Family History Writing Challenge – Week 1

The Family History Writing Challenge started on February 1, and I am off to a rocky start…well sort of.  Here’s the scoop for the first week.

On February 1, I wrote my blog post for the Surname Saturday theme, Surname Saturday: Rottman (Bavaria / Georgia / Iowa / Illinois).  It was 938 words (4.69% of my 200 words/day goal—hey, I’m ahead of the game!!) and took two hours of writing and formatting.  So it looked like I was off to a great start.

Then the weekend came, as did a stomach bug (that I’m still battling), so nothing got done.  By Tuesday, I was working on a blog post for the Family History Through the Alphabet theme.  Unfortunately, it really didn’t have anything to do with writing about my family history.  I spent two days and 17.5 hours writing and formatting a guide for how to use Diigo (a social bookmarking website) to build a genealogy resource toolbox.  In total, I wrote 5,297 words over those two days, but since it wasn’t about my family history, I don’t think it should count (but hey, I did write something genealogy-related, so that’s a good thing, right?).

Today, I wrote my blog post for the Genealogy By the States theme, and I made sure it had something to do with my family history.  So I wrote about my 11th great-grandfather, John Webster, and my 10th great-granduncle, Robert Treat, who both served as governor for the Colony of Connecticut.  I managed to crank out 801 words in five hours (part of that time included some additional research).  Again, I was over my 200 words/day goal by 4%.

I know the goal is to write a certain amount of words EACH day, and my goal was 200.  And although I only spent two out of seven days writing about my family history, I actually did surpass my overall goal.  For seven days at 200 words/day, I should have accumulated 1,400 words total.  I wrote a total of 1,739 for the week, so I feel like I am achieving my goal, just a little differently.  And, hey, add in the nearly 5,300 words that were genealogy-related, heck, I made the goal for the month (and then some) in just four days of writing! 

But unfortunately, that is not the point of the challenge.  The point is to write a little bit each day.  And now that I’ve gotten that big writing project out of my system, hopefully the stomach bug will follow and I can manage to get a little bit done each day for the rest of the month.

The Family History Writing Challenge Begins Today!

It’s official.  Today marks the start of the third annual Family History Writing Challenge!  People all over the genealogy and family history community are taking this 28-day challenge, which entails a little bit of writing each day.  I will be participating again this year, and you can read more about my goals here.

Haven’t made the commitment yet?  That’s okay.  Head over to the Family History Writing Challenge website to sign up.  This nice thing about stating your goal publicly is that it makes you accountable and gives you a reason to follow through on your goal.  When you sign up, you receive inspirational emails each day during the challenge.  You should also consider participating in the forum, where you can ask questions, seek advice and encouragement, or help others on their quest.

Not convinced?  There are several family history writing articles posted at the challenge blog from last year, with more coming throughout the challenge.  These articles will give you ideas, encouragement, and advice to help you on your journey.  And for those who feel they just don’t have time, check out the post I wrote for last year’s challenge:  6 Tips for the Time-Starved Family History Writer.

Come on…what are you waiting for?  Join me in the Family History Writing Challenge!!

Make a Commitment to Yourself, Participate in the Family History Writing Challenge Next Month

For the third year in a row, Lynn Palermo (a.k.a. The Armchair Genealogist) is hosting the Family History Writing Challenge.  This 28-day challenge begins on February 1 and ends on the February 28. 

By participating in the challenge, you are essentially making a commitment to yourself to write x-number of words each day about your family history.  It’s a fun way to set a goal and work toward that goal each day during the month of February.  What’s even better is that you will get tips and support along the way.  And because it’s a “community” event, there’s also a sense of camaraderie knowing that others are right there with you, sharing in your successes and, yes, sometimes your frustrations.

This year, because of my busy schedule, I’m going to pledge to write 200 words each day.  Last year I had a plan for what I was going to do, but I didn’t really stick to it.  So for this year, there’s no plan.  I’m just going to write 200 words on whatever aspect of my family history I feel like writing about that day.  It may seem like a very disjointed approach, especially if you know me and how I work.  But sometimes it’s the best approach for the creative process.  And because I plan to write haphazardly (even though it makes me cringe!), I’m going to start using Scrivener so I can at least manage my jaunts and tangents in some organized manner.  (Too bad the Scrivener class I signed up for doesn’t start until February 19.)

So what about you?  Will you make a 28-day commitment to write about your family history?  I’d love to hear about your plans, so please leave me a comment or a link to your blog post about the challenge.

Writing-Related Presentations at RootsTech 2013

RootTech 2013 will be held March 21-23, 2013 in Salt Lake City.  Over those three days, attendees will have plenty of lecture sessions to choose from.  I though I’d share a list of presentations that may be of interest to you that relate to writing your family history.  I’ve also included presentations related to sharing your family stories in ways other than writing.

And since RootsTech has incorporated Story@Home into their conference, there are plenty of offerings to go around.  I’m sure you’ll find a few that will suit your fancy.

Thursday, March 21

• Digital Recording Tools for the Family Historian, Nancy & Biff Barnes
• The Timeline Grid: Visualizing a Family Through Time, Kathryn Grant
• Recording and Preserving Family Stories Using Your Hand-held IPad, IPhone, IPod, or Android Devices, Susan Kitchens
• Transform Your Note-taking and Remember Everything With Evernote, Tonia Kendrick
• Life Is in the Details, Leigh Anne Wilkes
• Mapping Ancestral Migration Trails and Their Stories, Laura Prescott

Friday, March 22

• Interest in Pinterest for Family History, Valerie Elkins
• Lab: Publishing, Shantal Park
• The Blog Blitz: Create Your Own Genealogy Blog in One Session Lab, Lisa Louise Cooke
• Being Present in Your Own Story, Ken Craig
• Do Your E-Book Right: Self-Publishing Secrets for the Family Historian, Lisa Alzo
• Turn Google Street View Into a Time Machine: HistoryPin and WhatWasThere, Amy Johnson Crow
• Wikis for Genealogists, Thomas MacEntee

Saturday, March 23

• Creative and Fun Ways to Cherish Your FamilyHistory, Valerie Elkins
• Storytelling With Kids, Amy Price
• Family History Writing Made Easier: Cloud-based Tools Every Genealogist Can Use, Lisa Alzo
• Taking Your Family History Electronic - Creating Your Own Amazing Ebook, Luana Darby
• Digital Storytelling: Beyond Bullet Points, Denise Barrett Olson
• 365 Days of Story Prompts, Jenny Eckton
• Writing for a Publisher, Christopher Robbins
• Publish Your Genealogy Online, Laura Prescott
• Authentically Telling Your Story, Stephanie Sorenson
• Live Your Stories, Increase Your Joy, Nicole Carpenter

Ohio Genealogical Society–6th Annual Writing Competition

January 1, 2013 kicked off the 6th Annual Writing Competition sponsored by the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS).  Entries will be accepted through February 28, 2013. 

Both OGS members and non-members are able to compete.  Only unpublished entries are eligible and must fit the criteria of either the Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly or the Ohio Genealogical Society News.  All of the competition details can be found on the OGS website.