Family Fables:
how to write and publish your family's story
by Maisie Robson
ISBN 978-0-9542318-2-8 (2006) A-format pbk £6.50 - distributed on behalf of Eynsford Hill Press
DON'T LEAVE THE SURVIVAL OF YOUR FAMILY HISTORY TO CHANCE!
Everyone has a book in them, and you don't have to be a genius to become an author. So says biographer and creative writing teacher Maisie Robson - and her latest book, Family Fables, is the proof.
Many family historians spend years on genealogical and local history research only to consign their findings to chaotic boxes of notes, pedigrees and photos in the attic, sheepishly wondering what will happen to it when they are gone. Every year the paper gets more brittle, the words harder to read and interpret.
Turning your family history into book form not only solves the boxes-in-the-attic problem but will take you on an absorbing creative journey. In learning about your forebears and creatively reconstructing their lives, you will learn more about yourself and discover resources you did not know you had.
Author Maisie Robson teaches creative writing to students of all abilities and has specifically tailored Family Fables to meet the needs of family historians - even if you have never written an essay since leaving school. Through a simple step-by-step process, she explains how to assess and organise family history data, how to turn it into a story, and how to present the resulting book for publication.
This engaging, pocket-sized guide is a good read in its own right and can be used as a reference work to refer to again and again.
Reading through Family Fables, you will learn how to:
q ORGANISE your material using three simple planning techniques
q draw vivid, memorable CHARACTERS
q handle TIME-SCALES, transitions and the passage of time
q select the life-changing EVENTS that move the action along
q control MULTIPLE STORY-LINES, exploring the lives of minor characters
q place your ancestors' lives against the BACKGROUND of their time and place
q use LOCAL HISTORY and LITERATURE to enrich your family's unique story
q invest your family's fortunes with MEANING AND DIRECTION
q handle GAPS in the evidence and unwieldy ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS
q create a literary WORK OF ART as an heirloom for your grandchildren
q prepare your story to be PUBLISHED or self-published
If you are capable of researching your family's history, you are capable of writing a book. And if you are capable of writing a book, you are capable of getting it published. Let Maisie Robson show you how.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maisie Robson holds three degrees from British universities and has taught English at every level from basic literacy to university undergraduates. She is currently a Creative Writing teacher working in adult education. This is her sixth book.
Now read about Maisie Robson's other books:
Arthur Mee and the Strength of Britain
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