That's typical. DND does it that way, I think sorcerers can only cast magic if they have their shoes written down somewhere, even if it's on their own body, Wizards however (and Clerics) know all of the spells within their God's domain but they have to prepare spells beforehand. Duskblades and similar casters know a certain number of spells but they don't have to prepare them or have them written down, they can only cart them a certain number of times per day. They generally have some kind of component though, such as verbal, somatic (spoken), or material.

Edit: I'm also thinking of making my character a Lord class. If that's aright.