“Writing in scenes represents the difference between showing and telling. The lazy, uninspired writer will tell the reader about a subject, place or personality, but the creative non-fiction
Category: Scene Writing
Why Your Relatives Hate Reading Their Family HistoryWhy Your Relatives Hate Reading Their Family History
Does your family object to reading their family history? Do you get the big eye roll when you offer them a story you wrote or an opportunity to preview a
Cooking Up a Satisfying SceneCooking Up a Satisfying Scene
Like a good pot of soup on a cold’s winter’s day, every family history scene requires some essential ingredients to make them successful. Without a tasty broth, some colourful veggies,
7 Tips to Formatting Dialogue7 Tips to Formatting Dialogue
Aside from struggling with re-creating dialogue, many family historians find formatting dialogue a little intimidating. It’s important to understand the techniques of writing your ancestor’s conversations and how to format
How to Write a SceneHow to Write a Scene
We think in scenes all the time. Take a moment, remember a childhood memory or last week’s business meeting or playing with your children last night, or the family
Make Your Scenes Pop!Make Your Scenes Pop!
Do your stories pop? Do they engage your reader and give them a vision in their mind through the words you’ve strung together on the page. As writers, our
Putting Words in their MouthsPutting Words in their Mouths
We now know that dialogue is an important element to good scene writing. However, it doesn’t remove our apprehension about using it in our family history stories. It becomes a
Window to the Physical WorldWindow to the Physical World
Writing the physical world of our ancestors may seem impossible at times. We face two concerns, how do we know what it looked like and how do we bring that