Using Creative Non-Fiction Writing in a Family History Book

I am in the process of writing my second family history book. In 1993, I was lucky to have many relatives still alive, especially those who knew their parents and grandparents who came to Canada from the former Galicia under the Austria-Hungarian Empire in 1897.

Now 31 years later, I am finding it difficult to write stories about my great grandparents and their children. Whenever I hear that an elder relative is still alive, I rush out to visit them.

On April 23, 2024, I watched the Ukrainian Genealogy Group – NCR (Ottawa) webinar on “Ghosts in a Photograph" by Myrna Kostash. I was so impressed with Myrna that I went out and purchased her book, “Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle” by NeWest Press, 2022.
http://ukrainiangenealogygroup-ncr.org/WebinarRecordings.html

Creative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses elements of creative writing to present a factual, true story. Creative Nonfiction is focused on reality, as it relies on research to render events as accurately as possible. It must be scrupulous in one’s attention to detail like a journalist. Creative nonfiction seems to be a perfect match with family history writing especially with the earlier generations of one’s family and gaps in history.

There are numerous online courses and articles; to help understand this process of writing. There are also examples of short creative nonfiction writing online. I find it exciting to learn how to write true stories in a compelling way.

With the 2024 Kalynchuk Family History book, I am combining genealogy facts and stories from the 1993 family history book with the literature review of numerous Ukrainian Canadian, Ukraine and Galicia history books, articles, and online sources. We are lucky that the first wave of Ukrainian settlers to Western Canada has been well documented.

I am also using ChatGPT, EditGPT and Grammarly. However, I know to be cautious with ChatGPT as it does make up false things. This is called “hallucination" so this is why everything needs to be double-checked. Thank goodness for new technology and a new writing genre to assist me.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Being an introvert and enjoying getting into the “zone”, I look forward to taking on this challenge to create wonderful stories about my ancestors to include in the 2024 Kalynchuk Family History book.

Resources:

A Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/a-complete-guide-to-writing-creative-nonfiction

Examples of Creative Nonfiction: What It Is & How to Write It
https://selfpublishing.com/examples-of-creative-nonfiction/

Creative nonfiction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_nonfiction

How to Write Creative Non-Fiction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q85nRfiHdV8

Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle, Myrna Kostash
This book has won the 2024 Kobzar Book Award https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61238396-ghosts-in-a-photograph