Write Your Family History
Dr Fred Pinnegar PhD
Family History Writing Specialists
Do what you can do, with what you have, and look for cost effective assistance, where and how you need it, from
Family History Writing Specialists
Writing, Editing, Compiling, Consulting
Services
Bridging the gap between cold technology and the record of how “God brought you safe to shore”
Consulting
Lend encouragement and enthusiasm to your writing project by offering solutions to the problems and stumbling blocks you have encountered.
Assess your progress, determine what you want and establish how much time, effort, and money will be required to get there. Set realistic goals and deadlines for completion.
Review the stories and information you have gathered. Digitize everything.
Hold workshop sessions with you.
Compiling
Organize available material in a consistent and coherent manner. Life writing takes many different forms, varieties, and genres, and it does not have to begin with “I was born . . ."
Gather additional information, and, if necessary, make, transcribe, edit, and analyze audio and video interviews. Interviews by Family History Writing Specialists are expert and professional ethnographic / storytelling events, rather than pedestrian interrogations about minutia like your favorite color.
Scan, clean up, and insert photos into the text with captions.
Writing
“Cook” your raw drafts and data provided by cold technology to produce a living narrative with body and soul.
Provide direct writing assistance necessary to clarify details, interpret events, or fill in gaps in the narrative.
Contextualize people, places, and events with background notes.
Format written material, and layout and design the book as a whole to prepare it for printing and publication. Includes preliminary pages, like the title page, table of contents, Forward, acknowledgments, and introduction, as well as an index at the end.
Editing
Read for content (Content Editing) to identify and address issues associated with thematic focus, organization, coherence, and development.
Read for issues in style and mechanics (Copy Editing) to address problems with grammar, syntax, usage, spelling, and punctuation. Note: Sometimes there are good reasons to ignore these problems. For example, letters and other documents that come directly from the hand of someone are often transcribed and presented “as is.”
About
Some examples of Family History Writing Specialists' work
My Lifetime of Life Writing
A few good reasons why it makes sense to use Dr Fred Pinnegar, and the resources of Family History Writing Specialists, to help tell your stories
Written Reflections [‘Ponderings”]
Life Writing: The BYU First-year Mentoring Reflections Model
The Process of Writing your personal or Family History: A brief summary.
Rubric for Writing Reflections
A rubric by which one can assess her or his historical narratives.
Contact
Dr. Fred Pinnegar PhD