Someone in a class told me they had been doing genealogy for 12 years and asked if they should start over. My answer is no and yes. No, because you have already gathered some great information. It may be disorganized. It may be filed in piles on your desk or in boxes you haven’t opened in years. Yes, because you need a new beginning and maybe a new goal. Define a goal that seems attainable. Decide now what the finished product is going to be. Perhaps it’s a family album of you, your parents and grandparents. Great idea. Make that your goal.
Carol Darrow
Who are you going to give this project to – your parents or your children? The audience you give it to may have expectations. Are you going to introduce them to long-lost grandparents or solve a family mystery or create a book for grandchildren that will introduce them to their ethnic heritage.
Now set a deadline. Make it Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or Christmas and make your project work within that deadline. You can always revise the final document to add more stuff later but aim to finish within a one-year deadline.
Now focus on your project. Don’t get distracted by new DNA cousins or someone who has created a family cookbook. That’s a great idea but your project comes first.
Finally, produce your project. Put together a three-ring binder with a colorful picture inserted in the front. Or take your project to a quick print store and have them print and bind your book, again with colorful covers. Or take advantage of electronic printing for a finished look.
There are many choices but your project is unique to you and your family story. Don’t get lost among the choices. Pick one and work through it.
~ Carol Cooke Darrow teaches beginning genealogy at the Central Denver Public Library on the second Saturday of each month. She also facilitates the WriteNOW family history writing group that meets once a month at the Downtown Denver Public Library.