How to Write Your Family Story: A Simpler Way to Start

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

You want to write your family story, but all you have is a list of facts. Your grandmother’s name, her birthday, and where she grew up. Now what? That’s not a story. 

I saw this in my family story workshops again and again. People weren’t sure what to write and felt anxious about preserving what they knew. It’s so natural because of course you don’t want to lose what you know about your family. 

But capturing facts and writing the story are two different kinds of writing. Separating them makes it easier to start. I made this Writing Family History Template, in printable PDF and Google Sheets, so you can capture your family facts before moving on to write your story.

This post is part of the First Timer Storykeeping Series, designed to help you start writing your family story using the Storykeeping® method.   

Get Ready to Write

Capture First, Craft Your Story Second

There are two kinds of writing in a family story project:

• Capture is writing down what you already know about your family, like names, places, and events. It also includes writing down questions about what you want to know.
• Craft is using what you’ve captured to write words that become a story.

This post focuses on capture because it’s a simpler place to begin.

3 Reasons Why

Capturing is the Easiest Place to Start

You don’t need to do research or write a perfect sentence to begin working on your family story. You already know important things about your family, so start by writing them down. Capturing them takes less time than you might think, and it gets your family story project off the ground. Here are three reasons why.

1. Capturing Reduces Overwhelm

Writing your family story can feel so overwhelming. You’re confused about what to include. You regret not asking more questions when you had the chance. You’re frustrated that things feel scattered.

When you capture some family details you care about in writing, it can feel like such a relief to know they will not be lost. Now you’ve got more space inside to focus on crafting your story.

2. Capturing Creates the Conditions for Noticing

When you capture, you write down what you know without having to say anything about it. Likely, you’ve never had these family details in one spot before.

Give yourself the grace to sit with it for a minute and see what you notice. This is where the discovery happens.

You may make connections you’ve never made before. Then, writing down a few words feels like a natural next step.

3. Capturing Creates Something Lasting to Share

When you capture what you know in one spot, you create a family history document you can share with your kids. Even before your story is written, you’ve already created something meaningful.

Before You Begin Writing

Will You Capture on Paper or on Your Computer?

When you are working on a family story project, it’s far less frustrating if the family details you know are in one clear place. That’s why I suggest setting up one writing spot devoted to capture, a Home Base you can return to as you write.

I designed the Writing Family History Template to make setting up your Home Base simple. It comes in two formats:

• Paper: Printable PDF
• Digital: Google Sheets 

It includes space for the kinds of details people often want to preserve, details that can also help you write your family story: NAMES, PLACES, OBJECTS, EVENTS, TIMELINE, QUESTIONS.

You don’t have to use the template. You can set up your Home Base in any way that works for you.

In the next section, I’ll show you how to set up your Home Base. But before you do, take a moment to decide whether you’ll create it on paper or on your computer.

Choose a paper Home Base if you want something that is:

• tactile, if you like writing by hand
• reflective, with a slower, journaling-style pace
• personal, in your own handwriting
• screen-free, if you’d rather start without a computer

Choose a digital Home Base if you want something that is:

• digital, with no software to buy or learn
• neat and editable, without crossed-out words
• familiar to your kids, who likely already use Google Sheets
• easy to share, with a link  

In case you are concerned about privacy, the Google Sheets template is private. Once you make a copy, it lives in your own Google Drive account, and you control who has access.  

💡 Quick Tip: You’ll need a free Google account to use Google Sheets. Here are setup directions and a short video that walks you through it.

Let’s Write Your Story

Set Up Your Two Writing Spots

You’ll need two writing spots for your family story project:

• #1 – Your Home Base for Capturing
• #2 – Your Notebook for Crafting

Let’s set up each now.

Step 1: Set Up Your Home Base for Capturing

Choose where you’ll keep your Home Base. If you are using the Writing Family History Template, follow the step-by-step directions below. If you are using something else, now is the time to set that up. Choose one spot and stick with it.

How to Download the Printable PDF Template

• Download the printable PDF here.
• When you open the template, turn to the last page for directions.

How to Download the Google Sheets Template

• Open the Google Sheets template.
• Click the blue Make a copy button to create your own private version in your Google account.

If you don’t see the blue button, or the sheet says View only, go to File → Make a copy. On a phone or iPad, look in the three-dot menu. Here’s help from Google.

Once you’ve made your copy, your Home Base is ready to use. Your copy will open to a sheet called START HERE. At the bottom, you’ll see the tabs: NAMES, PLACES, OBJECTS, EVENTS, TIMELINE, QUESTIONS.

Step 2: Set Up Your Notebook for Crafting

Choose one notebook for your project. I suggest writing by hand because many people find it easier to get a few words down with a pen than with a keyboard. This is where you’ll write some words about something you’ve captured in your Home Base.

Your Notebook is your private space to get messy and explore. Later, you can take the words you find there and move to your computer to build on what you wrote. But you don’t need to think about that just yet.

If writing by hand isn’t for you, a document in Word or Google Docs can serve as your Notebook. Again, choose one spot and stick with it.

Next Steps

What Feels Easiest?

Take a moment to notice what you’ve accomplished today. You’ve set up your two writing spots. Now your family story writing project is real and underway.

Choose whatever feels easiest to do next.

Stop Here for Today

If you are out of time or energy, stop and feel good about what you’ve done. Come back another day and continue writing your family story.

Capture What You Know

When you are ready to write down what you know, choose a category. The NAMES category is a good next step. Capturing family names matters more than you might think. You know your parents’ names, and maybe your grandparents’ names. You may also have a few words to say about one of them.

Below is a list of categories. Click one for step-by-step guidance.

• NAMES
• PLACES
• OBJECTS 
• EVENTS
• TIMELINE

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Photo credit Justine Knight Photography