Writing a Life Sketch with Help from The Family History Guide

Family history writing activities are a way to get to know those who have gone before, discover and record details about their lives, and to learn from and be inspired by their experiences. Family history writing activities are also a way to connect with living family members, document your personal family history, and make fun memories as you put pen to paper, fingers to the keyboard, and/or voices to the microphone. In the Family History Guide Memories Tab, Project 2 Goal 9, you will find suggestions and ideas to help you write a life sketch for yourself or for a loved one. The activities section also contains “Exercises” to assess your skill level and to record yourprogress in the tracker. The Family History Guide Activities Section also has fun ideas for writing and recording. See the Family Activities Page, Individuals Activities Page, and Youth Activities Page.

Write a Life Sketch

Life sketches provide a good overview of an ancestor’s life. They are not meant to be long and detailed; you can use the Stories and Documents features to capture that kind of information.

A. Write a personal sketch for yourself.

1. Write the sketch in a word processor.
2. In your Person page, scroll down to Life Sketch and click Open.
3. Click +Add.
4. Copy and paste your sketch into the Life Sketch area, and then click Save.
5. For ideas on writing your own life sketch, read these articles.
  FTM—Writing Your Life Story | FTM—Respecting Privacy in Family History Storytelling

Read these articles for tips on recalling memories from your life.
FTM—4 Ways to Jog Your Memories | FTM—3 Tips for Preserving Childhood Memories

Exercise

B. Write a personal sketch for an ancestor.

1. Write the sketch in a word processor, and then copy and paste it into the Life Sketch area (beginning of the ancestor’s Person page); or type it directly into the Life Sketch area.