Over lunch last week while sipping chilled Chardonnay, my friends and I discussed how we could write our family history in a way that was so compelling even our family would read it. We were trying to figure out how to inject life into our ancestors’ lives in order to interest non-genealogists.
We thought about taking a page out of some of the genealogy programs, such as Genealogy Roadshow, Louis B. Gate’s Finding Your Roots, and Who Do You Think You Are?. Each time they tell a story, these programs draw us in. They create suspense. Before the page is turned or the program breaks for a commercial, we want to know what happened next.
Lynn Palermo must have been with us at lunch in spirit. While we were sipping wine, she was perhaps working on her latest article for her new website, The Family History Writing Story, about what Who Do You Think You Are? can teach us about telling a story.
Ms. Palermo writes about the lessons we can learn from the popular genealogy program. She breaks down the lessons into six categories: plot, theme, emotional connection, scenes and settings, main character to focus on, and social history. Within each category, Ms. Palermo expands on the category and points to examples in this season’s WDYTYA? episodes.
In the article, Ms. Palermo explains about the importance of focusing on one main character in our story: “Notice in every Who Do You Think You Are? episode there is one central character, one ancestor that the producers set their sole focus on. Sure there might be some backstory, a bit about the family tree in general. But before too long we are pulled into a story about one ancestor and that is where the majority of the story is told. ”
You can read more in the article, Who Do You Think You Are? – What it Teaches Us About Story.
