Consider this: YOUR life, the one you are living right now, is the “family history” of future generations. Believe it or not, your great-great-great grandchildren will one day find your life fascinating—but only IF you leave a record of it. Short life story writing compels you to narrow down the most interesting and most important aspects of your life.

It’s a question we hear often from people who are contemplating writing a memoir or personal history: “How do I decide what to write about?” In a similar vein: “How much should I include? What should I leave out?”

One of my favorite ways to answer the question is with another question: “What would you like to know about your ancestors?”