It seems I’m finally up to speed on the Armchair Genealogist‘s writing challenge, finally only spending a day to complete each assignment. Today I moved on to 10. Lynn had a guest author for today’s inspiration, Julie Cahill Tarr. You can find her blog here. Julie suggests that entering a family history writing contest is a great way to help motivate us to write on family stories. I’m not ready to jump on that bandwagon but maybe after I finish this challenge I will consider it. Here are the contests that Julie suggested:
- Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Tell Your Family Story Essay Contest – Do not have to be a member; entries must relate to New England.
- Dallas Genealogical Society, DGS Writing Contest – Do not have to be a member; entries do not necessarily have to relate to the Dallas area.
- International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, Excellence-in-Writing Competition – Do not have to be a member; various categories for published and unpublished works.
- Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, MSOG Writing Contest – MSOG members only; entries do not necessarily have to relate to Massachusetts; biennial contest (even years).
- National Genealogical Society, Family History Writing Contest – NGS members only; 3-4 generation family history.
- Ohio Genealogical Society, OGS Writing Competition – Do not have to be a member; entries must fit the criteria of OGS quarterly or newsletter.
- Ontario Genealogical Society, Keffer Writing Contest – OGS members only; entries must relate to Canada or Ontario.
- Southern California Genealogical Society, GENEii Writing Contest – Do not have to be a member; entries do not necessarily have to relate to California.
Today’s writing exercise was to come up with five lessons that you have learned from your family history and write an essay about it. Here are some of the life lessons I came up with from my Dad’s time in Key West at the Underwater Swimmers School.
- You never know where a new opportunity will take you.
- The grass isn’t always as green on the other side of the fence as it looks.
- A seemingly simple lesson can help you the rest of your life.
- I’m more like my Dad than I realized.
- The power and importance of a team.
- You don’t really know what amazing things someone else has done in their life.
- It is tough to live with no regrets even if they are just little missed opportunities.
- The importance of trust.
telling family tales 