From Research to Novel™: From Research to Novel™ — The Course

Module 2 Assessment: Research Foundations

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:04:05 GMT

You’ve covered a lot of ground in Module 2. You’ve audited your research, learned to read documents through a writer’s eyes, identified the narrative signals hiding in your sources, built your dual-track timeline, and established a targeted research strategy that will carry you forward without pulling you into the spiral.

Lesson 2.5: Targeted Research Strategy for Writers

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:02:04 GMT

If you’ve been a genealogist for any length of time, you know the feeling. There’s always one more record to find. One more archive to check. One more question the research hasn’t answered yet. And as long as there are unanswered questions, it doesn’t quite feel safe to start writing.

This lesson is here to tell you that feeling will never go away — and …

Lesson 2.4: Building Your Research Timeline

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:03:17 GMT

2.4 is one of my favorites! I love using a timeline for my writing, and in this lesson, I will show you why. Head over to the written portion of Lesson 2.4, Building your Timeline.

Lesson 2.3: Finding the Story in the Document

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:39:04 GMT

Your documents are full of stories you haven’t found yet. In Lesson 2.3, you’ll learn to recognize the four narrative signals hiding in your genealogical records. Let’s begin!

Lesson 2.3: Finding the Story in the Document

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:27:19 GMT

Your documents are full of stories you haven’t found yet. In Lesson 2.3, you’ll learn to recognize the four narrative signals hiding in your genealogical records. Let’s begin!1

By now, you’ve audited your research and practiced reading your documents through a writer’s eyes. You’ve started to notice things you may have skimmed past before — the boarder who shouldn’t be there, the occupation that doesn’t add up, the seven-year gap between census records.

This lesson takes the next step. Noticing something is interesting is the beginning. This lesson teaches you how to decide whether it’s actually the beginning of a story — and how to turn it into one.

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Interesting vs. story-worthy

Lesson 2.2: Reading Records as a Writer

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:01:47 GMT

Lesson 2.1: Taking Inventory of Your Research

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:02:07 GMT

Module 1 Assessment: Are You Ready for Module 2?

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 26 May 2026 13:02:27 GMT

Complete this assessment before moving to Module 2. Writers who pause to reflect on what they’ve learned move through the later modules with more clarity and confidence.

The assessment has three parts: 10 multiple-choice, 5 true/false, and 5 short-answer. Answer the short-answer questions in your own words and apply them to your own project wherever poss…

Lesson 1.4: Tools & Mindset for Success

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 19 May 2026 13:02:41 GMT

Lesson 1.3: Creative Nonfiction vs. Historical Fiction

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 12 May 2026 13:03:13 GMT

From Research to Novel

Aryn Youngless — Wed, 06 May 2026 17:19:35 GMT

First, I wanted to thank you for signing up for this course. Second, I am ironing out some bugs here on Substack.

For the From Research to Novel course, I set up a special section on my Substack to keep things organized. But it turns out, when I schedule posts for that section, they are not being delivered to your inbox.

Yesterday, I spent time attemptin…

Lesson 1.1: Welcome & Course Overview

Aryn Youngless — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:03:33 GMT

Welcome to From Research to Novel™

Whether you have been piecing together your family’s story through ancestry records and documents, or you are drawn to a particular historical period and want to bring it to life, you have come to the right place. Genealogical and family history research is not just for tracing family trees — it is one of the most powerful tools available to any writer who wants to create authentic, compelling historical narratives.

A little about me

My name is Aryn Youngless. I am an author, genealogist, and writing coach specializing in family history research and storytelling. I am a Board Member of the Los Angeles City Historical Society, a member of the Southern California Genealogical Society, and the National Genealogical Society. I help people discover their family history — and find the stories hidden within it.

What you’ll learn

Over the next 6–8 weeks, we’ll work together to bridge the gap between historical research and narrative craft. You’ll learn how to:

Mine genealogical sources for story-worthy details and narrative potential
Develop characters grounded in historical reality
Construct vivid scenes from fragmentary archival evidence
Build authentic historical settings from period documents
Navigate the ethical considerations of writing about real people
Shape your research into compelling creative nonfiction or historical fiction

By the end of this course, you’ll have the skills and confidence to turn your research into vivid, publishable work.

How this course works

This is a self-paced program designed to fit your schedule. Each module contains video lessons, written content, and practical exercises that build on what you’ve learned. Some weeks might take you three days, others might take ten — that’s exactly how it should be.

Move through the material in a way that allows you to absorb and practice each skill. Revisit a module and complete the exercises more than once to help better understand them. This course was designed to help you achieve your goals — no matter what that looks like.

Throughout the course, you’ll find downloadable worksheets, templates, and guides. Don’t skip the exercises — this is where the real learning happens. Plus, these documents are downloadable and fillable (by hand or on your computer). They can be added to a WIP (work in progress) binder so you can access them anytime throughout your writing journey.

Creative nonfiction vs. historical fiction

One of the first decisions you’ll make is where your project falls on the spectrum between creative nonfiction and historical fiction.

Creative nonfiction stays faithful to documented facts. You’re writing about real people and real events, using narrative techniques to bring them to life. You can imagine dialogue, interior thoughts, and sensory details — but you remain accountable to historical evidence.

Historical fiction gives you more freedom. You might use real historical figures as characters, or create entirely fictional characters living in a real historical period. The history provides the framework and authenticity, but you’re free to invent plot, character motivations, and events that serve your story.

Throughout this course, the research techniques are the same regardless of which path you choose. What differs is how you use that research in your writing. We’ll explore this fully in Lesson 1.3.

Your first steps

Before you move to Lesson 1.2, take a moment to:

Download the Course Roadmap Worksheet and complete Part 1 — your project, your ancestor, and your commitment.
Set your intentions: What story are you hoping to tell? What do you hope to accomplish over the next 6–8 weeks?
Gather any research you already have: family documents, notes, genealogical records, or historical sources related to your project.

Courseroadmap Frtn M1

141KB ∙ PDF file

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So glad you’re here. Let’s begin!

Continue to Lesson 1.2 → [Coming May 5th]

Take two minutes to introduce yourself. The more I know about where you’re starting from and what you’re hoping to build, the better I can support you through the course.

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