Motivation Monday--THIS IS NOT A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: Some realistic genealogical & historical research/writing goals for 2013

Not a resolution...
I say this is not a resolution because those are made and broken each year as easily as fad dieting. Over the past thirty-five years my weight has gone up and down like a yo-yo in the hands of a competent trickster. I generally succeed for a time, only to get frustrated by the stresses of life...eventually weakening, giving in...leading to total abandonment of the resolution till the next New Year comes around.

Let it be said...

I resolve NOT to make or break any resolutions in 2013!

Instead...

I've been following several blogs written by successful genealogists, historians, writers and editors who have shared their guidelines for identifying goals and developing successful strategies for reaching them. They have shared their own personal goals for the year to come, and have encouraged their readers to do so as well.

So, with that said, the following is my list of goals which I believe are attainable.

Reconstructing Co. B & G 14th Regiment USCT

Finish transcribing and analyzing the Civil War Pension File of my great grandfather-in-law, Isaac Carter;

Create an index of all the soldiers within these units, download their service records & pension file applications;

Order Civil War Pension Files for Isaac Carter's comrades, and note corresponding testimony;

Speak with authorities regarding events at Carolina City during November 1864;

Set up the Carter Family Tree in Legacy 7.5 Deluxe in order to bring our tree up to professional standards, including proper documentation and attached digitized records.
Organize my paper files using the method promoted by Genealogy Research Associates, Inc. ;
Continue writing the family history memoir using Scrivener trial edition, and consider purchasing the full version;
Purchase Randy Ingermanson's writing software, Snowflake Pro to streamline character development, lining up scenes, creating a book summary and proposal in order to attract editors and agents;
Complete the first draft of my family history memoir on Isaac Carter and the following two generations: Antebellum Period to the Great Migration;
Take the 2013 Family History Writing Challenge this February and begin my personal memoir, the second in the series;
Read, read, read...

Currently I am reading The Gravedigger's Daughter, by Joyce Carol Oates;

The next book I'd like to read, also by Oates, is A Widow's Story: A Memoir;

????

Continue blogging and journaling my progress at least three times per week.

Any more than this would be a completely unrealistic expectation...and even this will take daily diligence to move me along to the next phase of writing. I hope you'll take the time to critique my list, and perhaps even share your own goals for the year to come!

Honoring our Ancestors: Free Black Patriots of the Revolutionary War

When I was first contacted last October to assist in some research for a member of the DAR who was looking for the burial ground of her ancestor, Isaac Carter, I had no idea it would lead to such a wonderful tribute--with full honors--to our free black ancestors of Craven County, North Carolina. Nor would I have guessed that I would be meeting together with Ms. Maria William Cole, National Vice Chairman Insignia, of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and a host of other dignitaries, from the highest officials of the SAR to state and local political and community service leaders, to pay tribute to these patriots. The turnout exceeded my expectation when this event proceeded on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, with close to a hundred and fifty people or more, seated on folding chairs under three canopy tents. The microphone cable lay along the wet grass and soon died out, and we, the speakers, were asked to use our "mother's voices" to make o

How Family History Writing Forces Us to Dig DEEPER

February is Family History Writing Month During the month of February, I went on hiatus from the Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter in order to participate in the Family History Writing Challenge. My goal was quite ambitious, but I did succeed in setting up the framework of the family history memoir, and wrote a rough draft of the opening scenes. The memoir focuses on a promise I had made to our Cousin Hattie Carter Becton in an interview, following the the 2009 George Family Reunion in North Harlowe, North Carolina. In case you missed the Challenge, you can find the posts here . The site was developed especially for writing challenges, beginning with this year's; so, you may want to go back to the first posts in the archive. March was memoir reading, research & development month Last month I continued working on the writing, but also began focusing on webinars and YouTube videos related to writing memoir. Two really great sites are National Association of Memoir Writ

Those Places Thursday -- Robert Livingston House, Little River, SC

In July of 2008 we attended the Prince Livingston Family Reunion in Wampee, Horry County, South Carolina (my husband's maternal family). During our down time we decided to take a drive through Little River where the plantation owner, Robert Livingston, had once lived. We inquired at the Visitor Center, and learned that the Robert Livingston House had been preserved as an historical landmark. The brochure we received listed several different sites that interested us, but the Livingston House was our first destination. We drove along Highway 17S and drove past the turn off for Lakeside Drive. At the next light we turned around and headed back down the highway until we came to the street. About two-thirds of the way down the road we saw a sign along the roadside: 19th Century Victorian Home for Sale. Was that the house? The number on the mail box was 4441. That's it! We got out of the car and looked around only to find that the owner was at home, and he was in the process

Heather Kuhn RoelkerJanuary 1, 2013 at 2:46 PM
I completely agree with you that resolutions are tough. Your goals are ambitious, but I think it can be done. I did the FHWC last year and it really helped me to focus. Most importantly it highlighted the blank spots in my research which was invaluable. Good luck!

In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

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