**Note from Gena: It's my pleasure to have a guest post written by Dr. Bill Smith of the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories blog. He has a 2nd edition of his 13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories book out now.
Today I want to share one more family
storytelling technique that I don't speak a lot about in the new 2nd Edition of
"13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories" that this book blog tour is
all about. Use your family history and genealogy research, and your own
personal experiences, to create Family Saga/Historical Fiction. Write fiction
stories based on your research findings. You don't need to tell the exact
stories you find,of course. Rather, create stories combining your imagination
with the facts and relationships you have identified as you have done your
reading, your living, and your research.
Personally, I find as a writer I cannot
NOT write fiction based on my family history studies. As I research, my mind is
constantly creating these other families in other worlds that can do what I may
wish my families had done, or, they do things members of my family ought to
have done - in my view. Creating fiction allows you to use those traits and
habits and relationships you identify in your own story telling in ways without
identifying who they were or embarrassing anyone. Genders, occupations or
passions may be placed in your characters that came from real life but 'come to
life' in another body in a fictional character acting out your story.
In my "The Homeplace Series" I have created nearly 200 years
of family history on a farm and a community in a valley in the Southern
Missouri Ozarks from original settlement shortly after statehood to nearly the
current time. There are two novels published, a novella releasing on April 9,
and a short-story collection being previewed on the blog, so far. A third novel
and another novella will be available within the coming year, with more to
follow.
So, my family history storytelling
includes both the traditional non-fiction storytelling of my ancestors as well
as fictional family saga storytelling that is inspired by and strongly
influenced by my actual family history and personal family experiences. Have
you considered this approach to "Tell Your Ancestor Stories?" I hope
you will give it some thought!
4 comments:
Thanks, Gena, for hosting this post on the 13 Ways Book Blog Tour! ;-)
You're welcome. I love posting about new books. Thank you for including me!
This is really interesting. These are your would-be stories, it sounds like, and they are true to your wishes and passions that are inspired by non-fiction reality.
I really like the mixing of writing "genres," where the distinctions of rules blur for artistic and creative purposes.
I have a good writer friend who has written a family history that she calls a "non-fiction novel." It's based on heavy research and fact. But there are periods during which all evidence disappears, and for these she makes a good-faith guess at what happened, based as she admits on what she hoped her ancestor would have thought or done.
In practice, I believe, there is not a bright line between fiction and non-fiction. Or between subjective and objective. Or between wish and reality. We all live by traveling between those areas, constantly. Just sayin'.
Good observations, Mariann. We would each do well to remember these thoughts. Thanks for the comment! ;-)
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