Jamboree 2016: Thursday Workshop - Organizing Notes to Write a Compelling Story

Guest post by Anita R. Henderson

You Can’t Put It All In There

What’s the point in doing all that research if you never tell the stories of the people, places, and events you discover? Stories are the glue that binds us together. These tapestries of emotion draw others to want to know what you’ve discovered in your genealogy research (rather than you chasing down family members to recite your latest find). But storytelling only works when done well.

Learn the intricacies of storytelling, and find out how to narrow down all of that research into one organized, compelling tale. In “You Can’t Put It All In There: Organizing Notes to Write a Compelling Story,” author’s coach and author, Anita R. Henderson, explains key points for getting to the meat of your genealogy story.

“Most outsiders don’t want to know who begot whom or how many census documents you had to scour to find the one ancestor you’ve been seeking for the past decade,” says Henderson. “What they do want to know is the stories of the lives of those ancestors; who they loved, what motivated them, what mattered to them, how they lived, how historical events impacted them, and the legacies they left. You really can’t put it all in there, and you shouldn’t if you want to engage your readers and help them connect to your research.”

Here’s your chance to learn:

What makes a good story
How to narrow the focus of your research into one compelling story
Key story elements
How to write for your reader
A simple formula for outlining your story
How to determine what’s relevant in your research story

Anita is known as The Author’s Midwife. She helps genealogists and others write and publish engaging books on interesting topics. Through her Write Your Life program, authors overcome the struggles of writing so they can tell their unique stories and reach their writing and publishing goals. Anita has written for more than 25 publication in the U.S. and Canada. She has written and co-authored eight books, and assisted dozens of authors through the book publishing process. She speaks to genealogy and business groups nationwide, and is co-host of the Write Books That Sell Now podcast on iTunes.

In this interactive session, intermediate and advanced researchers will engage in writing practice and exercises with the goal of walking away with an outline for their own compelling genealogy story.

Thursday, June 2 2016  10:00 a.m. - 12 noon
TH‐C   You Can’t Put It All In There: Organizing Notes to Write a Compelling Story by Anita R. Henderson

This is part of a series of special workshops which are open to registered attendees of Genetic Genealogy or to those registered to at least one day at Jamboree 2016. Additional registration is required.

Limited to 35 participants

SCGS Member Registration

Non-Member Registration