These writing lessons were prepared by Carol Baxter for genealogy conferences and webinars. They are now available as individual lessons for a pay-per-view price of $AUD 19.50.
As every writer knows, our word choices matter. In fact, every famous author has access to the same words and the same sentence structures that we do. They're famous partly because they've worked out how to use their words and sentence structures to maximum effect.
Little differences can have a huge impact on our prose. Adding verbs with more oomph, nouns with the right degree of specificity, adverbs that resuscitate a weak verb, figures of speech that add sophistication to our prose.
This lesson is about choosing the best "parts of speech" (nouns, verbs, and so on) and "figures of speech" (similes, metaphors and so on) from the English language. When we do, we engage our reader's imaginations and motivate them to keep reading.
This lesson can be purchased by subscribers as an individual lesson. It can also be accessed by Annual Members as part of the A Helpful Miscellany series and the Crafting Compelling Family Histories course.
We’ve learnt how to craft vivid sentences in the Words Words Words course, but how do we combine these words to produce a vivid scene, especially when we have little information to work with?
This lesson describes the process of doing so, using practical examples from Carol’s own writing. It shows how she began with very little information, then followed one path after another in a desperate attempt to find something … anything … to make her description interesting.
It shows how you too can apply the same strategies to your own research and writing projects, whatever the subject.
This lesson can be purchased by subscribers as an individual lesson. It can also be accessed by Annual Members as part of the A Helpful Miscellany series and the Crafting Compelling Family Histories course.
Family historians tend to focus on the facts when they write their family histories. They forget about the "experiences" that produced the records that document these "facts".
The problem with this approach is that when we list "fact" after "fact" after "fact", our readers soon tire and find something else to do.
"Stories", however, keep them awake and alert and eager to learn what happens next. Stories are our way of communicating the experiences that produced those documented facts.
In this lesson, Carol Baxter shows you how to tell a gripping story to include in a family history or biography.
This lesson can be purchased by subscribers as an individual lesson. It can also be accessed by Annual Members as part of the A Helpful Miscellany series and the Crafting Compelling Family Histories course.