We encourage you to share your stories, make new connections, help and inspire other family historians. Remember, not everyone is as absorbed by genealogy as you are – and certainly not the minutiae of who begat whom – but if you’ve followed our guidance and created a compelling narrative then your story could have broad appeal beyond the immediate family.

We’ll help you share some of your stories here on the Auntie Mabel website. We’re often looking for case studies, worked examples and user feedback – sign up for our e-newsletter to find out when we’re looking for particular types of stories.

How else can you share your work?

• Upload your trees and stories to Ancestry, Find My Past, Genes Reunited and other family history websites: We take you through the mechanics of sharing your GEDCOM files, and some of the perks and pitfalls.

• Track down living relatives within the very extended family:  As well as being readers of your family history, begin to see relatives as prospective contributors to it. Taking a collaborative approach can ensure you have richer material and a more rounded story.

• Organise a family reunion: Bring together your relatives from far and wide for a day to enjoy and extend the materials you’ve assembled. We give you tips for ensuring it’s a stimulating event, with plenty of reminiscence and sharing.

• Join or set up a one-name study: If you’re researching a relatively unusual surname, a one-name study could provide a useful forum to pool research and make contacts, at home and overseas.

• Write for your local family history journal: Support the family history society in your counties of interest, share your stories in their members’ journal, and maybe offer to give a talk at one of their meetings or events. Remember, ‘ordinary lives’ can be fascinating, if interpreted with imagination.

• Create your own blog: Keep your family and contacts up to date with how your research is progressing, using multi-media resources to share your discoveries, challenges and queries.

• Set up your own Auntie Mabel family history group: Bring together a small group of like-minded enthusiasts and support one another as you research and write your family histories in parallel with one another. We’ll provide you with the tools – a structured package of writing activities, resources and workshop ideas – and as you work through it, step by step, you’ll see the stories take shape.

However you choose to do it, making connections with other family history enthusiasts can provide the all-important motivation you need to write, publish and share your own family history.