Organization is Key

The hardest part of writing a book is gathering all the information and pictures. You will be collecting a variety of things, including documents, pictures, and hundreds of facts and stories. If you have a system to organize and track this information as you go along the process of writing will be much smoother. The information that you gather is much too important to lose or have to spend hours looking for again. There are many good ways to organize your data so you can easily find it again. The way that works for me is to use file folders in a filing cabinet and folders on my computer to organize the information as I gather it. I usually label the folders with names, surname first, and then alphabetize them. There is no one right way to do it, but file your information and keep things in a way that makes sense to you. A good tip is to make a good master list or index of what you have collected and where it is located so you can quickly find it again. If you spend a few minutes staying organized, you will save hours and hours of time (not to mention the frustration you will avoid) when you are writing your history. Find a system that works for you and then work the system. Here are some links to different organizational systems: genealogy.about.com Eliminate Genealogy Clutter Book

Good luck and keep going!

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

Email questions and I’d be happy to help.