Online Resources

There are a number of resources online which can offer the budding author help with their family history project such as dictionaries, citation guides, writing classes, etc. Below are a few sites listing guidelines and advice about writing a family history (you can never have enough advice about undertaking such a project!), and a list of sites which contain ideas about biographical and oral history questions you can use to add interest to your text.

Writing A Family History

Here are a few sites online which offer basic advice:

• Writing a Family History (from Family Chronicle)
• Writing a Family History, Part I
• Writing a Family History, Part II
• Went Out West
• Writing and Publishing a Family History
• Stories
• Writing a Non-Boring Family History (this page offers information about a book available for sale, but there are some interesting ideas on the page itself)
• Writing a Family History (yes, another one by the same title!)

Biographical Questions

In order to keep the text on individuals from being as dry as dust, it can be helpful to answer biographical questions about them. There are a few sites online which have oral history and biography questions that the savvy researcher can use to spice up the biographical details of their ancestors:

• Biography Assistant
• Suggested Topics and Questions for Oral Histories
• Oral History Questions
• Oral History Interview Questions and Topics
• Preserving Family Stories