My genealogy research/writing plan for 2011 - Carnival of Genealogy #101

Carnival of Genealogy #101. Carnival Poster by the always amazing FootnoteMaven.

The topic for the 101st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Carnival Founder and Host Jasia at Creative Gene is:
My genealogy research/writing plan for 2011.

As I mentioned in my post about my New Year's Genea-Resolutions 2011, I have one important-to-me writing project I want to finish in 2011. (Well, really two, but the other is an on-going one.)

First project:

On my research shelf already bundled together is material, mainly from newspapers and government reports, relating to a family death in the 1920s, along with some books for background information. I did have a plan for this project, however, as there was no deadline, I've never written much of this up. (I'm usually very good with deadlines!)

* This year, I'll make finishing this research project and writing it up with my conclusions a goal.

Again this year, I'm setting aside some 'Anti Procrastination' personal time once a month for genealogy. Last year, this was usually a Thursday evening once a month, but this project still needs some more research time at local and provincial archives, so I will set aside one day a month when I will devote a set number of hours to it, depending on what I need to do.

I need one day at least to review this material, go over my notes and write up an outline.

Then I feel I will need about 2-4 days more in local archives in Vancouver and Victoria, and as a bonus, I'd like at least 4-5 days reading more newspapers from the period. I may be able to fit this in around doing lookups, etc. (I love old newspapers. This will keep me enthusiastic, I'm sure.)

Depending on what new information I turn up at the archives or in the papers, I may need to review other sources again. And as I go I need to review my notes and my outline continually.

Then I need to set aside the time to review and write! I found it helpful last year to take myself and my research notes off to a genealogical library to do this. Likely I will do this again - fewer distractions. Depending on how the writing goes, I may need more than one day per month for this, but I will schedule my time for it.

Second Project:

I've been very slowly scanning or photographing my treasures, and writing up a story about each one. I mentioned this recently in a comment on Jasia's post at her blog, Creative Gene, about downsizing. I feel my children are unlikely to keep all these bits and pieces, but they would (I hope) keep a book or binder with my stories. (Reading the stories might even get them to keep a few treasures. Who knows?)

Sometimes I've been sharing family treasures on my blog but this is another personal genealogical project without a deadline, so I've decided to make myself one.

* I'll do one Family Treasure writeup by the end of each month in 2011.

That way I will feel I'm getting somewhere with this project, and I'll even have something to show for it.

And a really personal Third Project:

Last year I typed up some of my maternal grandfather's diary notes - mostly they were about the weather and crops, or visitors. How I wish I had them all, and that the rest of the family had done the same. I once kept journals, but haven't done so for years.

Then I noticed that Kevin Savetz, of FreePrintable.net has a 10 year journal with 4 lines for each day. Seems a very nice idea, and very doable, which is important to me now. (And there's a free version if you want to write by hand, or for $4.US a version which you can type in on your computer.)

* So for 2011, I'll do a brief journal entry every day - by hand as I hope someone else may want to read them someday and even if they have to work at it, they'll likely appreciate that it's my handwriting. And I'm printing pages out on archival paper.

Likely it will get to be a habit again. (Thanks, Kevin.)