"We are on our ancestors's time" is how Melvin Collier summed up his inspiring webinar today. It has been 150 years since the beginning of freedom for all Americans. We are celebrating by hosting the Freedom Webinar Series. Today's webinar, the third in the series, was presented by author and researcher, Melvin J. Collier. Its recording is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

• Inspiring and moving! Filled with lots of great research strategies. Thank you!
• Melvin Collier's webinar was as interesting as it was insightful. One of the over-arching messages was that your research is never done as long as you continue to THINK about your Ancestors and resolve to bring their story to life.
• Melvin provided a wealth of information! This was an amazing, important webinar for those of us still seeking our enslaved ancestors.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 34 minute recording of "Mending Broken Ties: Reconstructing Family Trees Sawed by Slavery" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Coupon code

Use webinar coupon code - freedom2 - for 10% off anything at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com or www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com, valid through Tuesday, August 4, 2015.

150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended by Melvin Collier - 13.59

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 250 classes, 373 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 1,103 pages)
• On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
• Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
• Ability to view which webinars you are registered for

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year (that's about the cost of 5 webinar CDs)
• Monthly membership: $9.95/month

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• What's in a Name? Trouble! by Ron Arons. August 5.
• Power Platting - Technology Tools to Create Pictures from Property Descriptions by Chris Staats. August 12.
• Discovering Your Kentucky Ancestors by Mark Lowe. August 19.
• Digital Family Reunions by Devin Ashby. August 21.
• German Names and Naming Patterns by Jim Beidler. August 26.
• Break Down Brick Walls in Eastern European Research - Tips, Tools and Tricks by Lisa Alzo. September 2.
• Research Your Swedish Ancestors in Living Color Using ArkivDigital Online by Kathy Meade. September 9.
• Technology and Techniques for Differentiating Two People with the Same Name by Geoff Rasmussen. September 11.
• Researching Your Dutch Ancestors by Yvette Hoitink. September 16.
• Researching Your Ancestors in England and Wales by Kirsty Gray. September 23.
• Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist by Angela Walton-Raji. September 25.
• Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors by Gena Philibert-Ortega. September 30.
• Wearables and Genealogy - Wacky and Wild or Worth the Wait by Thomas MacEntee. October 7.
• Colonial Immigration - The English Pioneers of Early America by Beth Foulk. October 14.
• Billions of Records, Billions of Stories by Devin Ashby. October 16.
• What Happened to the State of Frankland - Using Tennessee's Pre-Statehood Records by Mark Lowe. October 21.
• Complex Evidence - What is It? How Does it Work? And Why Does it Matter? by Warren Bittner. October 28.
• Researching with Karen! by Karen Clifford. November 4.
• Organizing Your Genetic Genealogy by Diahan Southard. November 11.
• Bringing it All Together and Leaving a Permanent Record by Tom Kemp. November 13.
• Mapping Madness by Ron Arons. November 18.
• Stories in Stone - Cemetery Research by Gail Blankenau. December 2.
• Thinking about Becoming an Accredited Genealogist? by Apryl Cox and Kelly Summers. December 9.
• Pointing Fingers at Ancestors' Siblings - Breaking Down Brick Walls with Collateral Research by Marian Pierre-Louis. December 16.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2015 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

We have another great new update for our Legacy Family Tree 8 users (free) for you to download. It is mostly a maintenance release (a few bug fixes) and an update for those working with the FamilySearch tool. FamilySearch made changes to their API, so we've updated our software to continue to integrate with theirs. So...download the update to get the best Legacy ever!

See the download instructions below for step-by-step instructions on installing this update.

What's New

FamilySearch. We updated our software to keep up with the latest changes from FamilySearch. To learn more about how Legacy interfaces with FamilySearch, click here.

What's Been Fixed

View the July 30 release notes here. 

How to Update

For our Deluxe Edition users, all you have to do is connect to the Internet, start Legacy 8, and click on the "Install and Download Now" link on the Legacy Home tab. (If you're reading this from within the Legacy Home tab inside of Legacy 8, you'll first need to click on the Home button in the top left of the Legacy Home tab which looks like the following picture:

If you are a Standard Edition Legacy user, you will need to visit our website. Go to http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/DownloadUpdate.asp and follow the instructions.

Windows 10 is here and we are pleased to report that Legacy Family Tree software works great!

While I just installed Windows 10 this morning, many of our Legacy users have been testing Legacy with Windows 10 for months now without issue. Both look really good. From all the reviews I've read, like this one here, the new operating system is a good, solid release.

It's also one of our hot topics right now on our new Legacy Facebook Group. Join the conversation or share your experience here.

The recording of today's excellent webinar, "Storyboard Your Family History" by Lisa Alzo is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

• Can't wait to get started on my corkboard index cards! Thank you for a great Webinar!!
• Favorite point: creating ancestor profiles or character sketches rather than attempting to "tell" the family history. Virtual cork board was also an inspirational aspect of Scrivner. Thanks for the program.
• Excellent presentation and handout! Scrivener looks like a useful tool for those of us with "writer's block," and Lisa' presentation has inspired me to start writing a family history.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 35 minute recording of "Storyboard Your Family History" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Coupon code

Use webinar coupon code - storyboard - for 10% off anything at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com or www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com, valid through Monday, August 3, 2015.

Scrivener for Genealogists - 4.95

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 249 classes, 381 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 1,109 pages)
• On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
• Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
• Ability to view which webinars you are registered for

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year (that's about the cost of 5 webinar CDs)
• Monthly membership: $9.95/month

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• Mending Broken Ties: Reconstructing Family Trees Sawed by Slavery by Melvin J. Collier. July 31.
• What's in a Name? Trouble! by Ron Arons. August 5.
• Power Platting - Technology Tools to Create Pictures from Property Descriptions by Chris Staats. August 12.
• Discovering Your Kentucky Ancestors by Mark Lowe. August 19.
• Digital Family Reunions by Devin Ashby. August 21.
• German Names and Naming Patterns by Jim Beidler. August 26.
• Break Down Brick Walls in Eastern European Research - Tips, Tools and Tricks by Lisa Alzo. September 2.
• Research Your Swedish Ancestors in Living Color Using ArkivDigital Online by Kathy Meade. September 9.
• Technology and Techniques for Differentiating Two People with the Same Name by Geoff Rasmussen. September 11.
• Researching Your Dutch Ancestors by Yvette Hoitink. September 16.
• Researching Your Ancestors in England and Wales by Kirsty Gray. September 23.
• Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist by Angela Walton-Raji. September 25.
• Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors by Gena Philibert-Ortega. September 30.
• Wearables and Genealogy - Wacky and Wild or Worth the Wait by Thomas MacEntee. October 7.
• Colonial Immigration - The English Pioneers of Early America by Beth Foulk. October 14.
• Billions of Records, Billions of Stories by Devin Ashby. October 16.
• What Happened to the State of Frankland - Using Tennessee's Pre-Statehood Records by Mark Lowe. October 21.
• Complex Evidence - What is It? How Does it Work? And Why Does it Matter? by Warren Bittner. October 28.
• Researching with Karen! by Karen Clifford. November 4.
• Organizing Your Genetic Genealogy by Diahan Southard. November 11.
• Bringing it All Together and Leaving a Permanent Record by Tom Kemp. November 13.
• Mapping Madness by Ron Arons. November 18.
• Stories in Stone - Cemetery Research by Gail Blankenau. December 2.
• Thinking about Becoming an Accredited Genealogist? by Apryl Cox and Kelly Summers. December 9.
• Pointing Fingers at Ancestors' Siblings - Breaking Down Brick Walls with Collateral Research by Marian Pierre-Louis. December 16.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2015 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

All slaves had family members who were sold away or transferred to the slave-owners' heirs, never to be seen again. Many even took different surnames. It was not uncommon for two displaced brothers to retain different surnames after Emancipation. In this third webinar of our Freedom Webinar Series, author and researcher, Melvin Collier, will present cases of how displaced family members were found with his "Mending Broken Ties: Reconstructing Family Trees Sawed by Slavery."

Click here to view the entire Freedom Webinar Series classes.

Join us and Melvin Collier for the live webinar Wednesday, July 31, 2015 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Not sure if you already registered?

On the Upcoming Webinars tab, login to view the webinars you are already signed up for (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

Test Your Webinar Connection

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

A native of Canton, Mississippi, Melvin J. Collier is the author of:

• Mississippi to Africa, A Journey of Discovery (see www.mississippitoafrica.com)
• 150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended (see www.150yearslater.com)

His books have been used by genealogical and historical scholars as great reference sources for genealogical methodologies. 

Melvin is a former civil engineer in corporate America for nearly 10 years. His passion for African-American history and historical preservation led to a major and fulfilling career change in the Archivist profession. He is a former archivist at the Archives Research Center of the Robert W. Woodruff Library – Atlanta University Center, where he has worked on the Morehouse College Dr. Martin Luther King Papers, the Maynard Jackson Administrative Papers and Photographs, the Dr. Asa Hilliard III Papers, and other collections, 2006-2013. Currently employed by the federal government, Melvin has been conducting historical and genealogical research for over 20 years, starting at the age of 19. He has given numerous workshops and presentations on historical and genealogical subjects. He appeared on the NBC show, Who Do You Think You Are, as one of the expert genealogists on the Spike Lee episode (2010). Melvin maintains a genealogy blog, Roots Revealed, at www.rootsrevealed.com. He earned a Master of Arts degree in African-American Studies, Clark Atlanta University, in 2008, with additional graduate coursework in Archival Studies from Clayton State University, 2010-2012. He was the recipient of the 2012 Marsha M. Greenlee History Award by the National Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS).

Add it to your Google Calendar

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, July 31, 2015 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

I received the following from one of our customers today and enjoyed it so much that I'm republishing it here (with permission).

Decades ago when I first started investigating my 6^th great-grandfather’s family of descendants I was particularly fascinated by the oblique notes I found in the older genealogies.  

“Killed in a hunting accident” “Met an accident in the woods” “Went West and untraced” “Died in the great Galveston Hurricane.”  

Since then I’ve discovered that none of the above was entirely true if at all. 

I’ve also discovered descendants omitted, “died” or down-played in family accounts for more onerous reasons – multiple divorce, murder, kidnapping, suicide, medical tragedy and more. 

If like me, your twig of the family tree hasn’t exactly been pristine, consider the gifts these people have given you. 

Strength – if you have experienced one of these things as a near relative, realize that no matter how much you suffered at the time that you have survived it and congratulate yourself. You are strong. 

Perspective – if you know or discover that an earlier relative is a closet skeleton - thank them if you haven’t experienced the same thing yourself. If you have, also thank them – it means you aren’t the only family member who’s faced the same thing whether now or generations ago. 

Faith – Learn about the lives of your ancestors and their message to you. I have found at least three times that their survival is the miracle that I even exist. 

Embrace the past with love and sensibility. Learn as much as possible about your ancestors recent and distant and respect any medical problems those in your twig might have had – you may have inherited them as I have.

Legacy QuickGuides^TM have quickly become one of the more popular resources for genealogists. Each guide contains four (sometimes five, sometimes more) pages of valuable information covering a variety of genealogy research topics, dozens of clickable links, and are written by genealogists and family historians who are experts in the subject areas. We've added another brand new Legacy QuickGuides: Ephemera: Genealogy Gold by Sharon Atkins. Now choose from 86 Legacy QuickGuides!

Ephemera: Genealogy Gold by Sharon Atkins - $2.95

Now choose from 86!

Purchase for just $2.95

United States - State Guides

• Alabama Genealogy
• Connecticut Genealogy
• Colorado Genealogy
• Florida Genealogy
• Georgia Genealogy
• Kansas Genealogy
• Kentucky Genealogy
• Maine Genealogy
• Massachusetts Genealogy
• Minnesota Genealogy
• Montana Genealogy
• New Mexico Genealogy
• New Hampshire Genealogy
• New Jersey Genealogy
• New York Genealogy
• North Carolina Genealogy
• Ohio Genealogy
• Pennsylvania Genealogy
• Rhode Island Genealogy
• South Carolina Genealogy
• Tennessee Genealogy
• Texas Genealogy
• Vermont Genealogy
• Virginia Genealogy
• Washington Genealogy
• West Virginia Genealogy
• Wisconsin Genealogy
• Wyoming Genealogy

United States - other Guides

• African-American Genealogy
• American Migration Patterns
• Quaker Genealogy
• Researching County Histories
• Researching War of 1812 Ancestors
• Researching Your Loyalist Ancestors
• Researching Your U.S. Civil War Ancestors
• Understanding US Vital Records
• US City Directories
• U.S. Federal Non-population Census Records
• Using Probate Records

Canada

• Canada Bundle (all 15 guides)
• Alberta Genealogy
• British Columbia Genealogy
• Canadian Genealogy
• Manitoba Genealogy
• New Brunswick Genealogy
• Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogy
• Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon Genealogy
• Nova Scotia Genealogy
• Ontario Genealogy
• Prince Edward Island Genealogy
• Québec Genealogy
• Researching First and Second World War Canadian Records
• Researching Your Loyalist Ancestors
• Saskatchewan Genealogy
• Using Canadian Census Records

United Kingdom

• Researching Child Migrants and British Home Children
  

Europe

• Croatian Genealogy
• Czech Genealogy
• Finnish Genealogy
• Germans from Russia
• Hungarian Genealogy
• Irish Genealogy
• Norwegian Genealogy
• Slovak Genealogy
• Ukrainian Genealogy

Religion

• Catholic Genealogy
• Moravian Genealogy

General

• Anatomy of a Birth Record
• Anatomy of a Death Record
• Anatomy of a Marriage Record
• Cemetery Research
• Citing Your Sources
• Ephemera: Genealogy Gold
• Establishing Genealogical Proof
• Finding Your Female Ancestors
• Fraternal Societies
• Genealogy Clues in Quilts, Samplers, and Other Textiles
• Lineage Societies and Genealogy
• Obituaries in Genealogy: A Research Tool
• Organizing and Digitizing Family Photos
• Preparing for a Successful Repository Research Trip
• Preserving Family Heirlooms
• Researching the Family Legend
• Starting a Family Archive
• Unraveling Brick Wall Mysteries
• Using Historical Newspapers for Genealogy Research
• Using Maps in Your Genealogy Research
• Writing Your Family History

Learn how the Scrivener software, a multifaceted word processor and project management tool, can help you plot, organize, and write your family history narrative, prepare research reports, and much more. (Attendees are encouraged to download the free trial (PC or Mac) prior to webinar to maximize the learning experience).

Join us and Lisa Alzo for the live webinar Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Not sure if you already registered?

On the Upcoming Webinars tab, login to view the webinars you are already signed up for (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

Test Your Webinar Connection

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Lisa A.  Alzo. M.F.A. is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She is the author of nine books, including the award-winning Three Slovak Women, and hundreds of magazine articles, and writes the blog "The Accidental Genealogist."

View Lisa's other webinars here.

Add it to your Google Calendar

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

In last week's blog post "Ancestors Please! How to ask for help online" I wrote about best practices for asking others for help on social media sites like Facebook. A number of people commented, asking where on Facebook to find genealogy help. In this post we'll explore five effective places for finding genealogy help on Facebook.

1) Your Facebook Wall

You may not realize it but your very own Facebook wall might be the place to start. Who will better know your family history than your own family? Asking genealogy questions on your wall might prompt family members to share information  you didn't know they had and they didn't realize you wanted. Keep in mind that that Facebook is not really private. Consider who else among your Facebook friends can see your discussion and decided whether the topic should better be handled in an email or not.

The other great use of posting on your Facebook wall is to share with other genealogists. Genealogists has long since taken over Facebook and many of us use Facebook more for connecting with other genealogists than we do with old friends or family. In this case posting to your wall can be very effective.

If you don't currently have a lot of genealogy connections on Facebook start by "friending" the genealogists you do know from your local society. Once you connect with a genealogist that is very active on Facebook you'll notice that they are tied in to a much larger community of genealogists on Facebook. That will be your entry into connecting with a very large community online.

2) A Surname Group

There are many groups dedicated to specific surnames.  I belong to one group called the House of Learneds for Learned family descendants. Surname groups are perfect for posting a genealogy query but only if it relates directly to that surname.  Be sure to read the group or page description to understand what the group is all about. The description for the House of Learneds says "If you are a Learned/Larned/Learnard/Larnett, etc. (no joke!) you can join. If you can state your lineage, even better! Please keep it light - no politics or religious proselytizing. Beyond that, you may say or submit anything you want. This is YOUR Facebook page!" 

Here are some to get you started:

• Kemp - which is for Kemp descendants
• The Mangan Family in County Clare   
• Yacynych/Yacenich/Yacinich/Jacynycz Genealogy
• McGinnis Genealogy
• The Breese/Brees Genealogy Group

To find surname groups try searching Facebook for the surname plus the word "family" or "genealogy" such as "Chandler Family." Keep in mind that some groups are created for a small group of family members for staying in touch or organizing reunions rather than connecting with all descendants. Try to get a feel for what type of group it is by reading the description before asking to join.

Also, don't try asking questions about your other family lines or it might just get you kicked out of the group for being off topic.

3) A Geographic Focused Group

If you don't find a group for the surname you are looking for then try a group based on the location where your ancestors came from. This is a great way to get help from people who are experienced in researching in that same location. You may not share the same family but you may be researching the same records.

There are literally hundreds of these types of groups on Facebook. One that I belong to is the Indiana County PA Genealogy group.

Other groups include:

• Mississippi Genealogy Researchers
• Monmouth County NJ Genealogy
• New York Genealogy Network
• Guysborough County Genealogy (Nova Scotia)

Not finding what you need? Katherine R. Willson has created a comprehensive list of "genealogy on Facebook" links which you can access on her website at http://socialmediagenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list/

4) The Legacy User Group

And let's not forget the new Legacy User Group !

This group was created for people using the Legacy Family Tree software so most of the questions deal with genealogy as relates to the Legacy software.  There is a terrific amount of sharing going on the group and not only will you learn about the software but you'll get some great genealogy tips too!

Thanks to Alona Tester, Dawn Fulton, Liz Loveland, Clarise Fleck Soper, Joyce Homan and Elizabeth Handler for contributing suggestions to this article.

 
Marian Pierre-Louis is the Social Media Marketing Manager for Legacy Family Tree. She is also the host of The Genealogy Professional podcast. Check out her webinars in the Legacy library.

Do you struggle to put together a family history narrative? Want to learn how to plot like a pro? A storyboard could be the answer to your writing woes. Many fiction writers use storyboards to plot their novels.

A storyboard is a simple way to visually outline or map out your writing project. You can use the storyboard as your guidepost to start writing, or as chapter or section titles to take you through the writing process. If you're not sure about where or how to begin crafting a story others will want to read, here are three simple steps to help you get started with storyboarding.

1. Think like a writer, not like a genealogist. During the research phase of family history, most genealogists deal primarily with facts (names, dates, places, and other pertinent details), and use their analytical skills to "put the puzzle pieces together" and interpret the information. But, when it comes to plotting a story, you should be thinking like a writer—tapping into your inner creativity to put those facts together in an accurate, yet compelling way.

2. Write cinematically. All good stories have three basic parts: Beginning, Middle, and End (or in theatre terms, “three acts”). Although you may not think of your family's story as a movie, it often helps if you do. Try writing cinematically—breaking the story you want to tell into scenes. Scenes move your plot forward, set the tone, and highlight your voice.

3. Outline Your Ideas. Identify key points, ideas, scenes etc. you want to convey or include in your book, profile, or short story using a technique typically taught in novel writing workshops: the “Index Card" method. For a book project, the “old school” way is to get a stack (about 60) of 3 x 5 index cards and write down one scene per card (aiming for 15 scenes for Act 1, 30 for Act 2, and 15 for Act 3). This keeps the story moving.

For example, in my book, Three Slovak Women, the overall main plot is a story about three different generations of Slovak women. For Act I, my main plot is my grandmother's immigration story, and my subplots would be her family life in Slovakia, her arranged marriage to my grandfather, and her assimilation in America.

The index card method is useful because once you have your scenes written out you can shuffle the cards around to get the order you desire—the one that makes the most sense for your story. Software tools or apps make the process easier by letting you create “virtual” index cards.

One of my favorite programs is Scrivener by Literature and Latte, (available for PC and Mac), which has many useful features, including the ability to set up your projects in storyboard format using a virtual corkboard. There is a 30-day free trial available (and it runs for 30 days of actual use rather than by calendar days).

Next, transcribe or develop what you've written on each card into an outline, with your main plot (and then subplot a, b, c). This process will help you to see what does or doesn't work. (Scrivener lets you seamlessly switch to outline view, and easily shuffle your cards if you want to change, move or delete a scene). For smaller projects (for example, ancestor profiles), you would use less cards, but follow the same basic guidelines.

To learn more about creating storyboards with Scrivener, register for the upcoming Legacy webinar on Storyboard Your Family History.

Consider giving storyboarding a try. A storyboard gives you a “bird’s eye view” of your project so you can build a structure that works, see the holes in your content, and have a place to store notes, ideas, source information, and more.

Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A., is a freelance writer, instructor and lecturer specializing in genealogy and creative nonfiction. She is a frequent presenter for the Legacy Family Tree Webinars series and can be contacted via http://www.lisaalzo.com.