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A family mystery can do more than answer questions, it can hand you an entire novel. After a long break, I’m back to talk about why genealogy has become my most surprising tool for fiction writing, and how digging through records can turn half-remembered oral history into a living, research-backed story world.

I share what I’m working on now: Stay Outside, an Australian foster story set around 1900, inspired by the oral history passed down about my maternal grandfather, Frank Cohen. He and his siblings were abandoned by their birth parents and placed into foster care, and that early trauma shaped everything that came after. I avoid spoilers about what I’ve learned, but I explain how genealogy websites like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, and Geni.com help me build a factual backbone while still writing a novel rather than a memoir.

From there, the research widens into the bigger forces that shape character choices and family conflict. I talk through studying Ballarat, Victoria, the aftershocks of the Victorian Gold Rush, and the Victorian Depression of the 1890s, and how those economic and social pressures can become plot, not just background. I also touch on the practical ethics of writing from real roots: changing names and some dates for privacy, using the “cobweb of reality” approach when details are incomplete, and leaning on the genuine sense of community that appears when relatives contribute their own discoveries.

If you’re interested in genealogy for writers, historical fiction research, or building character backstory from real documents, this is a focused listen with plenty to spark your own project. Subscribe, share the show with a writer friend, and leave a review telling me what piece of your family history you’d be tempted to fictionalize.

• While you are waiting for this novel to be published, please check out my two fiction novels, “The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia” and “Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies. I live with schizophrenia, and I am a survivor of sibling abuse, the theme of the second novel. Here are my Amazon Affiliate Links to the two novels. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For “The Overlife,” click on https://amzn.to/3Q3ReDZ, and for “Three Kidnapped,” click on https://amzn.to/48EdLNS. More information is available on my website: https://dianadirkbywrites.com/
• My Social Media:
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Pastime With Good Company by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company

Pastime With Good Company, composed by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company

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You can watch the video of this Podcast on YouTube at https://youtu.be/tfylGCBThWo

Relevant Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Pain is not a prerequisite for excellent writing. We break down the simple, science-backed moves that turn your workspace into a calm, pain-free launchpad for deep focus: how to set your chair for real lumbar support, where your elbows and feet should land, and the precise monitor height that saves your neck during long drafting days.

We start with a posture that holds without effort, then dial in desk and screen height so your shoulders stop creeping upward, and your eyes stop fighting glare and distance. If you rely on a laptop, you’ll hear exactly how to fix its built-in ergonomic flaws with a riser and an external keyboard and mouse. We get specific about wrist alignment, mouse reach, and the minor adjustments that cut strain before it becomes injury. And because stillness is the enemy, we outline a movement plan you can actually keep: the 20-20-20 eye rule, hourly stand-and-stretch breaks, and quick routines for neck, shoulders, wrists, and chest.

We also share real-world gear that makes these habits effortless. A height-adjustable standing desk solved variable posture and space constraints in a small Alaska office. At the same time, a sturdy, telescopic laptop stand delivered portable control in rooms around a larger Texas home. Both setups prioritize fine-grained height control, stability for heavier laptops, and easy rotation—details that keep your body aligned and your attention on the page. Expect practical, actionable steps and a few trusted product recommendations to help you write longer without paying for it later.

If this helped you rethink your setup, follow the show, share it with a writer who’s constantly rubbing their neck, and leave a quick review. Tell us the one tweak you’ll make today—and what you want us to cover next.

References: https//safety services.ucdavis.edu; https://UpDowndesk.com.au; https://goldtouch.com; https://Principlefourosteopathy.com.au

Pastime With Good Company by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company

Pastime With Good Company, composed by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company

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This audio episode is paired with a video episode on my YouTube channel. You can find the video on YouTube at https://youtu.be/mHrK5GjH1BM

Paid promotion with Amazon.com. The links to Amazon.com at the end of this episode description are my Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

What happens when you annotate a PDF versus a plain text file on your Kindle Scribe? The answer matters more than you might think, especially if you're collaborating with others or need to preserve your notes exactly as written.

Drawing from my ongoing collaboration with a screenwriter adapting my novels, I've discovered crucial differences that affect how we exchange feedback. While both file formats can be transferred to the Scribe using similar methods (email, web app, or USB), the annotation experience diverges dramatically once they're on your device.

PDFs offer a true paper-like experience—you can write anywhere on the page, circle diagrams, add margin notes, and see your annotations embedded in the exact position when exported. The Active Canvas feature even lets text reflow around your notes. This makes PDFs perfect for technical documents, contracts, or any content where position matters. When exported, your handwritten marks appear flattened into the document exactly as written.

Text files, by contrast, treat annotations as attachments rather than integrated elements. You can highlight passages and add sticky notes, but there's no direct on-page writing. When exported, these text files convert to PDFs with highlights preserved, but all handwritten notes are collected and appended at the end as an appendix. It's functional but feels more like a report than an edited manuscript.

The difference becomes crystal clear when sending annotated documents back and forth with collaborators. With PDFs, they see exactly what you wrote where you wrote it. With text files, they get a more structured but less visually integrated collection of notes.

Have you tried both methods? Which would you say works better for your workflow? You can just experiment with both to discover which format better serves your note-taking and collaboration needs.

#KindleScribe #DigitalNoteTaking #PDFAnnotation #TextFileAnnotation #KindleTips #AmazonKindle #AnnotationTools #ProductivityTools

The following links to Amazon.com are my affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

My books: The Overlife, A Tale of Schizophrenia, by Diana Dirkby (visit https://amzn.to/45u3od7)

Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies, by Diana Dirkby (visit https://amzn.to/4oyPgZ0)

Book by Ian Allan: The new Kindle Scribe user guide 2025 (visit https://amzn.to/414EQ9r)

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Walnew Cover for Kindle Scribe: (visit https://amzn.to/3HuWUmo)

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Pastime With Good Company by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company

Pastime With Good Company, composed by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company