Bertie (and anyone else who might find this useful)
I found the best way to pad my story out was to use information from the notes section on my family tree program. I originally started off just making a note of addresses the family had lived in, from sources such as the census, certificates, wills, etc, but then over time graduated to adding things like witnesses at a marriage, causes of death, army/navy/airforce service, nicknames, and even in some instances a bit of speculation, which I could then use as a prompt to follow new leads. I keep my family tree open in a separate window on my computer while I'm writing, and refer to the notes on the person I'm dealing with as I go. I got a lot of my background info from websites such as British History Online (used in conjunction with reproductions of old O.S maps), as well as info generated by emails to Local Studies Centres, and so on.