Blog

How to Identify, Personalize, and Befriend Your Inner Editor

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Do you think you can quiet your inner negative voice while you write? Because I think you can. 


I don’t think there’s a writer around that has not had the issue of sitting down at their keyboard or notebook and hearing their inner voice saying things like:


“This sounds stupid!”

“Nobody is going to want to read this!”

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”


We’ve all been there from bestselling authors to complete newbies. 


Everyone has that inner voice, that inner editor or critic. Some say you can’t quiet that voice, but I think that you can. I think it takes a little time, a little investigative work, and you gotta get into your mind a little bit, which is not always easy, but it’s so worth it!


Figure out who’s talking

Is it someone that you know? A parent, an old teacher or mentor, is it just a version of yourself? I have a snotty teenager that talks to me when I try to do TikTok or Instagram Reels. She’s fun. I also have that old teacher’s voice from back when I was doing theater. That voice is still there, unfortunately. 


Sometimes it is just that inner critic. You don’t really know where it came from – it’s just there. So first, you’ve got to figure out who is talking because that can actually help you figure out how you’re going to deal with them. 


Personify that voice

Even if you know who or what that voice is, if it actually is someone from your past, I still want you to personify them a little bit. For example, I know what my inner teenager looks like – wearing Doc Martens and other various nineties gear, listening to Alanis Morrisette.  I know what that old theater teacher looks like, right? But when it comes to that inner critic or editor, I needed to personify that voice, and I used Tarot cards for that. 


You don’t have to use Tarot, you can pull images from Canva or Pinterest, but if you are going to use Tarot, grab your favorite deck and flip through until you land on a card that gives you that vibe or feeling of your inner editor, something you connect with right away.  This step is important because our next step is to talk to this voice and I find that’s easier if you can look at something or someone. 

 

Interview them, start a conversation

I know that sounds nutty, but I promise you it works! I like to do this long hand in a journal, but you can totally type this up, or if no one else is home, just talk it out. Anything works, just start the conversation. I’d love for you to ask them some questions. Who are you? What are you doing here? Why do you feel the need to criticize everything I do?  Literally ask them and see what they come up with. I know it’s a little weird, but if we personify them enough, they just become another character and as a writer, you are used to talking to people that aren’t really there, right? We are used to creating characters and writing as if we are them, this is just an extension of that.

 

So, be you and then be them and go back and forth and have a conversation. Sometimes I like to write a full on letter to them and then write a full on letter back as if I am the inner editor, but now I’m so used to working with my card that I can speak via post-it note. That took some time though, remember we are building a relationship here. I want you to befriend your inner editor, and that takes time, just like in real life. 

 

When you meet a new person, they don’t become your best friend right away. You may have a very strong connection with someone, but it still takes time to develop that intimate connection. So don’t feel like you have to rush this process, take your time and really work with this inner editor and find out what they’re good at. try to understand them and help them understand you and your writing process.

 

The thing is, I don’t believe the inner editor is there to harm you or hurt you or belittle you on purpose. I think they’re trying to help you. My inner teenager is trying to keep me from being embarrassed when I do Instagram Reels or TikToks because my inner voice was like, you’re going to embarrass yourself. The inner teacher’s voice is trying to keep me on track, trying to get me to do my best. And the inner editor is just trying to make the words beautiful. They really are trying to help, they just do a really crappy job of it. They suck. They’re not nice. That’s the bottom line. They are not nice about it. So if we can befriend those voices, we can make them a little nicer.

 

Let them help you

Once that friendship or relationship is established then you can give them jobs to do, help them help you so they are not butting in where they don’t belong.  My inner editor is great at names and research.  What would your inner editor be good at?  Ask them and see what they answer – put them to work so they quiet down when you don’t need them criticizing you – like first drafts.  This really does work. It really does quiet that inner editor voice. 

 

I would love to know how you personified your inner editor? Did you use a Tarot card? If so, which one?!  Let me know in the comments below.

 

And if this is something that affects you and keeps you from writing, then I invite you to join my waitlist for my signature course – Turn on the Tap – which I’ll be opening up again in the Spring of 2022.  

The form you have selected does not exist.

4 Things I Do To Defeat Writer’s Block

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Suffering from writer’s block can call one to feel guilty, shameful, and depressed.  I have four simple things that I do before, during and after my writing sessions that help me defeat writer’s block. 

 

Have a writing ritual

The beautiful thing about writing rituals is they can be pretty much anything you want! The key is to find a few things that help you get into the mood for writing and do them consistently.  I use Tarot cards, candles or essential oil diffusers, and music as my writing ritual.  These help me slow down and break away from my day, gives me a chance to journal or do some prewriting to help prime the well, and ground me into the scene I’m going to write. 

 

Having a ritual that you do every single time you sit down to write helps tell your body that it’s time to settle down, settle in, and start creating.  And even if the writing ritual is the only thing you get done that day, if you are consistent, eventually your brain and body will connect and words will start to flow. 

 

Keep your Big Why in mind

Before I start writing any book, I like to think about my Big Whys – both the specific book project and how it fits into my overall writing goals.  I like to keep this where I can see it so I can review if I start feeling disconnected or if writer’s block starts to creep in.  Reading it at least once a week might be helpful or re-writing it every so often might work better – try both and see what feels most helpful for you. Just make sure you are thinking about why you wanted to write this story in the first place to keep your motivation high and writer’s block at bay.

 

 

Befriend your Inner Editor

This is going to sound a little nutty, but I have befriended my inner editor.  We all have that negative voice, that inner critic that tells us – this doesn’t sound good OR no one is going to want to read this – which can affect our ability to sit down and write new words.  I don’t believe this voice can ever truly go away, but I do think if we work on making that voice a bit more friendly we can work with it rather than have it work against us. 

 

By becoming friends with my Inner Editor, I can give it jobs to do so it feels important and like it’s part of the writing team and therefore will leave me alone more often than not while I’m writing my drafts and editing. Now, I’ve chosen a Tarot Card that personifies my Inner Editor and then started a conversation with them in a journal – and yes, I wrote out both parts … Again, it sounds nutty but it works!

* If you think this is a cool idea, wait a few weeks as I have a whole blog post just about this concept coming up!  

 

Track your data

Every week I like to write down what worked this week, what didn’t work this week and what needs to be adjusted for the following week.  You can also do this every time you write as well, especially if you are testing writing times or rituals, by jotting down when you wrote, where you wrote, what rituals you performed and any other notes that will be helpful. 

 

If you track data you can catch problems before they become huge issues. For example, every time you sit down to write at 10am the words flow out of you with no issues but 2pm feels super hard to even write a sentence, let alone pages of words.  The trick here is to leave emotions out of it – yes, we want to note how you felt during your writing sessions, but I don’t want you to judge the amount you wrote.  It’s a fine balance but if you can take the judgement out and just look at the data you can see that 10am just works better for you – that’s good information, useful information that can help you plan out the next week’s writing schedule. 

 

Catching things early keeps us moving forward, rather than getting off the rails and then writer’s block just comes in and causes guilt, shame and depression all over again. 

 

I would love to know which of these four tips was the most helpful? Which one are you just itching to implement? 

 

And if these ideas got you excited to get back to writing, then I invite you to sign up for the waitlist for my signature course – Turn on the Tap – to get early intel and a discount the day before the cart officially opens in early February!!

The form you have selected does not exist.

4 Creative Ways To Name The Characters In Your Next Novel

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

 

Anyone can grab the baby name book off the bookshelf, or use any of the apps available, but I think there are more fun and creative ways to come up with character names. 

 

Start with the time period and country your book is set

If you’re writing from a book set in the United States in the 1980’s you are going to come up with very different names than if you’re writing about Japan in the 1800’s.  My name, Jennifer, was extremely popular in the late 1970’s, especially in the midwest, versus what’s popular name in baby names so make sure you keep these things in mind before you jump into books, apps, or your own imagination. 

 

Think about the main theme of your book

Let’s say you are writing a Young Adult romance novel with the theme of love conquers all.  I would use that word – love – and search for names that mean love.  Then I would brainstorm other words that make you think of love.  Romance, roses, chocolate and use those to help search for names. 

What chocolate brands are out there? Can they be used for last names? 

What rose varietals are there? Can they be used for last names?

 

Use movie and TV credits

Speaking of last names, one of my most fun tips is to use movie and TV credits to borrow/steal actual real names.  This works extremely well if you’re writing a story set in another country.  Find a movie on Netflix or Amazon from that country and use the credits to grab names.  Note: I would google the meaning just in case it comes up as something weird or contradictory to your book’s theme.   

Use Tarot cards

Who didn’t see this coming? I like to shuffle my deck, pull a single card, and concentrate on something small – like a river, a flower, or a city scape in the background – and just brainstorm all the possible names that come up for me.

For example, with a river, I might think of the character River Song from Doctor Who, who is played by the amazing Alex Kingston. Or my favorite flower is the Sunflower, so a nickname for my character might be Sunny.  City names were really popular for awhile so you might have an Austin or Brooklyn or London.

This can be used in many ways, so pull cards and have fun with this process!

 

Which one of these tips was your favorite? Which one are you going to try? I would love to know, so share in the comments below. 

And if you loved this, then I think you would especially like my free training – Novel Narrator: Creating Your Book’s Characters in 30 Minutes Using Tarot – which you can grab here.  

 

The form you have selected does not exist.

6 Questions To Get You Unstuck & Writing Quick

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Experiencing writer’s block can cause you to feel all kinds of emotions from shame to guilt to anger and back again. If you are dealing with writer’s block and you’re afraid you’ll never write again, I have six questions that can help you get unstuck and back to writing again. 

Note, if you’re like me and you love using Tarot, you can turn these into a spread by putting the first three questions on top and the second three questions on the bottom.  Otherwise, grab your favorite journal and let’s get journaling!

Q1: What excites you about your current project?

Think back to when you first had the idea or when you first started writing. Jot down all the things that excited you – was it the character? Was it the conflict? The theme? 

 

Q2: What scares you about your current project? 

Are you worried that you’re not ready to write this book? Are you writing a new genre or trying something new with your writing? Just write down all the stuff that might be holding you back. 

 

Q3: Why do you think you’re having writer’s block? 

Honestly, I think deep down we know why we’re stuck. We don’t want to admit it to anybody else, or ourselves. So, take a deep breath and let the words flow. Don’t judge yourself – just get it all out and down on paper. It will seem less scary.

 

Q4: What is the block trying to tell you? 

The block might actually be there to teach you something. Do you need to slow down and figure something out? Are your character’s not talking to you so you need to deal with them a little bit?  Write down what you think might be causing the issue. 

 

Q5: What do you need to know to bust through that block? 

So what came up in the previous question that you can now deal with? Do you need to stop and interview your characters again? Do you need to slow down and go through your outline? Do you need to research something so you can continue writing?

 

Q6: What is one creative solution that you can use to bust through the block? 

Now comes the fun part. Brainstorm some creative ways that you can bust through the block. Maybe you need to walk and talk, right? Get an app on your smartphone that allows you to dictate your words so that you can walk around your neighborhood or walk around your house. That’s one idea, come up with a bunch and then choose just ONE to start with. 


I would love to know what your one creative solution was, so please let me know in the comments below, and know that Writer’s Block happens to the best of us, but with these six questions you should be back to the keyboard in no time.

Adding Depth To Characters

How To Add Depth To Your Characters

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Creating characters that make readers fall in love takes time and many, many layers of development.

If you’ve taken my free training, Novel Narrator, and used Tarot to create your characters then you have an amazing character but to take that character and add some depth, we need to do a few more things.

 

What is my motivation?

Yes, this is a terrible actor cliche, but it’s true! Your character needs something to motivate them to do things in your book.  What do they truly want and what do they need by the end of their arc? This is usually two different things too, which can be confusing.  Let’s say your character wants to find the murderer – that is what is motivating them to take on the case.  But what they need is to have closure around their own father’s murder from twenty years ago – that will help them grow and evolve.  

 

Flaws make for real humans

I know we don’t like to look at our own flaws, be we all have them. From little quirks to big things we would like to change (or maybe we love them and others wish we would change) we have character flaws. These help your fictional characters feel like actual humans, people that your readers can root for and feel connected to. I like to use Tarot cards to help me find these, but you can also look toward friends or family and just tweak it a little.  For example, say your friend is always late, like annoyingly so.  To change it up a bit, maybe your character can always be early.  What would that do to your novel and the people your character has to interact with?

 

Friends and Enemies

Another layer to add on to these characters we are creating is how they act around other people.  Do they have quirks or coping mechanisms when they are around their parents? Do they have friends that bring out things they would rather hide about themselves? Are they putting on masks around anyone?  We all tend to do this, but it can be tricky to see, but adding this element to our novels takes our characters from blah to holy crap, I totally relate!

 

Using Tarot

Like I teach in Novel Narrator, I love to use Tarot to help me with all these layers.  If you used 1-2 cards to create your character, get them out and place them on the table.  Then shuffle your deck and add 3 more cards to help you add depth and layers by assigning one card per issue above – you can choose which card goes with which layer.

Choose your card, grab your notebook or open your document and start writing down all the ideas you get.  Remember – look at the background and foreground, use the colors of the cards, and think about what happened right before and after the card’s images.

 

If you haven’t taken my free character creation training, sign up below!!

The form you have selected does not exist.

There Is Power In Numbers

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Why community is important, even if you are between writing projects

Writing can be lonely, and most of the time that’s exactly what we like about our chosen career, the solitude of talking to our imaginary friends.

But when those friends stop talking to us it’s helpful to have real life people, other writers, around to talk to us, offer advice, and provide feedback. This is why I believe that having a community of other writers is helpful, even if you are between writing projects.

I mean, are we ever truly not writing?

Even when I’m between projects – say my draft is with my editor and I don’t have time to start fully working on a second book – I’m still thinking about, dreaming about, and possibly planning that next book. We can say we are on a break all we want, our brains are usually pretty busy coming up with names, small details, or just getting excited about that next new shiny thing.

And having a community of like-minded writers, who understand the ups and downs of writing a full-length novel, non-fiction book, or scripts can be so vital during our down times to help motivate us, inspire us with their amazing projects, and let us remember why we started writing in the first place.

Yes, writing communities are very important when blocks pop up, but they can also be super important when things are going well to have that on-going, day to day support because writing can be lonely and knowing others are out there struggling to get words on the page each day with everything else going on in the world is the most amazing feeling.

You are not alone!

If this sounds like something you need in your writing life, join my newsletter today so you’ll be the first to know about my upcoming membership for writers where I’ll be hosting mini courses each month, co-writing sessions, Q&A calls, and so much more!

The form you have selected does not exist.

Lessons I Learned Publishing My First Novel

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I thought I knew so much when I pushed publish on my first novel, but whoo boy was I wrong!   Here are five lessons that I learned during the self-publishing process that I went through with my very first novel. 

Negative reviews will hurt

My advice – find someone you trust to read the reviews for you and give you only the things that will help make your books better.  Sometimes, people give amazing constructive criticism in their reviews, but more often than not they are just petty, mean, and downright frustrating so it’s best not to read them. This is harder than it sounds, I know, but trust me….they hurt and they linger in your self-consciousness, cropping up when you go to write your next book.

You will feel different, but not that different

Yes, being a published author and having someone buy your book off Amazon or Barnes & Nobles feels amazing!!  You will feel accomplished, proud, and high on life, but there will still be dishes in the sink, taxes to pay, and fights with your spouse or kids.  And there is still another book to write. Feel the highs and don’t let real life diminish that shine, but just know – real life grabs you faster than you would think or hope.

Your next book won’t be magically easier to write

This might be hard to hear, but it’s true. You will understand your process more with each book you write, you will understand the publishing process more as you do it, and you will feel more confident overall but the actual sitting down, hands on keys, words on paper won’t be any easier.  Sorry.  You’ll still have to put in the time, make the effort to schedule in writing sessions, and scramble through murky middles and terrible endings – or is that just me?

Some promos might make you feel icky

I followed a bunch of advice online and gave a ton of copies of my book away for free thinking it would help me build my newsletter list, but all it did was make me feel depleted, depressed, and icky.  Read up on different promos, different companies and websites, and really plan out your launch with purpose – thinking a little bit about how you would like to feel during the whole process.  It was more important than I realized.

Audience building is a big factor in sales

I’m not saying I won’t ever give my books away for free, but I think it’s better to have that audience before you launch.  I didn’t really have that as I started Instagram a bit too late, and didn’t really know best practices for things like content creation and engagement online.  It’s best to build your audience online first, nurture those readers, and then publish your book.   

Even though I had lessons to learn, and bumps along the path, I’m so thankful I stuck with self-publishing and am extremely proud to call myself an Indie Author.  We learn by doing, by trying and learning and fixing and then by doing and trying all over again.  

Don’t let the fact that you might not know everything right away stop you from following your path and living your dreams.

If you’re a published author, what lessons did you learn along the way? And if you haven’t published yet, what above is making you rethink some things now before you start? I would love to know.

The form you have selected does not exist.

4 Tips For Keeping Motivation High During Editing

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Yay! You’ve finished your first draft – congratulations!  Now, are you ready for the editing process?  Don’t be scared. Yes, editing is a totally different beast and it can get long and lonely, but following the advice below will help you keep your spirits high and motivation even higher.

Make it FUN

Editing can be a long process with lots of moving parts.  I know my editing list includes things like: fix character voice, add more details and descriptions, and totally change the ending.  It’s a multiple pass system where I’ll be focusing on different issues on different days.  Editing is not always fun so you have to make it fun by using writing rituals that light you up. I like to light a candle, turn on my book’s playlist, and pull a tarot card before each editing session.  Figure out 1-3 things that will make you smile before opening your document or grabbing your notebook.

Another thing that helps me keep the editing fun is mini goals and rewards.  I like to set weekly goals and bigger mini goals of finishing either things on my list or a percentage of the book and then I reward myself.  For weekly goals, I’ll reward myself with a full day off and for bigger goals I’ll buy a new eBook, take time to read a whole magazine and drink a cup of coffee, or even just relax with a movie.  Whatever makes you happy will be a good reward.

Find your people 

Editing, and writing in general, can be a lonely process – where you spend hours, days, weeks, months (not at one time hopefully) sitting by yourself in a room with your notebook or computer working away so it’s good to have some people that understand what you’re going through.  Writer’s groups, people online, real life friends and family.  Make sure you’re taking breaks within your writing schedule to stay connected to the real humans in your life, even if they are online friends.  Cultivate those relationships, share in their wins and aggravations too so it’s not a one-way street.

You can also use social media and your online support group for accountability.  Post on your Instagram your weekly or daily goals, or post a picture before your writing session and again afterwards.  Not only does this keep you on track, but it’s fun – and shares your behind the scenes with potential readers of your book.

Get organized

Editing is messy even if cutting and pasting happens digitally (for the most part) it’s still messy so make sure you have one place for keeping all of your notes.  It can be somewhere on your laptop or phone or a battered old spiral notebook, but make sure you choose one for each project.  You can always change it up on the next book but if you have too many places to look for character name changes, ideas, and plot twists you’ll lose them.

Having one place always helps if you want to blog about your project. Blogging about your book really helps get those readers interested in the characters, the backstory, the why you decided to write this particular story, and about you as a writer so when you launch that book they are ready to jump and buy it on day one.  Even if you don’t want to share, keeping a journal of what you did each day gives you a boost of happiness and keeps you motivated.  Seeing progress helps on those days when motivation is nowhere to be found.

Use Tarot

When the blahs settle in and you’re feeling less than ready to sit down and work, grab your favorite Tarot deck and ask it for help.  Ask why you might be feeling stuck or what your main character wants you to know at this moment.  You can even ask it for advice on a sticky area or something that’s just not working.  

I also like to keep my character’s cards front and center when I’m working so if I do get stuck I can journal a conversation with them and ask them for help.  Our characters know more than they’re letting on so if they aren’t doing what we want, ask them why – they might unlock a whole lot of stuff that you can use in this draft.  

What do you do when you are feeling less than motivated during the long editing process?  I’d love to know below.

The form you have selected does not exist.

First Draft Problems

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

7 problems that authors might face when writing a first draft

Writing a first draft can be exciting and fun, but there are also some pitfalls that might cause an author to rethink the whole thing.  I know that I start out with hope, optimism and lots of energy when writing my own first drafts, but  I also know how many pitfalls are out there.

Beginnings

Let’s start at the very top.  Sometimes, we just don’t know where to start, even if we have a solid outline.  Do we start mid-conversation? Do we start with action? Do we start with our character alone or with others? It can be very confusing.  My advice? Don’t try to make it perfect.  If you get hung up right at the beginning, you might never start.  You can always fix things in the editing stage, but you can only fix words on paper.

Middles

Okay, you didn’t have any issues with the beginning, but now you’re smack in the middle of your outline and the pacing feels slow and the newness of the project is long gone.  You’re getting bored and feeling less excitement over all.  You might need a break! Step away for a day or two – not too long that you get out of the habit of writing, but long enough that you get to fill up your creative well in other ways.  Watch your favorite movies, read a new book, or just do something completely unrelated to your project and get some rest.

Endings

You are moving and grooving and you are near the end of your outline, and just like the beginning you have no idea how to end this thing.  Do you use the circle method and mirror your beginning? Do you leave on a cliffhanger? Set up your second book? You are confused, frustrated and ready to just chuck the whole thing in a drawer.  Stop! Don’t do that, please.  Again – don’t worry about being perfect – you can fix a bad ending later.  It’s better to get over the finish line and start the next part of the process rather than totally abandoning your project.  

For extra help, if you have any of the above issues – I suggest pulling 1-3 Tarot cards. The cards can give you insight into your character’s motivations and the best way to move forward when you feel stuck. 

Characters

Speaking of characters, we all know they can cause havoc by doing their own thing and by not talking to us.  We also might run into having under developed characters, where we have to stop and fix things we’ve missed or work on deepening their backstory.  If this is you, may I suggest my free training – Novel Narrator – creating your book’s characters in 30 minutes using Tarot. It’s an easy, fun, and quick way to create compelling characters for your books!

Plot bunnies

Bunnies are cute and all, but not if they are leading us away from our outlines.  You know that feeling, you have written pages and pages only to realize that you are so far from your original plot that you can’t even tell where you are anymore.  First, decide if the new idea is worth exploring. If it is, take some time to redo your outline to make the new idea work.  If it’s not working, then start writing from where you want to be and work backwards to make things fit.  I’m not going to lie, these things can cause us to lose time and make a little more work, but in the long run it’s better to stop and fix now then have to comb through all that junk later.

Losing motivation

Writing a book isn’t easy – as we’ve seen from the issues above.  You can easily lose motivation, feel lonely, and start to hate sitting down at your computer.  I suggest scheduling breaks throughout your writing schedule so you can fill your well, connect with other writers online, and give your brain some space. In addition to breaks, I also suggest creating mini goals and having rewards for reaching milestones.  Did you finish half of your first draft? Great – celebrate by getting your nails done, calling an old friend, or having a fancy coffee at your favorite coffeehouse.  These will keep you motivated to keep going and keep writing fun!

Time Management

If you don’t schedule in breaks and mini celebrations, you might start feeling burnt out and stressed.  To keep from cramming too much into your day, try writing down your due date and work backwards so you can have breaks, space, and time to write.  Trying to do too much at once only leads to heartbreak, sickness, and crankiness – trust me, ask those you live with what it’s like when you’re on deadline and you still have way too much to do? It’s probably not going to be a nice answer.  To keep that from happening, plan for all contingencies and add in extra buffer time so you can have space for emergencies. If you don’t need them – great, more time to celebrate and rest.

Which of these problems have plagued you during writing your first drafts? Which one of my suggestions will you be trying first? I’d love to know below.

The form you have selected does not exist.

What is an Intuitive Tarot Reader?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

When I was starting my Tarot journey, the thought of learning meanings and descriptions for 78 cards seemed super daunting. In fact, I was overwhelmed to the point that I stalled my study for a few months before I gained traction.

The thing that helped during that time was learning some basics.  These included knowing the differences between the Major and Minor arcana, numerology, what each suit means, and the main points are for each court card.  These helped me quickly make assessments when I pulled cards, but I still felt like I was missing something.  It felt very textbook to me, very standard, nothing about it felt personal.  

I was missing my own spark!

What was missing was using my own intuition including how I feel about the card, what I’m picking up about the person I’m reading for and the situation I’m reading about.  Adding this into my repertoire helps me pick up almost any deck and read with it because I’m not worried about key phrases or definitions, I’m letting my brain tell me what I need to know.

What does Intuition mean to me?

Intuition means trusting myself that I will have an answer when I need it.  This did not happen overnight, it happened over months and years of honing this trust by practicing.  How did I do this?  By not using the little white book that came with my deck.  In fact, I forced myself to do personal readings without any book or cheatsheet’s help.  I would just read based on my own brain and what I thought was important from each card. 

If the thought of doing this stresses you out, promise yourself that you’ll do the reading without the book first by writing down your own thoughts that come up from your intuition and then going to the book.  Once you start realizing that you can do it without the book’s help, you will need the book less and less.

How does this work when reading for others?

For starters, I use the energy I get from either their body language if I’m doing a live or Zoom reading or what words they use if I’m doing a written reading. I can’t really explain this process, but I can feel things from the other person which helps me decide what information to bring forth in readings.  It also helps if I know what kind of reading we’re doing – I get different energies around writers looking for creative help than I do for friends who are needing help with a romantic relationship.

How does this work if I’m using the cards as a writer?

I actually drop the traditional meanings all together and just use the details in the cards.  I look at colors, backgrounds, foregrounds, tiny details, and anything about the people or animals in the card that might ping creative ideas for my characters, plot points, and anything else I need for my writing. 

Dropping the key phrases helps me find that freedom to trust myself fully, moving swiftly from idea to idea, knowing that whatever comes up is exactly what I need in that moment. It’s either the perfect answer or something that will help me create the perfect answer.  It’s all about making connections and brainstorming until I feel that certain something that tells me I’m on the right track.

When you hear the phrase Intuitive Tarot Reader what do you think? I’d love to know below. 

The form you have selected does not exist.