To continue this series of blog posts on family tree software I am presenting segments of an amateur novel invented and written by my pre-teen son, who is an avid reader. I am trying to demonstrate the point that ancestry legacies do not have to wait for people to get old and pass on. No, you can get your children writing stories that will make for great memoirs later. It would be nice if family tree software could encourage such stories. Without further ado, here is part eight:

Gavin saw the man aim his cross bow with a long, thin arrow pointed up at them. Gavin readied his magic and hoped he could do this. The man fired the arrow with a clunk and Gavin used all his force to stop the arrow from hitting them. The arrow froze in mid air right in front of them almost beautifully. The man in the black cloak stared at it for a second. Then the arrow shattered. Gavin still had things to learn. Freeze sped away leaving the man in the black cloak behind them.

“I see the Wizard has been teaching you magic,” Freeze said as they landed in front of Gavin’s cottage.
“Yes, and it probably saved us back there,” Gavin replied without staring at Freeze. Gavin told Freeze good night and walked towards the house. Freeze trotted over to the stables where his room was. Gavin stepped inside and was greeted by a hug from his little cousin Sally.
“You bring candy?” Sally said hopefully. Gavin smiled down at his baby cousin.
“No I went to see the big Wizard,” Gavin said. Sally frowned and waddled off towards the kitchen. Gavin lived with his Aunt and cousins since he was an orphan. His father was a sailor and had fought in many battles as a warrior before his ship had gotten lost at sea. His mother had gotten sick with grief and had quit eating. His mother left Gavin and her family to go on a search for his father. She left without telling anybody but she left a note to say where she had gone and that her sister Amelia was to take care of Gavin. Amelia was always kind to Gavin and his uncle had shown him how to hunt when Gavin was a young boy. His uncle William has passed away after he became ill. Gavin had three cousins, the oldest Colton, the second oldest Beatrice, and the youngest Sally. Colton had always fought with Gavin and had always wanted to out do him. Gavin had tolerated this at first but eventually got sick of it and he had once tackled Colton to the ground and hit him twice. Gavin was a couple years older than Colton and had more of the advantage.

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In this series of blog posts on family history software I am and written by my pre-teen son, who is a voracious reader. I am trying to illustrate the point that ancestry legacies do not have to wait for people to get old and pass on. No, you can get your children writing stories that will make for great memoirs later. It would be nice if family tree software could encourage such stories. Without further ado, here is part seven:

“Flying long distances makes me tired,” Freeze replied simply. Freeze ran forward and started to flap his wings. He leapt off the ground like a cat and turned around towards the direction of Gavin’s house. He started to pick up speed and Gavin heard the wind whistling through his ears. Gavin slumped forward with a sigh. He always forgot magic makes him tired. But today was a long day, the hunt this morning had taken almost four hours. Gavin turned his head and looked back. The Wizard’s tower was becoming smaller in the distance, a black dot now. Suddenly Freeze curved sharply and Gavin heard something whistle by. “Someone is shooting at us!” Freeze bellowed. Probably some fool trying to make a living off of dragon skin. Probably.

“Go lower, right above the trees!” Gavin yelled against the wind. Freeze swooped lower when Gavin heard a clink. Freeze ducked as another arrow went whistling by. That does not sound like a bow, it is probably a crossbow. Freeze was right above the tree tops now. Gavin heard rustling in the forest and then galloping. Gavin looked down and saw their attacker. He was wearing a black cloak that was covering his face. He was riding a black, huge horse. Gavin saw the glint of silver and he fell forward onto his stomach. He heard the familiar whistle of an arrow. That could have been his neck. This man was a skilled archer, the only reason they hadn’t been hit was Freeze’s quick reaction and speed. They couldn’t keep this up forever. It was time to go onto the offense side.

“Freeze dive into him! We can’t keep dodging these arrows,” he yelled. Freeze drifted for exactly one second, and then he dived. It was such a sharp dive with such force Gavin almost fell of him. Luckily Gavin had squeezed his knees right as Freeze dived. Freeze shot down with the speed of a peregrine falcon into their attacker. Gavin ducked down against the wind. Freeze turned up sharply as his claws dangled down towards the man. This man though was no ordinary man. He fell flat onto his horse with Freeze missing him by inches. He twisted and was now lying on his backshifted and was now laying down on his back.

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An simple method to encourage your young ones to participate in family history is to have them write for things they want. It doesn’t even require family history software for them to do it. The easiest thing for young ones to write about is simply about what happened to them that day or that week, or what things they are looking forward to. Both of these things make for a great family record. What follows below will serve as an example for you because it is actually written by my tweenage son.

On Monday my cousins came over. On Monday it was a break from school because it was Martin Luther King Jr day and we all had school off. My cousins Peter and Joey were coming over. On Monday morning when I woke up I asked my mom when they were coming over. She said they would be over between 11:00 and 12:00 that morning. That morning we moved the Wii and Playstation downstairs with the TV. We were having some behavior problems that morning and so my dad gathered everyone around in the front room and he had sat down. He said in a calm voice, “We have been having some trouble this morning and I would like everyone to tell us something they will do today to make us all happier.” I said I would not bother my siblings because I have a problem with that. My sister May said she would help out our baby brother Ricky to not scream. My sister Samantha said she could help my mom clean the house. And my sister Haley said she would not make Ricky scream.

After the meeting I went upstairs and I grabbed my clothes. I went and took a shower because my hair was feeling oily. My mom had left to go run errands. Later when it was about 11:00, I had decided that I would hide in the bushes and scare my cousins when they came to the door. I realized they might take a while so I went back in and I asked Samantha if she wanted to come scare them with me. We went outside right as my mom pulled up. We helped her take groceries inside the house. Earlier that day I asked my mom what we were having for lunch and she said she will probably go pick up a pizza.

I told her I was kind of sick of pizza and I asked if she could get hot dogs. When she got back from the store I looked through the bags as usual to see what she got. My mom had got hot dogs and barbecue chips (Hooray!). I asked when they were coming and she said she had just talked to my Aunt and they had already left and were on the freeway.

This ends part one. You can find worthwhile family tree software and a good family tree diagram if you take the time to look.

Who knew that family history software, and even family tree software, would find such a large market of folks wanting to do genealogy work? There are even a number of people who are searching for family tree software because such diagrams are a nice visual way to see all family lines at the same time. It will be a fine day indeed when such software programs support family stories. But guess what? It is not necessary to wait until you or your family is at the end of their lives before collecting such stories. What follows below is part six of my son’s own fantasy novel.

Gavin flipped his hands over so his palms were facing upward. He lifted his hands up slowly. The rock started to shake, and then it exploded sending shards everywhere. “You didn’t clear your mind,” the Wizard observed. The Wizard put down a pin onto the table.

Gavin shut his eyes and breathed heavily trying not to be nervous. He tried a different gesture this time. Gavin faced his hands sideways and swept them to the side. The pin shifted an inch then floated across the table. Gavin’s heart warmed with satisfaction. “Move your hands more quickly and use your arms instead of your hands to stop the objects from shaking or not moving how you want them too,” the Wizard said lifting up the pin with magic and smoothly put it into his pocket. Gavin wondered what they were going to do next when something hit him. Freeze had not come into the tower with him! “Sir, Freeze did not come in with me!” Gavin said with a note of alarm creeping into his voice. He knew this area could be dangerous when you’re outside alone at night.

“I will find him,” the Wizard replied. The Wizard’s eyes narrowed and then they looked blank. “Sir, aren’t you going to look for him?”
“He is on the top off the tower sleeping,” the Wizard said coming out of the trance.
“How….?”
“I have a special mind chain connected to the follies to notify me things. They found your dragon, not me.” Gavin was amazed at all the different types of magic they were. “Our lesson is over for today. I will notify the follies to tell dragon to come down,” the Wizard said. H went back into the trance for a moment. Gavin picked up his staff and he stood up. Gavin heard a muffled thump outside. That must be Freeze he thought with a grin. The Wizard’s power was amazing. “The next lesson will be in four days on the fifth day. We are going to have more lessons now to prepare you too become a Wizard when you turn fifteen.” The Wizard added. Gavin nodded his head and he walked out the door. He stepped outside as the force of the cold hit him. He noticed an object shift out of the corner of his eye. He turned and realized it was probably a follie camouflaging with the door.

Gavin turned away and he saw Freeze at the edge of the forest waiting. He walked through the thick, tangled grass and he climbed onto Freeze’s back. “So how was your little nap?” Gavin asked with a grin.

I have yet to see family history software that allows you to tag stories so that you could later search for certain stories by author, topic, type of writing, etc. I would bet there are certainly no family tree software programs that do that, and I am not sure how a family tree diagram would be incorporated. In any case, I am positive that such applications will mature to handle such features. Stories are especially fun to read and make for great family history. Below is part four of my son’s own creative fiction story.

The Wizard waved his staff and snapped his fingers with his right hand. The door glowed blue and the Wizard sealed the door shut. “Glory, come here!” the Wizard shouted. A little floating white ball flew up to the Wizard. “I want you to round up the other follies and set them up at their defense posts,” the Wizard said. Glory flew back up the stairs. Gavin knew the Wizard had many defenses against enemies and intruders but Gavin had never expected something like this. Gavin always thought the Wizard would have more powerful protection.
“They’re more powerful than they look”, the Wizard said with a smile as if he could read Gavin’s mind. Gavin nodded.
“Yes sir.”
“Now for your next lesson you will be using air magic to lift objects into the air,” the Wizard said taking a book off the shelf. Gavin shivered with anticipation. He couldn’t wait to do this. The Wizard handed the book| to Gavin. “Open up to page four thirty-two to read upon the history of air magic and the wizards who used it with power for good or for evil.” Gavin looked through the book to the page and he started reading the first paragraph.

Air magic is one of the most powerful magic elements used in magic. The great Donomin is thought of as the creator of air magic at the beginning of magic itself. It is not clear whether he actually created air magic but the only records of magic that are left say he did. Five centuries after Donomin’s death came along a very powerful, but horrible Wizard. None of that time had heard of or seen air magic until Ragfer bought Donomin’s mansion. Donomin’s mansion was rumored to be haunted but Ragfer was a poor Wizard who needed a place for himself. It was sold to him for very little and Ragfer found an old library hidden in a room through a trap door. It was full of books by Donomin about air magic. Ragfer learned the ways of air magic and he quickly became rich from this knowledge. He became one of the wealthiest Wizards. He was satisfied with all his money but he wanted more. HE wanted power.

Internet searchers looking for family history software, family tree software or even family tree diagram are probably greatly desirous to uncover as many artifacts and documents of their ancestors as possible. If they were to discover letters, poems, or stories written by their great grandfather or great great grandmother, they would be more than delighted. It would be like finding an invaluable treasure. Hence, what a great software program it would be if it could archive and preserve all such stories. You don’t have to wait until your family is aging before collecting such stories. What follows below is part five of my son’s own fantasy narrative.

Ragfer went to the main city hall and he killed the leader of the town by hurling furniture with air magic at the leader until he was crushed. HE killed all the people he suspected had heard the noise. Ragfer ran for election as Head Wizard and leader of the town. He was popular and many people thought him a good powerful Wizard. Many Wizards learned of his dark ways and plans to take over the country. Ragfer killed all the people who tried to overthrow him. The Wizards made a secret organization a year after Ragfer was elected to try and overthrow him. Ragfer was attacked in his bedroom at night and he killed half his attackers but they eventually overpowered him. The secret organization of Wizards changed the government by equally dividing the power between them.

Gavin set down the book onto the table and he looked up at the Wizard. “Ragfer became powerful because he knew air magic when other wizards didn’t know a thing. He became careless and let down his guard thinking no one would try to overpower him because he thought he could destroy them,” the Wizard said.

“But sir how did the Wizards learn that he was evil?”

“It happened a long time ago and so many things are unclear. If there were any records on it they are lost. Now, when handling air magic you will not need your staff because staffs are mostly used for matter attacks like energy, fire, rock, and many other attacks. Air magic does not require staffs so it is a good back up if you have lost your staff or it is unusable. Gavin put his staff down onto the chair beside him. “To start with you need to empty your consciousness of powerful thoughts or emotions,” the Wizard said. Gavin blinked his eyes several times and looked up at the Wizard.

“First you will try to lift up this rock. Sweep your hands and fingers to move it how you would like. I suggest you use small gestures to start out with.”

The reason I think family history software, including family tree software, should support and promote stories is because I’m a huge believer in the power of stories. They could even be part of family tree diagram. Telling a story maybe the greatest component to include when giving a presentation or in public speaking. When it comes to families, telling a child a story can be multiple times more effective than giving a lecture. Helping children learn to write or tell stories is one of the greatest things you can do. What follows in this article is part three of a story my son is writing, which will make great family history.

He grabbed it and came to know it was one of the Wizard’s shape shifting masks. He realized with a grin that the Wizard had probably taken the other one into the town. Boy would he give the villagers a fright when they saw a dog or some other animal suddenly change into the Wizard. Many people feared the Wizard and some he thought he was a member of the dark forces. Of course the Wizard was a loyal subject and friend to the king so no one really had anything to fear from the Wizard as long as they didn’t get on his bad side.

He remembered the Wizard put up protective magic in his domain but Gavin hadn’t encountered any yet. The Wizard must have been in a hurry. He looked up to the book shelves and saw a book missing from the dark magic area. The Wizard frequently leaves the scripts there or on the table. He found the book opened up on the table. He walked over and took a look at it. His eyes widened as he realized the Wizard was studying possessive magic. Possessive magic is where you take control of a creature or plant against the laws of magic. Why would the Wizard be studying this? At that moment the Wizard burst through the door. He saw Gavin looking at the book.

Gavin witnessed surprise and then frustration on the Wizard’s face. “What are you doing in here uninvited?” the Wizard said through his teeth trying to control his anger. “I… I knocked on your door and… and”, he stuttered then the Wizard cut him off.
“Have you no respect for other people’s property?”
“I’m sorry sir. I knocked on your door and I waited for a long time and I saw the book on the table and so I started reading.”
“Ah well it’s only natural to be curious.” The Wizard walked over to the table where Gavin was sitting and picked up the book. He snapped it shut and he put it back on the empty spot on the shelf.

Whenever I talk about family history software, I like to mention the fact that stories are one of the best familial and ancestral artifacts to be passed from one generation to the next. It is great when such programs can support such stories, whether it be family tree software or even in family tree diagram. In my previous post, I introduced the start of a story written by my adolescent son. It is a story that his children and grandchildren will be most interested in reading when he is old or passed on. Below continues his story in part 2.

The werewolf pack leader leaped and took Gavin down with both paws. The werewolf pinned Gavin down and howled victoriously. Gavin heard Freeze yell out in pain and suddenly Gavin felt angry. Gavin’s eyes glowed bright green and he shouted out as he thrust his staff forward with his free hand. A jet of energy light shot out into the werewolf’s chest and the werewolf flew backward into a tree, paralyzed. Gavin jumped up and shot energy from his staff plowing through the werewolves. The rest of the pack realized they didn’t stand a chance and ran off defeated. Gavin fell to the ground exhausted and awed by his new power. He had never done magic as powerful and refined as this! Gavin walked over to Freeze and knelt down. He reached for his pack and rummaged through it looking for a medical healing pack. He remembered he left it at home. Gavin slapped his fore head, he needed help fast, but he couldn’t leave his hurt dragon here. The werewolves might come back or some other creatures. That’s when the wizard stepped out of the shadows. “You have great magical power”, the Wizard said slowly. He knelt down to Freeze and pulled a red cloth out of his cloak and put it against the dragon’s wounds.

Gavin still remembered that memory as clear as day from a few weeks ago. Gavin was twelve years old with red hair and blue eyes. He was average height and a fast runner. They reached the Wizards tower and Freeze dropped to the ground softly a few feet away from the door. Gavin walked up to the door and knocked softly. No answer but Gavin remembered from his last visit that the Wizard hated people knocking more than once. They waited for about thirty minutes before Gavin realized the door was unlocked. He opened the door slowly and peered inside. It was unusually quiet inside his tower. Last time Gavin came it was full of the sound of magic at work. Here it was very quiet and he couldn’t see any lights on. Gavin stepped inside and saw something lying on a table.

One of the legacies most often lost between generations is the writing of one’s anscestors, whether it be love letters, which are obviously the most sentimental and touching, or things like stories, poems, or anything else that the great great grandparent may have written. I think family history software should definitely allow for the preservation and presentation of such accounts. While it may not make sense for family tree software to accomodate written stories, other type of software, such as programs that organize photos and videos, would be good for this. But it would be nifty for a family tree diagram to allow you to see which ancestor had writings and be able to click to open up such stories.

Because I think it would be great for my grandchildren and great grandchildren to know what my son has written as a boy, I am having him write as much as he can, including the story that follows here. This is part one of many.

Gavin sweated as he and his dragon Freeze rode over the tree tops. They were headed to Gavin’s master’s house. His master was the great wizard and this was his second visit. The wizard was probably the most feared man in the kingdom. Or most feared beast no one knew if he was man or beast. The wizard was one of the most powerful kinds, a shape shifter. The wizard became interested in Gavin when he saw how powerful Gavin and his dragon were. One night Gavin and Freeze were hunting in the forest. Freeze was still a young dragon, about two years old. They were rabbit hunting for Gavin’s family. They were chasing after a rabbit one night when they lost track of it. They heard howling and a horrible ripping nose.

They found the rabbit ripped apart at the base of a tree. They realized that they had gone into the forbidden part of the forest where werewolves lurked. They heard howling and realized it was time to get out of here. Gavin and Freeze scurried forward to where there was nothing in the way for Freeze to take off when a werewolf pounced onto Freeze. Freeze was about six feet long and two and a half feet tall on four legs. He is a fearsome dragon for his age but was taken by surprise when the werewolf pounced on him. Freeze roared as the werewolf dug his claws into Freeze’s leg. Freeze roared again as he speared the werewolf with his tail. Gavin had to think fast because the rest of pack would be herein seconds and they were no match for them.

Gavin yelled for Freeze to get up a tree when the rest of the pack came. Three more werewolves attacked Freeze and one lunged at Gavin. Gavin ducked out of the way just in time. Freeze whined as two werewolves bit into his back.

It’s hard to delve into the wild and wonderful world of family history without coming into contact with the members or resources of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormons. In fact, the LDS Church has been a huge force in the genealogy world for decades. Aside from a huge, state-of-the-art family history library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the LDS Church also has smaller family history centers in many of its meetinghouses where members are encouraged to seek out vital records for their ancestors. Those unfamiliar with the LDS Church may wonder, why the intense dedication to genealogy?

Family history work, as it turns out, is a huge part of Mormon theology. It is no secret that the LDS Church is big on families, but what many do not know is that this devotion goes beyond the grave. Mormons believe that their dead ancestors in the afterlife are just as connected to them as those still living. More importantly, they believe they have an obligation to receive ordinances like baptism on behalf of their dead ancestors in order for them to receive all of the blessings of eternal life to which they are entitled. For Mormons, the dead can’t do this work for themselves; they will be held accountable if they don’t perform this work for their ancestors. Therefore, they are co-dependent on each other for salvation. The living can’t obtain eternal life without assisting their dead ancestors; and, of course, the dead can’t be saved without their help.

That’s where genealogy comes in. In order to perform these saving ordinances, Mormons need their ancestors’ names and vital information.

So there you have it. The LDS Church is devoted to family history because they believe their salvation is riding on it.