(This blog post was written last year, and it felt like the right time to share it again. The manuscripts I mention in it are
Make a ‘Stop Doing’ List
Read the words out loud: a writing step we never miss
One of the best days for me in any writing project is the read-aloud session. I’ve found that if you want to experience something really
How to start or boost a journal writing habit
What style of journal writing is best for you? What are the benefits of journaling? For starters, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reports that
Story structure – Strengthen any story with these tips and examples
This article explains the basics of story structure using The Sound of Music as the main example, followed by a short personal example, and ending
Visiting an ancestral home at Witch Hollow near Salem
The Tyler family from which I descend had more involvement in the Salem witch trials than any other in New England in the number of
No coincidences? Uncanny occurrences in researching people and places
Uncanny, I think, when the archivist hands me the old photographs. But then again, in my line of work doing family history, I have come
Alice Ann’s Story Shows Me Riches
This is an embarrassment of riches. That’s what I thought when I looked around my leaking and smallish camp trailer while reading the pioneer story
An Adoption Story Touches My Heart 160 Years Later
Preface: This is an adoption story of enduring love, and pure hope. Also, it intertwines with my own family story (and I didn’t see that coming.) The
Grandpa’s Voice Tells their Pioneer Story
Because of a weirdly wide age spread in the generations in my family, the Mormon pioneer experience is only three generations back, even though I’m
In writing a life story ask: What are my talents?
If you are writing your autobiography, life story, or memoir, it’s an insightful exercise to ask introspective questions: What are my talents? What are my