Family Stories Archives - Page 4 of 5

Writing Your Personal History – Types of Histories and Apps and Storytelling Services to Get You Started

My favorite family history possessions are personal histories: Oral Histories, Autobiographies, and Biographies--in any shape or size. They can be handwritten notes or stories; they can be spiral bound and typed or hardbound and published; they can be audio or video comics or graphic novels or they can simply be voice recordings. Anything is better than this: There are many ways to record and share your life story. It doesn't have to be grandiose or hard or expensive. I'll list some storytelling apps and professional service providers below, but my purpose in blogging about writing your personal history is to convince you to Just Do It! If you feel stuck, read Writer's Block - How to Stop Making Excuses and Start Writing Your Personal History, otherwise, here are a few basics to consider when Writing Your Personal Histor…

Writer’s Block–How to Stop Making Excuses and Start Writing Your Personal History

Most people don't create a personal history but YOU should. Every life matters and we can all learn from your experiences. Getting started may be the hardest part. If you have writer's block, here's some advice on how to stop making excuses and start writing your personal history. [su_box title="8 Excuses" box_color="#0da9e0" title_color="#070706" radius="2"] 8 Solutions[/su_box] [su_box title="Excuse 1 - We're self-conscious writing or talking about ourselves" box_color="#0da9e0" title_color="#070706" radius="2"] Solution - Start your story by talking about other people or major world events you lived through. You may never grow comfortable enough to write a first-person autobiography of life as you lived it but perhaps you can write a third person narrative of life as you observed it. People will eat it up! If writing is the obstacle, grab your smartphone and record a short story with your camera set to video (make sure the…

How to Convert Cassette Tapes to Digital Files

As part of my Digitize the Family History This Month project, I've pulled out old audio cassette tapes with oral histories or other recordings of living and deceased family members. At the end of this How To, I'm including some types of cassette recordings I've found to help spark your curiosity about what your family may have recorded. How to Convert Cassette Tapes to Digital Files There are several ways to convert old audio cassette tapes to digital files and I'll describe four methods. I've used three of these methods: one very low tech and two with better sound resolution and quality. Here's an image of my final method of choice but your needs may be different than mine so I'll share a few different ideas. Perhaps the Simplest Audio Method (I haven't tried this) Purchase a Cassette to MP3 Converter from Amazon or another store. For about $25 you could save yourself a lot of recording hassle. This device will plug into your computer and it plays your cassette tape and us…