
Editing Your Own Work – Part 2
Genealogists write. Their written narratives include stories of ancestral families, biographies of individual ancestors, and explanations supporting genealogical proofs. For their writing to succeed, genealogists—like all effective writers—repeatedly self-edit everything they write. The process results in polished products that the genealogist’s readers will understand, enjoy, and cherish. Emphasizing genealogical narrative, these two webinars will address the self-editing process. Part 1 will focus on “big-picture” editing, including stages of self-editing; focus; keeping the writer out of the narrative; editing the writing’s overall structure, organization, and flow; and improving major and minor subdivisions of written genealogical narratives, including paragraphing. Part 2 will focus on “nitty-gritty” editing, including capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, word choice, and reducing word count.
BCGMethodology and SkillsWriting and Publishing
Editing Your Own Work – Part 2
CC
Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGG
1.3K views
Genealogists write. Their written narratives include stories of ancestral families, biographies of individual ancestors, and explanations supporting genealogical proofs. For their writing to succeed, genealogists—like all effective writers—repeatedly self-edit everything they write. The process results in polished products that the genealogist’s readers will understand, enjoy, and cherish. Emphasizing genealogical narrative, these two webinars will address the self-editing process. Part 1 will focus on “big-picture” editing, including stages of self-editing; focus; keeping the writer out of the narrative; editing the writing’s overall structure, organization, and flow; and improving major and minor subdivisions of written genealogical narratives, including paragraphing. Part 2 will focus on “nitty-gritty” editing, including capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, word choice, and reducing word count.
Wed, June 19 2024: 0:00 UTC
Register for free
1:27:11
BCGMethodology and SkillsWriting and Publishing
Editing Your Own Work – Part 1
Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGG
2.0K views
CC
Editing Your Own Work – Part 1
Genealogists write. Their written narratives include stories of ancestral families, biographies of individual ancestors, and explanations supporting genealogical proofs. For their writing to succeed, genealogists—like all effective writers—repeatedly self-edit everything they write. The process results in polished products that the genealogist’s readers will understand, enjoy, and cherish. Emphasizing genealogical narrative, these two webinars will addresses the self-editing process. Part 1 will focus on “big-picture” editing, including stages of self-editing; focus; keeping the writer out of the narrative; editing the writing’s overall structure, organization, and flow; and improving major and minor subdivisions of written genealogical narratives, including paragraphing. Part 2 will focus on “nitty-gritty” editing, including capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, word choice, and reducing word count.
BCGMethodology and SkillsWriting and Publishing
Editing Your Own Work – Part 1
CC
Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGG
2.0K views
Genealogists write. Their written narratives include stories of ancestral families, biographies of individual ancestors, and explanations supporting genealogical proofs. For their writing to succeed, genealogists—like all effective writers—repeatedly self-edit everything they write. The process results in polished products that the genealogist’s readers will understand, enjoy, and cherish. Emphasizing genealogical narrative, these two webinars will addresses the self-editing process. Part 1 will focus on “big-picture” editing, including stages of self-editing; focus; keeping the writer out of the narrative; editing the writing’s overall structure, organization, and flow; and improving major and minor subdivisions of written genealogical narratives, including paragraphing. Part 2 will focus on “nitty-gritty” editing, including capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, word choice, and reducing word count.
Wed, May 22 2024: 0:00 UTC
Register for free