Research for Guarding Princess

So, it's no secret that I enjoy doing research for my books and sharing it with others. Had I been thinking about it, I'd have included the research I'd done for Life Goes On  in the print version (reality is that I'd totally forgotten about the research because after about halfway through it was no longer necessary).

Anywho. Here's my list of sources for Guarding Princess (name may change).

Ironically, this first source on basic use of a quarterstaff seems (to be blatantly) geared towards men. Hopefully I'll remember to include them in my acknowledgements especially since I really want to use their techniques and they seem to be unique.

I might be in over my head here: Historical Dance
--Umm...yeah. Did not realize just how specific dancing can be. Alas, looks like to be in any way accurate, for what I want I cannot stick with the ONE ballroom dance I'm kind of comfortable with--the Waltz. Sigh. Luckily, while the dance must be accurate for my taste, I'm not stuck with being historically accurate (yay for made up countries!).

So...never use an adverb to modify the verb said. Given that this is one thing I disliked about Life Goes On (it's a repetitive and dull way to go about things), I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't stumble upon this tip earlier. Granted, variety is necessary, so breaking this rule occasionally is fine. Some authors (ex: Stephen King) say to never venture beyond said. I agree in most cases, but again, you need the variety. Still, it's a very good tip which FORCES a writer to figure out another way to express the feeling of the dialogue.