When I write family history stories and create family history photo books, I put the important stuff close to the beginning. Why? It's an old but still relevant journalism adage: don't bury the lede.
In other words, don't wait to reveal key information until later in the story...unless there is a really compelling reason to build up to it slowly.
Will our audience pay attention?
For family historians, simply getting the attention of our audience can be a challenge. Encouraging them to keep reading or listening to a story about ancestors is often a challenge as well. Every family history incident has some drama or mystery or fascinating element--it's up to us to shape the narrative and keep the audience engaged.
If we bury the lede, we make the audience wait for the payoff to the story. Um, maybe they won't stick around until the second paragraph or second page to find out what happened to that ancestor.
But if we give them a strong hint or outright reveal the most exciting or important details near the start, our audience will know right away why this story is worth their time. I hope they'll be intrigued enough to continue to find out who, what, when, where, and why. Especially why!
It's news to them!
For example, when I blogged about my grandpa Isaac last week, my first paragraph didn't hide what was going to happen--it led with the sad fact of his death while visiting relatives. Then I told the story leading up to his unexpected death. No need for suspense, 80 years after the fact, IMHO.
Family history isn't exactly news coverage but I feel these stories are, in fact, news to our younger relatives. Maybe they've heard the story before, but not with the new discovery I just made. Or maybe they've never heard about what other people did or said about the story and how it rippled through the family in the past. There's always a way to make genealogy fresh and interesting.
That's why, as the family historian conveying ancestral news to the next generation and beyond, I believe it's up to me to put the lede up front.
I have to admit, I am often guilty of this. On the other hand, I may have given up on getting more family members interested!
ReplyDeleteSometimes a new factoid makes all the difference. When I learned that one of hubby's ancestors was a pioneering librarian, that intrigued the librarian in our family and she was really interested in hearing more of the family's story.
DeleteGreat advice - my husband is a retired journalist and he's been known to have pointed out just that issue with my writing from time to time :)
ReplyDeleteThis is good advice to follow. I am sometimes guilty of starting at the beginning--I'm going to try starting at the climax more!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, maybe I can get those children, grandchildren, cousins more interested in what I've found about our/their families' histories!! Thanks for the very helpful hint about writing!
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