100,000 words and counting

It’s been another interesting writing day.

As it turns out I should have paid better attention in history class, or chemistry class, or both. I’m to the point in my novel where I need to write about explosives that would have been available during the Middle Ages. One phone call to a professor at a combustible materials lab, and suddenly I’m researching black powder, and more specifically how people would go about making saltpeter. Which by the way is a sort of gross process involving things I’d never willingly touch, like dung heaps.

(I’d never heard of saltpeter until I watched the musical 1776, which I still love, but it has the effect that whenever I say the word ‘saltpeter’ I break out into song: “Well, we will not make saltpeter until you send us pins . . .” Just one of many good songs. But I digress.)

So anyway, I googled, “Making black powder” which gave me many sites to link to, and in all probability put me on an FBI possible terrorist list.

Ahh, the joy of writing.