Some progress

I won't add anything of Ned's story at the moment. My writing continues. I'm working on the chronology of Ned's story, not the chronological account of his life. I don't want to write it simply as a birth to death narrative but rather divide it into sections that span various times in his life. This means a bit of jumping back and forth.

Yesterday I shared the first few pages with a writing group in my genealogy society and got good feedback. The style we are using of creative non-fiction is not what most of them use. Their narratives are impressive from the point of view of research and clarity and tend to focus more on a narrative of history with references to their ancestors throughout the time. We are taking a different path in this challenge. My hope is that the end product is a readable story that lets my family come to know the ancestor better.

The members of the writing group all enjoyed the story. Suggestions for moving some sentences around did make a smoother flow. As authors we know what we are saying, I hope, but the reader may not. I had not included any maps or photos and that would have aided their understanding. I will try to put myself into the mind of the reader, rather than staying locked in my own where what I write makes sense to me. Easier said than done without going overboard with details that don't enhance the story.

Ned lived his entire life in Ottawa, where I live too. I know the city well and refer to neighbourhoods that automatically allow me to visualize the location. This was not the case for the reader. What I'm now struggling with is including a narrative to explain the setting so that the reader knows where the story is taking place in the city. The distinction between lowertown and uppertown is clear in my mind, but was not so for the others in the group. Now I will do some editing to try to make it clear. Hopefully the inclusion of historical maps and photos will help so that I don't have to write at great length.

If you are reading this and have any suggestions I am all ears.