The January 6, 2009 edition of the Deseret News had a good article on writing your life story. That article reminded me that I’ve got to get back to writing my own. Patty and I have had an interesting and exciting life. I really need to get my memories all on paper – and soon.
The Life Stories article was appropriately published in the Life, Etc. portion of the paper. The online version of the article is posted in several parts. Included in the article was a section from Sharon Carmack on conducting oral history interviews. There’s one comment Sharon made that I really liked – “Remember that your goal is to get information, not to correct, debate or educate the narrator.” From experience, I can tell you that you need to keep quiet, and let the subject of the interview tell their story. I have oral interviews in my collection that I did over 25 years ago. I hadn’t learned when to shut up – and I seemed to talk as much as the interviewee. Not good technique.
Be sure and read Sharon Thurston’s tips for “adding life” to your family history.
We encourage people to go one step further and record on video – not in place of the written memoirs, but as a supplement. With a minimum of equipment, you can certainly do it yourself. We normally focus on the dramatic stories, and have them retold as part of a worked up video biography. Short of that, just create the tapes. Someone coming later can edit.