Memoirs & Family History

[Tim Chamberlain]

I know a lot of folks here talk about writing specifically with an angle towards publishing / earning a living from writing, but I wonder how many people here write purely for the pleasure of writing? - And in particular, I wondered how many people have considered writing memoirs or pieces on their own family history purely for their family's interest?

Researching ancestors lives seems to be a big hobby these days. Here in the UK Public Records Offices seem to be full of people trying to trace their father's and grandfather's wartime service records, or census returns as to where great-grandparent's lived or when they got married, etc. And there are plenty of ancestry research websites that are doing a thriving business on-line.

I wondered how many people had considered writing about their own lives for their descendents? What might seem ordinary and everyday to us now might well be of great interest to our children, grand-children, or great-grand-children, etc.

Is anyone here doing this?

[C Bets]

Although my ms was based on personal experiences, it's a work of fiction and, alas, has been shelved for the time being. My father, on the other hand, has kept a large collection of geneology scrapbooks for years which are extremely interesting. He's now working on his own biography to be used in conjunction with those bound volumes, and I really look forward to its completion. It was always quite the undertaking, but he really seems to enjoy it. I believe he also feels it's very important for our family's history to be laid out for generations to come. He was the youngest of two sons, his older brother not having children of his own.

[Gary Kessler]

Most of my writing is purely for the pleasure of writing (and then I get a second kick of pleasure when I've sent it off to the publisher). Very little of what I write is on demand and does come from the desire to sit down at the computer and write up an inspiration I've gotten on a storyline and/or character. I don't depend on writing for my livelihood (anymore), so it's all because it what I most want to be doing at that moment. And it's not all meant for profit, either. I write for other purposes as well. And two of those works were family histories of my branch of the family (on both sides) that were prepared for family reunions.

I can also say that my history and experiences are salted into the fiction I write--and that family and friends enjoy picking out the "real life" inspirations they find in what I've written, even though it was written for the marketplace.

[C Bets]

Although my ms was based on personal experiences, it's a work of fiction and, alas, has been shelved for the time being. My father, on the other hand, has kept a large collection of geneology scrapbooks for years which are extremely interesting. He's now working on his own biography to be used in conjunction with those bound volumes, and I really look forward to its completion. It was always quite the undertaking, but he really seems to enjoy it. I believe he also feels it's very important for our family's history to be laid out for generations to come. He was the youngest of two sons, his older brother not having children of his own.

Oh, I should have answered the question more precise. (I would have edited the original, but was timed-out)

Currently, I write for my own enjoyment and do a little subbing here and there just to keep my self-confidence in check (or humility, depending on the reception).

[Jena Grace]

I blog, but that's pretty much it for pleasure. And it's total babble.

[Kitty Foyle]

I have diaries going back to 2000 that I'm thinking of chucking.

*_*

[Jena Grace]

I have diaries going back to 2000 that I'm thinking of chucking.

*_*

Oh, don't!!! I have journals going back to the seventies that I'd never part with.

[Kitty Foyle]

Oh, don't!!! I have journals going back to the seventies that I'd never part with.

If I ever take the time to reread them, I'd sorta have to experience all that angst again, wouldn't I? 'Course, in a way, I'll have to slog through them all again anyway, when I do my Life Review -- hopefully, feeling more detached.

But yeah, I'll always keep the journals of the strange occurrences I encountered while living in the Catskill Mts. That, I could never part with!

*_* (woo-woo!)

[Gary Kessler]

My journals, going back to the early seventies, are largely travel journals. I only wrote in them on travels and major events--although they are stuffed with event tickets and postcards. They are a rich trove for us now, though, when we want to check where we were and what we were doing in past decades. My dad kept such journals too, and it provides the most complete picture of his life that is left to me.

[Kitty Foyle]

My dad kept such journals too, and it provides the most complete picture of his life that is left to me.

So did mine. When he died, my mother inherited tons of them. He'd write fascinating stuff like, "40 below today. Car wouldn't start." The weather seemed to interest him immensely. And whenever one of us kids said something corny (usually moi), he'd exclaim, "That's one for the book!" We always knew what book he was talking about.

I dunno what happened to them all. Maybe my sister has them stashed away in a garage or somewhere. Or else my mother threw them out.

*_*