If you are interested in genealogy, the idea of writing a family history has probably crossed your mind. It probably crossed quickly and then went away if your next thought was that writing a family history is a huge ordeal that would take way too long. You may want to give the idea of writing a family history another chance because there are many ways to write a family history, and a lengthy, bound reference book is just one of them.
You could write a memoir about yourself or about a specific ancestor whose life you find interesting or perhaps a narrative about a group of relatives. How about a family cookbook, with recipes and information about the family members who created them? Scrapbooks are a fun way to combine photographs and other memorabilia with family trees and written information into a family history.
Once you have decided what kind of family history you will write, the next logical step is to decide which ancestors you will write about. A few suggestions include starting with a specific surname as far back as you know and following a single line of descent to the present time; focusing on one ancestor and writing about that ancestor and all descendants of that ancestor; or writing a bit about each set of grandparents that you have and tracing their ancestry back as far as you can.
A final detail that you may want to think about before you dive into the research and writing phase of writing your family history is what the plot or theme of your family history will be. Do you have a history of war heroes? A tale of immigration to America? A real life rags to riches story? What about pioneers, miners, or politicians? Having a focus for your writing will help it to flow better, and it will be easier to unite the bits and pieces of information that you find in your research about your various ancestors.
How will you write your family history?