Family
13 Steps to Preserve Your Family History
A
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tell" may sound like a cliche, it's true.
And after working as a newspaper reporter
for nine years, I know that everyone does,
indeed, have a story to tell, including your
family members.
Think about it.
father -- mother and father -- aunts
Guess what? You don't need "literary talent," special training or special equipment. All you need to preserve those stories is a list of people to interview, a willingness to listen, a set of questions to ask, a tape recorder and a computer (or even a typewriter would work!).
writing your family stories:
and make a list.
2. Ask for permission to conduct an interview.
3. Set a formal date and time for the interview.
4. Provide a list of questions several days or weeks
before the interview.
6. Use the “who, what, where, when, how, and why” strategy when formulating your questions.
7. Ask open-ended questions and not “yes or no” or “one word answer” questions.
8. Use a tape recorder to record the interview.
10. Transcribe the tape and write up your notes after you have finished the interview.
11. Edit the manuscript.
12. Spread out your interviews.
13. Print the stories from your computer or publish them in another way.
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From the e-book: Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Histories) (66 pages; April 2004; $7.95) available at — http://www.booklocker.com/books/1545.html
To see the table of contents and several sets of sample questions visit — http://www.ruralroute2.com/family_history.html
LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the book, *Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)* (trade paperback; August 2003). For more information, visit http://ruralroute2.com
bigpuines@ruralroute2.com - © LeAnn R. Ralph 2004
