Obituary Writing Tips

Obituaries can be viewed by thousands, and online obituaries can be viewed even larger numbers. Writing the perfect obituary, can be difficult for many reasons. Firstly, the pain of grief can be overwhelming and attempting to do any task, even mundane tasks can be a lot more difficult than usual. Obituaries are extremely personal, however after reading this article on obituary writing tips, I hope I can offer some assistance to those who are not sure where to start.

If you are submitting your obituary to the local newspaper, you will be constrained to some degree by the number of words your obituary may contain, however if you are posting your obituary online, then you certainly will be given greater flexibility for a fraction of the cost. Needless to say, depending on your word limit, some of the following tips and suggestions may need to be prioritized accordingly.

Tip Number One

Essential Information – This includes Firstname / Surname, date of death, location of death. Other options include: Date of funeral service, date of church service and date of visitation.. Optional: Cause of death.

Tip Number Two

Eulogy – Praise of the deceased, what they achieved during their lives and selected names of people who will miss the deceased.

Tip Number Three

Elegy – This is not to be confused with Elegy (above). This is recommended if space provides. An elegy is a short funeral poem, often only 3 or 4 lines long.

Tip Number Four

Thank- You message – One or two sentences thanking those who helped the deceased during life, and towards the end of life.

I hope you find these tips useful, please check out my resources for further tips and advice.