Besides listening for trick-or-treaters tonight, I’m working on the last minute stuff (that should not have been left until last minute) for my novel. Most importantly, castle-building. I’ve got to plan at least two castles, ideally three, and come up with French names for them. If I can manage that, then I’ll read as much as I can on the education of pages, squires and knights, but . . . ehehehehe. I think I may leave that until tomorrow night, after I’ve got my first 2,000 words (she said hopefully).

Good luck, fellow NaNoers! May you never run out of caffeine!

My research reading list, in preparation for NaNoWriMo:

• The Hound and the Hawk: The Medieval Art of Hunting by John Cummins
• Castles: Their Construction and History by Sidney Toy
• The Normans: Warrior Knights and Their Castles by Christopher Gravett
• The Knight in History by Frances Gies
• The Babee’s Book (a version which I’ve got in PDF)

I’m honestly not sure I can read all these this month, and I’d like to toss in a book on the medieval tournament if I can score one, but I’ll do what I can. I’ve downloaded the latest version of VoodooPad and will use that to record and organize my research, since I can use that while working offline.

I swore I wouldn’t do it again, but apparently I’m a some kind of masochist, because I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month again. For once I have an outline done well in advance, so Scorpion will be the roman du mois. This gives me some time to work in a little world-building and research (the lack of the former being the major trouble I’m having with Trouvere right now). Picked up a Dover book on castles just in time I think!