You look at your ancestor’s life and worry nothing dramatic enough ever happened — no scandal, no disaster, no reason anyone would keep reading. So the story stays unwritten. This
Month: June 2026
Why So Many Writers Begin in the Wrong PlaceWhy So Many Writers Begin in the Wrong Place
You open with her parents, her siblings, the times she was born into, the reasons she had to leave. Three paragraphs in, and we still haven’t met her. Let’s look
The Most Common Mistake in Family History WritingThe Most Common Mistake in Family History Writing
A timeline is not enough. A timeline tells you when your ancestor lived. It can’t tell you how. This week: the most common mistake in family history writing, why a
Why Writing Feels Riskier Than ResearchWhy Writing Feels Riskier Than Research
In this week’s Storylines, we’re talking about why so many of us get stuck in research and struggle to make the move into writing. Research can feel like solid ground.
The Research Gap: A Silent Story EngineThe Research Gap: A Silent Story Engine
Sometimes the most powerful part of a story is not what is said outright, but what is left unsaid. In this video, I explore “the gap” as a silent story