to bring the months back into season. The days were divided into twelve "hours" six between sunrise and sunset, six between sunset and sunrise. So the "hours" were only equal in length at the equinox. There were methods of measuring the passing of time but no clocks and watches as we have, so people were not locked into accounting for minutes or half hours. I try to avoid all such units. Time meant something different then, and so did distance. News travelled only as fast as a galloping horse or a running man. This brings me to another point: Make map, charts and calendars of everything you want to put in your book -- towns, interiors of houses, the passage of time, the phases of the moon, and of course the overall world. Work out how long it takes to travel across your world, on foot or on horse back, making allowances for bad weather, storms, floods and so on. Are there mountains -- you must provide a pass; are there rivers? They will need bridges, fords or transport by boats. You may want to write about armies and battles, but armies need feeding every day so you have to give some thought to who is growing the food and how it is delivered. Outside help: I couldn't have written my books without help from many Japanese friends who checked names for me and helped me with research. If you aren't sure about something ask for help. There are lots