January is the season for it.
I made some cosmetic changes to StoriesFromThePast last year. I changed my background, and experimented with new designs, but as readership increased and I began making new connections, the potential of this project became clear. I was connected with readers in unexpected ways, and by the end of the year, StoriesFromthePast had taken on a life of its own. This is exactly what I had hoped would happen, but it’s too much and too little all at the same time.
As StoriesFromThePast moved full-steam ahead, life applied the brakes. I can see that I 
need more time to apply to this project, but instead of having more time as an empty-nester, I now have a little grandchild to take care of on a nearly-full-time basis. Not a problem, I thought, I’m a morning person anyway, so I could research, write stories, and revamp the blog while my granddaughter sleeps. Nope. The website isn’t making money yet, and our family can’t afford to wait, so I’ve had to take on a morning job teaching ESL online. Curses. Foiled again.
I’m not giving up though. StoriesFromthePast has become the avenue for realizing my lifelong dream of becoming a published author. Well, technically that’s already happened, but I’m talking full-length biographies. Getting that first biography out takes time, and day-to-day living takes money. Not only that, but I have decided to get some professional consultation to make this work well into retirement. It looks like 2018 is the year for some major changes.
While I’m preparing for this major overhaul, I am applying a few immediate changes. I’m planning some new additions and streamlining to make it easier for both me and my readers while I am learning and implementing some new tricks of the trade.
Since there are, on average, four weeks to each month (and occasionally five), I have decided to organize information I present by weeks. My current goal to publish one new article each week. It should look something like this:
- Week 1: Stories and/or chapters from the lives of people who are no longer alive to speak for themselves.
- Week 2: Cousin Connections
- Week 3: Cousin landing pages
- Week 4: A chapter from my own life: This is the part of genealogy I dread the most. You would think a writer would love writing about herself. For me, his is true only to the extent that I like sharing my thoughts and feelings about things I find interesting. However, I think we all share the responsibility for preserving our own past for the sake of our progeny, so I’m beginning this task publicly.
- Week 5: Genealogy tips and tricks
I don’t know if anyone else will be interested, but it is helpful for me to get my plans out in a visible way. I have not received a paycheck from my new job (I’m in training and haven’t officially started yet), so it will be at least two months before I begin workshops to learn the business end of blogging. You’ll be seeing changes beginning next week, but I don’t expect the biggest changes to come for a few months at least. In the meantime, thanks so much for following and reading, and please don’t give up! You never know whose ancestor’s name is going to pop up next!
STORIES FROM THE PAST 