By Shannon Combs Bennett, Student

Like many genealogists, I have a service heart. I like giving back to the community and helping others in any way that I can. Which is why I think that Module 4 of the course Writing for Genealogy: Articles, Blogs, Research Reports and so much more was a very important one.  This module covered how to write for societies and ways writing can give back to the genealogy community.  Let’s face it, sometimes it is easier to write if you are volunteering than if you are trying to actually work for yourself.

Mary Pickford at writing desk. Library of Congress. LC-DIG-ppmsca-18840

Like me, you may be involved with a genealogy society.  If not now maybe you will be in the future. After a while of being a “regular” at meetings you might find that some of the members want you to take on responsibilities.  Trust me, it happens.  That is why I loved that the course author, Jennifer Holik  discussed  ways to write for societies.

She covered president’s reports and secretary responsibilities, but I had hoped she would write even more about newsletters.  The secretary section covered a lot of the items a newsletter should have, but I think that working on a newsletter is one way people can really get their writing feet wet.  It is much less intimidating to write for a local newsletter than to try your hand at a large publication.  Trust me!

Of course we couldn’t have a post about volunteer writing and not cover indexing projects.  They are easy, fun, and essential for future generations.  I helped out with the 1940 US Census project as an Ambassador and indexer.  It was a great project, and similar ones are happening now, not only through national organizations but on the local level.

Many people are nervous about doing indexing or transcription projects.  I think this is a great way to not only give back but also to hone your skills. Oh, and get to know your area better. If you are a new transplant to your area, projects like these help you learn about the local records and make friends at repositories.

Once again, as with all skills, the more you do the better you get.  Jennifer includes guides on how to get started indexing, resources to read so they are not frightening, and suggestions on how to start your own project.  She sets it up nicely so when you have that inspiration you are ready to start.  Which was great, but had me making a list of potential projects for myself, friends, and genealogy society.

The last suggestion, which I think tends to freak a lot of people out, was on submitting pieces to contests. If you are self-critical, shy, or simply unsure of your work this might seem like something that you would never do. Jennifer takes the time to walk you through the different types of contests, how to find others, and a simple checklist of things to do.

I was nearly sick to my stomach when I submitted my first piece to a competition. Nerves were on edge and I was petrified about being told it was horrible.  While I didn’t win that competition, the feedback was invaluable and what I needed to grow as a writer. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and take that plunge!

Okay on to the next set of modules.

See you online!

By Shannon Combs Bennett, Student

Alright, Module 1 of the course Writing for Genealogy: Articles, Blogs, Research Reports and so much more spoke to me. Remember how I confessed I am not a grammar person and spelling eludes me in the introduction post to this course? Well, yeah, guess what Module 1 covered? Yep, all that fun stuff. Oh, and education. Specifically education on writing. WIN!

Chilling Time For Writing The Plan /Courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net

Our instructor subtly chastised those of us with poor grammar and who are spelling challenged. Yeah, I know it’s important, but for some reason my scientific mind just won’t let that stuff penetrate. It’s like my brain sees the rules coming toward it and an invisible field pops up bouncing it back and a blank confused stare comes across my face. I will endeavor to be better, and stop bothering friends to edit my work. Well, I will try to not do it so often. How about that?

I was excited to see the large number of resources listed for further education. Pages in fact on so many topics that will help you write better. Currently I am trying to locate some of them either through the library or on sale. You can never have too many books. In addition to books there were also websites you can take to help with your writing education. I looked a few of them up and there was some really good websites listed.

One that is mentioned that I have some experience with is Lynn Palermo’s The Armchair Genealogist.  Lynn’s website is amazing and every year she has a month of prompts and writing guides to help you become a better writer. Everyone should check it out if they are trying to get started.

To be honest I was fascinated by the section on writing groups. It is something that I know people do, and it’s a cool concept, but honestly I had no idea what they were for.  After reading  about all the different types and how they are supposed to work, it  makes me want to run out and find a local group.  Or heck, start my own.

In particular I could see how a writing group of people from different backgrounds and writing styles who came together to receive honest feedback on their work could be very useful. I know I would benefit from getting criticism of my writing from people who could be honest, blunt, and constructive.

In the next modules it looks like we are going to cover writing for business and societies.  Topics that are important to many people for a variety of reasons.  Should be good!

See you online!

By Shannon Bennett, Student

Until a few years ago I didn’t think of myself as a writer. Lab reports, I could write those, they were methodical and easy. Or at least I thought so. Too many times through my education I was told that I didn’t have “it” for writing. Mainly the “it” referred to the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The bane of my primary school years were all those rules that made my head hurt.

Mark Twain. ds 05448 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ds.05448. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

However, give me a good creative writing assignment and I was off. In fact in 9^th and 11^th grade I placed in school-wide writing competitions that didn’t necessarily care about the intricacies of the English language, but focused on the content of the prose. Now that I am researching and documenting my family history I write more and more each day.

With the increase in my writing came a knowledge that writing for the purposes of genealogy was a whole new ball game for me. What in the world was I in for? At the time I read genealogy magazines and journals looking at them like they were a foreign language. Blogs on every topic were available, and I quickly fell into writing my own. My writing evolved and took on a life of its own. But, was there more to it than what I was already doing?  I honestly didn’t know.

Which is why I am here. This course, Writing for Genealogy: Articles, Blogs, Research Reports and so much more , looked fascinating to me. Secretly I hope that I will learn some pointers on becoming a better writer as well as learning  more about what it means to write in the genealogy world. Really, any pointers would be great.

From the syllabus it looks like our instructor, Jennifer Holik, covers many forms of writing that a genealogist could be involved in. Everything  from small scale to large publications and society level to national. Students who takes this course should have a good starting point for any type of genealogical writing they may want to do.

In particular I am interested to hear what she says about blogs (since I write one), marketing (because everyone should know a little about that), and her opinions on speaking (particularly contracts). I am certain I will pick up something new, and if you are just getting started the syllabus looks like a very complete guide to get you off and running on this endeavor.

Off I go to start the first modules.

See you online!

By Shannon Bennett, Student

One of the courses offered to potential students from The National Institute is Google for the Wise Genealogist . I signed up for this course at a local genealogy seminar, but many of you might have registered for it at any of the big conferences where The National Institute has a booth.  It is a good course that gives the student a basic run down on using Google for genealogy and, since the website changes frequently, is updated annually.

To stray away from my normal blog post method of a series of posts taking you through all the modules, I thought we would do it a bit differently this time.  Today, you are getting 10 things I think you should know about Google.  All of which you will learn more about through this course.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, the 10 items!

1. Maps:  Okay, I know lots of you use Google Maps to plan routes for trips or to look up addresses, but there is so much more you can do with them!  Have you ever thought about mapping out a person’s migration across the US or the world?  Or how about using street view to see if the old family home is still there?

2. Alerts:  Google Alerts are a great way to let the Internet do the work for you. Simply create an alert for a names, phrase, or location and let Google work its magic. When it finds what you are looking for you will get an email.

3. Books:  I am a bibliophile. There is never enough books. Ever.  However, my house and my pocket book disagree with me.  With Google Books you have access to an amazing free library which could just hold the clues to your family history.

4. Drive:  Do you share things with friends, family, and other researchers? Do you send them through the mail or via email?  With Google Drive you can share a folder with someone and together you can collaborate over your computers. You see what they uploaded and any changes made to shared files too.  Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, pictures, you name it you can upload it.

5. Blogs:  So lots of people talk about how they blog. It seems to be the “in” thing, and as a blogger I personally feel it is awesome. However, I am told it is intimidating to some and downright confusing to others. Even though that may be some people’s thoughts, I have to tell you blogs are amazing research tools. Not only have distant cousins and fellow researchers contacted me through my blog because of a post I wrote, but I have reached out to others the same way. It is a great way to find lost family treasures. Google’s Blogger makes starting a blog super easy.

6. News:  Yes, you can read current news on Google, but you can also search through many historical newspapers as well. Every researcher loves newspaper research, and here is another possibility for you. Right over there, on Google News, and you didn’t even have to pay for it.

7. Scholar:  This feature allows you to search for academic, or scholarly, articles through Google Scholar. If you are looking for genealogical articles or even history based ones this is a great place to search. I always find history articles add great depth to a family story by giving context to what happened in a person life. While you may not be able to see every article online you can very easily take the citation and find it through your library or another source.

8. Translate:  It is going to happen one day. You find a document or a website in a language that you don’t speak/read. Thankfully Google thought of this and created their translation program, Google Translate. You can easily translate words, phrases, or even whole websites. Researching in another country just got a little easier, huh?

9. Google +:  This is their big social media platform and believe it or not, a lot of genealogists are over on Google+.  There are whole pages dedicated to wonderful research and study groups. Many people hold hangouts where they can talk and collaborate together in real time through their webcams.  I don’t know about you but actually looking at someone while I am talking to them makes a lot of difference.

10. Panoramio: Bet you never heard of this one. Panoramio is a little known Google feature that is a photo sharing site. This one, however, is map based.  People can upload images of places to a map of the world to share. It really is amazing to discover images from ancestral homelands, or even just around the corner. Can you see how that could bring a family’s history to life?

What to learn more about Google for the Wise Genealogist? Check out our website.