Thoughts & Things

The Inspiration of Ancestry

It's only been in the last year or so that I've taken any interest in ancestry, and it wasn't a direct route for me to get to that interest. This is honestly something that surprises even me, as I really enjoy history. It's like fantasy that truly happened, and nothing blows me away more than that. It seems only natural that I would take an interest in ancestry, which brings not only the magic of history, but also the knowledge that I am connected to it.

I read a local history book after picking it up at our local museum, and found my city fascinating. The odd facts and grainy historical photographs caught and kept my attention, although I had been nervous that might local history might not be particularly interesting. Reading the history of where I live felt much like reading the ancestry of a place, rather than a person, which is what made me interested in my own ancestry.

There are a few branches of my family tree that I unfortunately don't have access to documentation for, partially due to language barriers, partially due to having lost the relatives that might have known the most. Even with that in mind, I was able to bring up the topic with my grandmother before she passed away, and she had some information that surprised me. I was given a family made book on one branch of relatives, a book on my hometown with pictures of some of my relatives, and I was advised that their was a book on her direct family ancestors that my father had borrowed.

I actually found out about famous ancestors I have had throughout history, including a woman who was burned at the stake for witchcraft, a subject I was fascinated by growing up. I'm actually doing further research on her, enough that I can hopefully write my own piece on her, backed by the knowledge that she is a far back part of my family tree. It's one thing to be fascinated by a topic, but it's a whole new thing to be fascinated by a topic you have a blood connection to.

The more I read about my local history and my own personal ancestry, the more I realise that it serves as an inspiration in its own right. As a writer who enjoys writing in fantasy and historical fiction, I feel like every fact uncovered is a potential tool to write with, a story that could be brought to life. While I do enjoy completely making up my stories, it's different to have access to a new set of facts that I feel connected to that could be used in a story.

I often take inspiration from my personal life, and the educational things I've studied, but using my ancestry as part of my thought process and writing has added a different dynamic. It makes me wonder what parts of my writing might have been true for people that are my relatives from as much as hundreds of years ago.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Fifty. Six days of leave taken total.)