5 Tips to Turn Family Folklore Into Story
Journalist and author Sharon Tubbs’ family history had a story within it she felt compelled to write. Here, she shares five tips to turn family folklore into story.
The most interesting family stories often reveal themselves in incidental ways. Like the time my mother and I sat watching the news, which happened to include a story about a Ku Klux Klan march in Indiana. That’s when she mentioned white supremacists thought to be Klansmen had kidnapped my grandfather in 1950s Alabama. By now, it was the 1980s and she’d forgotten most of the details.
Later, as an adult, I interviewed relatives to learn more. Some eyed me askance, questioning whether this nugget held significance today. Their doubt didn’t sway me. A former newspaper journalist, I’d written and edited stories far less intriguing than this one. Those interviews and much research eventually led to my book They Got Daddy: One Family’s Reckoning with Racism and Faith.
My grandfather, Israel Page, was a sharecropper, a well drill, and a preacher living in rural Alabama when a car accident led to his lawsuit against a white sheriff’s deputy, then to his kidnapping. Court records tracked the case. Back then news articles recounted the accident and the kidnapping with interviews.
For my relatives, it was too familiar and traumatic, not the heroic stories families like to pass down. Yet, old family tales, even tragic ones, may hold great value. Has your family told yarns about the over-achieving great uncle, the great-grandmother whose kindness blessed an entire community, or a secret that changed the family’s course forever? Some digging could turn this fodder into a column in your local newspaper, a magazine essay, or even a book for the ages.
Here are five tips I learned along the way that helped me turn family lore into long-form story.
1. Gather oral histories from family members and friends.
Interviews with relatives are often the starting point and the backbone of your story. Ask questions, lots of them. You may be surprised how eagerly older relatives tell stories of times past. Try to narrow down timeframes as much as possible, so you can frame the story in its proper historical context. Record or take notes then compare them with other statements and research.
In my case, an uncle just happened to mention that my grandfather hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the deputy. Before our talk, I knew there’d been an accident and a subsequent kidnapping, but I knew nothing about a lawsuit. Now I had hope of an actual paper trail. I traveled later to Selma, Alabama, and got a copy of that court case. It contained a mound of details that blossomed into more and more information.
2. Use research databases to fill in the story.
Be sure to collect dates and timeframes during interviews. Use keywords and dates for online or hands-on research databases. Go to your local library and look up research materials related to the time. Even if there’s no article or document about your specific family story, a news article from the era may give useful information about society during that space in history.
Other important tools may include ancestry, census, marriage, property, or even wartime records, to name a few. If you find written accounts that corroborate your story, go back to relatives and jog their memories with the added details. They may have even more to offer, like, “Oh yeah, I forgot about Old Ron. He was the one who…”
If historical documents go against relatives’ accounts, don’t assume the document is correct. I’ve found more than a few inaccuracies in articles and records. Try to find additional sources to confirm which is most accurate, or if the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
3. Don’t shy from conflict or tension within the story.
Conflicting opinions and views are often the foundation of intrigue, increasing the readers’ interest. For instance, the sheriff’s deputy involved in my story had died long ago. Learning about him was a source of tension due to the tragedy my grandfather endured. Yet, I had to explore his actions as well. I used countless articles about his work as a deputy to paint as clear a picture of him as my mind could.
The same was true of the lawyer who represented my grandfather in the civil case. He was on my grandfather’s side, but he still held some racist views. You may be tempted to avoid the other side of the story, or tensions within the family. But first consider if these tensions will actually add to the story’s complexity and its credibility.
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4. Use a storytelling approach.
Try to write in a storytelling or narrative fashion, rather than an expository style typical in textbooks. To do so, ask for descriptions, as well as facts, during interviews. For instance, I asked how my grandparents’ house looked in the 1950s. How many rooms did it have? What kind of stove did they use back then? These details helped me create a descriptive setting.
Also, pay attention to how your family members talk when they tell the story. What is their vernacular? What images or ways of life do they insert? These types of detail will help you adopt a voice, flow, and storytelling style that fits the storyline and makes readers want to follow along.
Dialogue is important as well. Although you weren’t around when the story occurred, using quotes from relatives’ interviews can help fill this void. Don’t just ask what happened; ask what so-and-so said when it happened. These recollections of conversation can act as dialogue: According to Jake, the conversation went something like this…
Admittedly, I struggled to use actual quoted dialogue in a story that originated nearly 70 years ago, but I did so when I felt it was appropriate. In the end, combining voice, details, and as much dialogue as you feel comfortable should yield the story you want to tell.
5. Be as accurate as you can with what you know.
Accuracy is essential, but complicated when you’re writing about history. Pressure magnifies when family is involved. I asked an older cousin who was alive during the events and whose judgment I trusted to read portions of the story. I also read portions to others interviewed. I triple-checked the information gleaned from written documents and how it meshed with the oral histories. I suggest you take the same steps.
For me, some pressure lifted when I began to see the story, not only as my grandparents’ story, but also my own. Whatever family lore you’re unearthing, remember this is part of your history, too. You may want to ask yourself why you’re writing it. I believe They Got Daddy is a story that a race-divided nation needs to read today. That purpose gave me courage to move forward, despite doubts that arose. Likewise, the answer to your “why” will help you embrace the journey of revealing your story for a broader world to engage.
Sharon Tubbs began her professional career as a newspaper reporter and editor. In a career that spanned 17 years, she worked briefly for the Philadelphia Inquirer then for the Tampa Bay Times. As a journalist, she covered various beats that included small-town government, local crime, and national religious issues. Today, Sharon Tubbs is a writer, inspirational speaker, and the director of a nonprofit organization that empowers under-resourced residents in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to live healthier lives.
