For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History - Softcover

Kempthorne, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0867093811 ISBN 13: 9780867093810

Publisher: Heinemann, 1996

Synopsis

Family history writing can take many forms--a short essay or narrative introduction to a collection of family letters, long captions comprising a family photo history, a biography of parents and a narrative of their life together, an autobiography, or even a family newsletter. This sensible and accessible book is for those who want to do a little writing as well as for those who want to do a lot.

Kempthorne shows how easy it is to write family history and how much fun it can be. He illustrates in detail how to:

write narratives and dialogue

use physical details in a scene to make it come alive

create suspense

use many other techniques frequently employed by historians and novelists.

By the end of the book, readers will not only gain a thorough understanding of how to write family history, but will have completed a number of sketches to entertain and enrich their families.

About this title

From the Back Cover

For All Time is a practical and accessible guide to documenting your family's history, whether you want to write a little or a lot. Author Charley Kempthorne shows how easy it is and how much fun it can be. A family history can take many forms - a short essay or narrative introducing a collection of family letters, long captions in a family photo album, a biography of your parents and their life together, an autobiography, even a family newsletter. Kempthorne discusses the many forms of family history and tells you how to keep the task manageable. For All Time also clues you in to specific techniques. Kempthorne explains how to get started, how to use dialogue and physical detail to make a scene come alive, how to mix summary and anecdote, how to be specific, and when to employ other tools used by historians and novelists. There is also a chapter on printing and publishing your family history. This book will give you a thorough understanding of how to write a family history. And peppered throughout are suggested writing topics; when you're finished, you'll have had the opportunity to write several sketches that can be used as a beginning.

About the Author

Charley Kempthorne, a former teacher, is the founder and editor of LifeStory Magazine, an interactive workshop by mail for family historians. He also teaches workshops in journaling and writing family history through his LifeStory Institute in Manhattan, Kansas.

Edition details

• Publisher: Heinemann
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0867093811
• ISBN 13: 9780867093810
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 150