Category: Tarot

Using Tarot with my PowerSheets for 2021 Goal Setting

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Most of you probably know this by now — unless you are super new — but I love goal setting!! 

This year, I decided to marry one love with another and use my Tarot cards with my PowerSheets.  Ok, I can hear the questions loud and clear: How do you use tarot with goal setting? What are PowerSheets? Why are you so dang cute?  No? That wasn’t one of your questions?  Are you sure because I’m pretty dang cute?!?  

What are PowerSheets?

PowerSheets are a goal setting workbook from Cultivate What Matters. 

I used their undated 6-month version about two years ago, and while I loved the prep work, I also really like setting quarterly goals so after those were all used up, I didn’t purchase again.  Until, a friend of mine told me that this year they were adding quarterly refreshes and more mini-steps so basically it was my perfect goal setting system!  

Why? Because of the Prep work — 50 or so pages of guided questions to help you analyze and think about what’s important to YOU and your dreams and your vision for the year and for your life.  Not what goals you think you should have, but what goals you want to have.  Not what goals will make your neighbor think you’re awesome, but goals that will help YOU feel awesome and be awesome and do awesome things!

I have a serious addiction to workbooks and guided journals so the prep work is right up my alley. I love diving in and getting into this brain of mine to find out how I tick and what I want to accomplish this year and in life overall. I like taking a big picture look, then narrowing it down bit by bit so I have my five goals for 2021, smaller goals for Quarter 1 of 2021, and then even smaller goals for January 2021.  

It feels soooooo good!

It doesn’t hurt that I get to use bright colored markers, pens, stickers, and washi tape – let that inner child play, you know?!?!

How do you use Tarot with Goal Setting?

So once I figured out my big picture goals for 2021, I got out my deck of cards and started pulling one for each goal.   What I’m doing is getting a litmus test on whether or not this goal is going to work for me or if I need to do anything different. Rewrite the goal maybe? Make sure I include certain things during my quarterly goal setting sessions. Or scrap it all together.  Let me walk you through my five goals below.

Write and Self-Publish Entertaining YA Novels 

I pulled the Nine of Swords which isn’t exactly a great positive card, but I pulled a clarifying animal guide card and got the Shark which is about honesty. What? Ok…right off the bat, you’re probably thinking I’ve lost my mind but I started to really think about things and I realized that I am scared to self-publish again. I love writing, but the business side of things still eludes me and I find myself flailing around.  Nine of Swords is about grief, sadness, anxiety, and worry.  If I’m being honest (The Shark), I have a ton of worry and anxiety around this goal.  These cards helped me come to terms with this fact, made me face that I have these fears and I did actually think about scrapping this goal.  But the fact is, I love writing and love hearing from readers about my books. I want to do this goal, so I know I might have some mindset shirts and some stuff to deal with and that’s okay!

Start my Tarot Business

I pulled The Hierophant and that is awesome! This card is all about spiritual wisdom, traditions, balance and being a teacher or leader – the holder of truth.  I take this as a very good sign that I’m on the right track with my ideas of what I want my tarot business to look like. It’s a little scary putting this out here so early but I want to help writers, actors, musicians, and other creative people deal with blocks, fear of success, imposter syndrome, and life in general using the tarot cards.  I will be doing this via courses, books, and hopefully life coaching. I feel 100% to take this goal on for next year.

Make our Apartment a HOME

Our place is a cluttered mess and I want to change that so I pulled Knight of Pentacles which is all about hard work, charging ahead, productivity, routines, and responsibility.  Basically the road won’t be easy with this goal, but it will be so worth it.  Not much to say here – this was a great card and I feel pretty good about things.

Make my self-improvement a priority

I feel like, honestly, I do this but I wanted to make it an official goal so I have a place to track things and make sure that I’m actually doing it.  The card I pulled for this goal was the 4 of Pentacles.  What?! This is about control, security, not having connection to spirit (okay, getting closer to making sense) and saving money.  So don’t buy a bunch of stuff for self-improvement…but what? I was still confused so I pulled a clarifying animal spirit card for this goal as well and got The Golden Egg which is all about the message at the center of the heart.  Time for introspection and contemplation (adding more meditation back into my life) and staying open to hearing the messages you need to hear.  Basically I need to take the pentacle off the top of my head so I can be open to the divine, and stop controlling every little thing – BE OPEN.  

Now I gotcha and I can keep that in mind while I dig deeper each month.

Live a Magical Life!

I pulled the 9 of Wands…which is all about a test of faith, courage and persistence and being tired. I need to get clear on what I will need to be successful here and then communicate with others. I have to stop allowing things to get in my way. 

It’s me…I get in my own way. 

I want every day to feel magical, I want to use witchcraft to make the mundane into magic.  Stirring my coffee with intentions, charging my lotions for self-love, using my candles and crystals, and seeing myself in a new light.  Maybe the card wasn’t 100% but some good things to remember and it will keep me on my toes this year.

After I did these, I pulled one card to represent all of my 2021 goals and got my old friend, The Chariot. I see this card as my inner guide telling me I’m on the right track.  It’s about action and determination, success and will power, and a spiritual transformation.  I’ll take it!!

Have you started working on your 2021 goals yet?  If you need help, hit me up below and I’ll pull a few cards for you!  

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And They Lived Happily Ever After

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Yay….we have reached the end of our journey – but before I get into this week’ spread, I wanted to announce the name that my Instagram readers came up with for our short story – and I have to say, it’s pretty darn perfect — Mysteries, Deception, and The Full Moon!  Ahhhh, I love it!

Ok, now I’d like to introduce you to the Happily Ever After spread where you can make sure that all of your loose ends are tied, that you and your characters are happy (or as happy as they’re going to be) and that your ideal reader will be satisfied with the ending you give them.

Journaling Prompts

Just like last time, I have a few journaling prompts or things to think about before you dive into this spread:

  • What happens next, after I type The End?
  • How far from my planned ending am I?
  • Am I happy with the current ending? Why or why not?

Once you have those thoughts pretty firmed up, move on to the five questions below and find out how things are doing as we near closing the book, so to speak.

The Reading

For us, I feel like Paige has most changed by growing up some.  She became more focused, less wishy-washy about what she wants out of life and she now realizes that life isn’t always fair – there’s hard work, difficult choices, and consequences to her actions.  I feel like she’s learned that truth isn’t always easy to deal with and one person’s truth affects others – and they might not be in agreement.

Since we are using an antagonistic force, rather than a person, I feel like that morphed from being karmic cycles to more about vision and being in control of one’s own life.  This ties in nicely with Paige’s character arc from beginning to end as well.

I need to make sure all of the stuff with her Dad is dealt with so that the audience knows if they’re going to have some kind of relationship after all is said and done – basically that nothing is left unsaid.  Because I feel like my ideal reader will want to see Paige becoming more in control of her own life, dealing with grown-up issues as best she can – rather than running, hiding, lying – and being more prepared to deal with adult relationships and problems.

What do you see in the cards?  I’d love to know your final thoughts before I take all of this and complete final edits and proofing to make this the best short story ever!  I’m going to be taking one whole week off to do this and get the PDF ready and then I’ll be sending it directly to my newsletter on Friday, September 3rd so make sure you drop that email into the red box below to join now!

I also wanted to thank you – this has been so much fun, given me a cool diversion from editing my novel, and a chance to take my new spreads out for a spin.  If you have any questions about using tarot in your writing, please let me know below in the comments or send me an email.  

The End (First Draft)

I was just about to walk out of my father’s house, for what felt like the last time, when he came rushing out of the back room.

“Don’t leave,” he said.  “Not yet, not like this.”  

I had the door half way propped open and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  Heidi was in the car, and it was running, I knew I couldn’t stay in here much longer.  But I also didn’t want to leave with things left unsaid.   We had both hurt one another, and leaving now would make things harder later.

I shut the door, turned around, and leaned against the door.  Dad and I looked at each other.  Him waiting for me to speak, me waiting for him to speak.  

Finally he sat down on the couch and said, “I know I’ve said things, mean horrible things, and I think I meant them in the moment but if I could take them back, I would.”

I sat down on teh arm of the chair closest to teh door and sighed.  “I know,” I said. I rubbed my arm with the opposite hand. “I said things too.”

“Yes, you did.”

I looked up and saw how broken my Dad actually was.  He was teetering on losing it.  He had lost Mom to prison and was now about to lose his only daughter because of his inability to deal with change.  He had hurt me, caused me to question so many things, but he was my father and without Mom in the picture, was it fair to leave him behind completely?

“I’m sorry,” I said and I meant it.  I was sorry for hurting him, for saying things I knew would cut deep.  “I have to go, but I don’t want to lose you.”  

He smiled, but still looked sad.  He nodded and I got back up.

“Don’t be a stranger,” he said not moving from the couch.  This was something he used to say to his best friend when he would come to visit from Seattle.  Don’t be a stranger meant hurry back, call sometime, send a funny text when you get a chance.  Was that all we were going to be from now on?

“I won’t Dad, I promise.”  I opened the door and walked out onto the porch.  It felt like years since I came home from that first date with Heidi, before Mom was arrested, before any of this happened.  The door shut behind me and I walked away from the house and to the car.

Thank you for joining me on this journey — if you are a new subscriber to my newsletter and would like a copy of the finished story – just email me and I’ll send it right over! -Jennifer

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Stuck In The Middle With YOU

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Middles are hard to write, heck even this blog post about Middles and thinking about writing the middle of our short story has me feeling well, kinda icky.  I actually came up with some fantastic ideas using this spread and I’m still not 100% feeling the actual writing I did.  Who’s with me?  Show of hands — who hates writing the middle of anything? Or do you find endings harder?  Wait until next week baby!

Journaling Prompts

For this spread, I include some journaling questions so you can think about your story or novel before just diving into this spread so I thought I would share.

  • Is it really a crappy story or are you just bored and need a break?
  • How far off your original outline or idea are you?
  • What your Main Character say about your story so far?

Okay, once you get some of that out of your head and down on paper, you’ll be ready to do the spread and get some further insight.  

The Reading

For us, I feel like Paige has options and she has a choice to make – stay loyal to her Father (who’s being a right royal pain) or leave and be with Heidi and start a new life?  Since we don’t have a traditional Antagonist, I kind of summed this one up by saying that someone needs to face the music, face reality and stop living in dreamland.  Which does speak to our overall Karmic force that we’re dealing with – it’s kind of now or never time.

New conflict I can add includes money and time – are we running out of it? Is there a deadline I can add to the story?  Deadlines are great, that ticking clock can amp up feelings and the push to make a decision.  I also see more of that having to choose and decide which side – family or lover – needs to happen and quick! 

To move the overall story forward, I had this idea of Paige betraying her father and telling him that she’s going to say Goodbye to Heidi but when she sees Heidi, she abandons that and makes plans to run away.  It’s a good conflict,  and it shows us that Paige isn’t thinking with her head but rather her heart – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like in this situation is going to lead us to more trouble.

What do you see in the cards? What are you hoping happens for Paige and her Dad? What about Paige’s relationship with Heidi?  Head on over to Instagram to help me with Titles for our story this weekend and let’s talk about Middles and how much they can suck!

The Middle (1st DRAFT)

I walked out of the house and got in the car.  As I clicked the button to turn the engine, I thought about what I had just said to Dad.  Was I really going to break up with Heidi? Was I really going to say goodbye, forever, never seeing her again? I had made my choice.  I backed out of our small driveway and made the quick drive over to her house.

She was sitting on her porch looking up at the moon, waiting for me.  She looked happy to see me, she had no idea when I called what I was going to say.  She stood up and smiled at me as I pulled into her driveway.  I turned the car off and sat there.  I could do this, right?

As I got out, she came off the porch and over to me.  She lightly kissed me and put her arms around my waist.  Oh no, her orange scented perfume wafted into my nose and I could feel myself getting warm, remembering when we were together last.

I pushed her away from me.  “I can’t do this,” I said.

“Do what?”she asked me.

“I need to,” I started but her eyes sparkled in the moonlight nad I lost my nerve. “I need to sit down.”  She led me into the house and I flopped on her couch.  She sat next to me and rubbed my arm with her hand. Her skin felt so smooth against mine.  I wanted to kiss her nad never stop.  

“Are you okay? You sounded funny on the phone,” she said.

“No, yes, I don’t know.”

“Well, then, at least you’re sure,” she said and laughed.  It sounded like music and I just wanted her to keep going, tell her stupid jokes and hear that sound forever.

I shook my head and started to cry.  She kissed me again and wiped my tears.

“You were coming to break up weren’t you?” she asked.  I shook my head yes and closed my eyes tight.

“Don’t,” she said quietly.

“Okay, I won’t,” I said back in a whisper.  I knew in that moment that I had nothing else to lose. I had chosen Heidi over my dad and there was no going back. 

Keep Reading — And They Lived Happily Ever After can be found HERE

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Once Upon A Time…

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Okay, now we are getting into the writing – finally!

This spread will get your creative juices flowing, give you some amazing ideas for how to start your very first scene (or in our case, the first page) and what conflict your characters are facing. Each scene or chapter needs its own conflict – which can be tricky to write (at least for me) so pulling 1-2 cards for each scene to work out the problem can help save you from getting stuck halfway through a draft.

I pulled cards to answer my 5 questions…I feel like Paige is doing something slightly secretive, it’s nighttime and her intuition is coming into play. I think her motivation is to protect itself, help her make a difficult decision – or figure out two sides of an issue. I see the overall conflict of this scene is Heidi, our love interest, but it’s also saying that Paige is overcoming some fears and dealing with unconscious desires. 

The other person in this scene is her Dad. He’s feeling confident and normal – even social and is happy seeing his daughter grow up and become a woman. This all tells me that the very first scene happens before the Mom is arrested. They are in the status quo of a happy existence right now, unaware that tomorrow (?) that the world will come crashing down around them.

Exciting place to be before we get to the Muddy Middle – which is next week’s spread.

Here is my very rough, right out of my brain first draft using these cards as inspiration. Let me know what you think in the comments below or email me and this weekend let’s have a conversation on Instagram about beginnings and what I can do to make the first draft even better. Yes, that’s right – for the next three weeks you get to help me rewrite and edit what I actually put on the page. 

Seriously, I’m so giddy about all of this right now, I can barely stand it. Okay, let’s get into it!!

The Beginning (1st Draft)

I could still taste her strawberry lip gloss as I walked down the boardwalk toward our house. I wasn’t in any hurry to rush home, but my curfew was just minutes away. Turning around, I searched for her, but she was long gone. She did say her car was parked just a few feet down the beach. She was probably half way home already.

I wasn’t expecting to kiss someone today, but she had been so funny. And that crooked smile.

Last year I was all about Troy, and then Devin, but Heidi was something else. For one thing, she had to be at least 5 years older than I was. She mentioned a job in the morning and seemed quite serious about it – so it couldn’t have been just some shop along the boardwalk like me.

Dad was sitting on our small porch, reading a book, the little book light on top illuminating the page he was on. He was in the rocker that we had purchased for Mom that past Christmas, slowing going back and forth as he read, finger on the page of an actual book even though his Kindle was sitting next to him on the little table. He glanced at his watch, then up at me.

“Cutting it close, huh Paige?” he asked with a smile.

“I know, sorry. Lost all track of time,” I said and sat in the small non rocking chair that was on the other end of the porch. Our house faced the beach and I could hear the waves before I saw them crashing under the moonlight.

“Anyone in particular making you lose track?” he smiled. He knew me well, but since this was so new and I still wasn’t sure what was happening I didn’t want to answer him. I had never kissed a girl before. I had found them cute before, that sensation wasn’t new but I had never acted upon those feelings before.

“Maybe,” I said bowing my head so he wouldn’t see me blush and maybe he would stop asking me questions. He was in a good mood though. “How was work?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Really good, we closed a deal to help build a new eco friendly office space downtown.”

“Nice,” I said standing up to go in for the night, “Congrats, Dad.”

“Thanks. Be quiet going in, your Mom came home in a funky mood and went right to bed,” he said and put out his hand for mine.

I held his hand and smiled. I thought about Heidi holding my hand just moments earlier, while we starred up and discussed the full moon.  We talked about our sun signs and giggled while we talked about the favorite things to do at night.  Dad squeezed my hand and brought me back to the present moment. 

“Is she okay?” I asked, bringing it back to Mom.

“She just seemed kind of sad, but didn’t want to talk about it. I’m hoping a good night’s sleep will help.”  He kissed the top of my hand and dropped it. I walked into the quiet house and made my way to my bedroom. Passing Mom and dad’s room, I could hear Mom softly snoring.

Keep reading — Stuck in the Middle With YOU can be found HERE

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Let’s Meet The Rest Of Our Cast

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

So originally I wanted week 3 to be actually writing the beginning of our story, but after the simple outline was finished I knew I needed to spend a tiny bit more time with the characters.  Again, instead of a formal tarot spread, I just pulled 1-2 cards for each person.

If you’d like to catch up – here’s the article for Week 1 and Week 2

PAIGE

Okay, let’s jump right in with our main character, Paige. I pulled a card for her inner strength and her inner demon so I could get into her brain and find out what she wants in this world and what’s holding her back.

Inner Strength/Wants – Strength

I see this card showing us that she has great confidence and self-esteem, she knows what she wants in life – something to do with animals, possibly a veterinarian or someone who rescues animals.  She has great inner determination and knows exactly how her life is going to go.  Optimistic even.

Inner Demons/Issues – Temperance

BUT I also see that with that determination comes some self-absorption or selfishness, she feels the world should revolve around her. She’s a bit insensitive at times, even tactless and I’m curious about her spirituality.  I get from this card that she might have lost faith OR that she really wants some kind of connection to a higher power and can’t seem to get there.

FATHER 

Side note, I’m going to be doing some polls over on my Instagram this weekend to figure out names for the other two characters so join in, please!!!

I just pulled one card to get an idea about who this guy is and got the 5 of Wands.  Very interesting. This card’s “book” meaning is all about conflict but I’m reading it more like they are building something together.

I think her father works for an eco-friendly construction company (remember it’s California) as either the CEO/founder or one of the higher up VPs.  He was an old hippie who had to grow up.  Why am I seeing Alex P. Keaton’s father for this?  I see that he’s passionate and willing to fight for what he thinks matters.

LOVE INTEREST

Instagram this past weekend chose a female FBI agent for our love interest with the twist that she was on the team who arrested Paige’s Mom for attempted murder. What?! This is getting really good. I pulled two cards just because one card didn’t feel like enough information.

I pulled the Moon card first and I see that there’s some repressed emotion and inner confusion – maybe around falling for a newly adult woman – and some fear or anxiety.  As an FBI agent I assume you might fear for your wellbeing or life while on duty.  I didn’t feel like I had a full handle on this woman so I pulled the Hierophant and immediately I saw inner conflict – someone who loves the sold institutions (the FBI) and is very conservetive, but had to challenge the status quo to be considered an equal as a woman in a mostly male-dominated field.  Interesting inner life we’ve got now.

Next week I’ll finally be ready to start actually writing!! I also have a fun Beginning of Your Story tarot spread too…and don’t forget, I’ll be sharing the full edited story as a PDF to my newsletter subscribers only, so join today! Not only will I be sharing the spreads I’ve used for this short story, but I know there will be some bonuses and goodies too!

What do you think of our little cast of characters?  Do you think 3 characters is the right amount for such a short story?  Let me know in the comments below.

Check out Week 4 – Once Upon a Time HERE

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Let’s Start With A Simple Outline

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Welcome to Week 2 of this fun tarot experiment where we will be working on a very simple outline using a 3-card spread for the Beginning, Middle, and End of our story.  

I shuffled and pulled three cards, laying them down side by side.  I usually start by looking at each one individually and then together in pairs.  I take notes and jot down all of my thoughts.  To save space, I’m not going to bore you with all of my ideas and notes — literally, it was about 3 pages of handwritten scribbles – but I will share some things I’m thinking about over on Instagram this weekend so make sure you’re following along there to help me decide!

And speaking of  Instagram, they really came through big time this past weekend and my lovely Page of Cups main character has a name — I’d like you to meet Paige (gotta love the play on words)!!  

Okay, so here’s the down and dirty outline I came up with.  What do you think?  What do you see in these cards? What would you add or change?  

Beginning

A happy family, happy memories of being together — something happens, a death/self-destruction and jail?  The happy memories are gone.  Paige has to act like the adult, her father is not handling things well.

Middle

During all of this, Paige falls in love – with someone she shouldn’t — someone who is connected to who hurt her family and brought them down in the first place – the cop’s son or a young FBI agent. Basically, he’s part of the system that’s now tearing her family apart.

Ending

Paige’s father tries to assert dominance, become the patriarch again by going back to old rules/old regulations/old religious ways of thinking about women.  This causes an even further tear in his relationship with his growing daughter – who should be getting ready for college or her next steps and now she’s terrified for her life and for her freedom.

I have so many questions:

  • Who is this person she’s fallen in love with?
  • What happened to her mother?
  • Why is her father so down on his luck? 
  • What happens after she falls in love?
  • What will she do when her father starts acting so differently?  

Whoo boy!  So many questions!!! This is exactly where you want to be when you start working on a new idea.  

If you’re writing a longer novel (or series even) you’d want to then move on to a longer story arc type spread, work through the entire hero’s journey to come up with your plot points, subplots and all the other things you need when cranking out 60,000+ words.  You’ll also want to pull cards to help with character development and help you create any additional characters. 

For me, I have some basic understanding of my overall story now and what Paige is up against – bad luck, karma, old vs. new, and the cycle of life that one must go through to become an adult sometimes.  

I was going to jump straight into the beginning of my story next week, but I feel like I need to know more about my main character’s wants and needs and inner struggle. I also want to pull cards for her love interest and her father. Then I will be prepared to write the beginning in Week 4 followed by the Middle in Week 5 and Ending/Finishing up in Week 6.  

Thanks for joining me on this journey.  Let me know what you would do with these cards? I had about four other ideas written down but this one felt the most interesting. I do have some things though that I’m thinking of tossing in so follow me on Instagram to help me choose this weekend.  

It’s going to be so much fun!!  

Check out Week 3 – Let’s Meet The Rest of Our Cast HERE

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Using Tarot Cards (And My Own Spreads) To Write A Short Story

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Yesterday, while I was doing the dishes, I was thinking about my social media and what I wanted to write about. I had some ideas written down but none of them were feeling very fun or exciting. In between soaping up some bowls and drying some plates, I had a really crazy idea – and I’ve learned to run with those without much hesitation because usually my intuition is pretty spot on. So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to an experiment…blog a book!  

Over on Instagram this past weekend I shared my secret project that I’m working on – Tarot Spreads for Writers – another crazy idea I decided to run with and have been working on since February. People seemed interested so I thought, why not share some of what I’m working on while also using my own spreads to create a short story here, in real time?!?!  

The goal is to have a 5,000-7,500 word short story written using my own tarot spreads within six weeks. The finished project will then be available as a PDF download (with a fun cover and copies of the spreads that I’m sharing) to my newsletter list — so sign up now!!  AND, for some extra fun, I’ll be having my Instagram followers help me choose names, plot points, and other things over on my stories so make sure you are also following me over there so you can help me out along the way! 

Characters

 This isn’t so much a formal spread as it’s more about pulling two tarot cards – one for my protagonist and one for my antagonist. But first, let me share a little about how I use tarot cards in my writing. I pull the cards and try to use my intuition and storytelling to figure out what the cards mean. Basically, I ask a lot of WHAT type questions. 

For example, what is the page of cups doing right now? What was she doing 5 minutes ago? What is she doing after this? Why is she holding that cup? What does that cup contain? 

Note: If you are completely new to tarot and don’t already own a deck, you can get a few apps that help you pull cards and use those to follow along. It’s cheaper than an actual deck and you get to see if you like the artwork before purchasing. If you want to learn more about tarot in general, I’m going to suggest Biddy Tarot’s site and books!! She’s amazing and her site is how I started learning more about the amazing world of Tarot. 

Protagonist – Page of Cups

 A young woman, emotional and extroverted, who is very into the beach and the sun and the surf. A true California girl, she loves to rollerblade in her pink skates and sand volleyball is the best exercise ever! She hates when people assume she’s vapid or stupid because of her blonde hair and slight Valley Girl speak, but she actually loves to read and is #1 in her school’s debate team. She has a very open mind and is extremely curious about the world around her. 

Antagonist – Wheel of Fortune

 Luck, circle of life, cycles, or a turning point. Rules and regulations – old world vs. new. I feel like the creatures around the edges are writing down people’s stories, keeping track and watching who does what – keeping score perhaps? I feel like this will be an antagonistic force rather than an actual person (but I might be surprised later when I do the 3-card beginning/middle/end spread). Another way of looking at this card is Karma or what goes around, comes around. It can also remind you to remember that miracles happen and bad luck can quickly turn to good with the right attitude. 

What’s Next

 What do you see in the cards? I’ll be sharing these thoughts on Instagram this weekend and asking for a name for my main character so follow me over there and let me know your thoughts! 

Next week I’ll be doing the basic 3-card Beginning – Middle – End spread to get a really simple outline and will announce the name that was picked this weekend. I’m super excited to share not only these spreads with you, but also my process and my story. 

If you’re a writer (or just looking for a fun challenge) and decide to do these spreads with me to come up with your own story, I would love to see it or hear about it. Please comment down below!!!  

Check out Week 2 – Let’s Start With a Simple Outline HERE

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Tarot cards laid on green background

The Long, Twisting Road From Writing Exercise To Third Draft

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

A long, long time ago (almost two years now) I decided to do a fun writing exercise here on the blog and created a character based on tarot cards. The thing is, I liked the idea and the character so much I decided to turn it into a full-blown novel, but halfway through the first draft I realized I didn’t like my main character, Leo, all that much and really wanted to write about his sister, Etta.

My editor agreed and I “tossed” Leo and started outlining Etta’s story. I wrote a whole new draft and sent it to my editor, but it still felt like it wasn’t quite right – it turns out, my editor thought the same thing and together we decided it needed another character to flesh out the story. 

Enter Draft #3 and now I’ve added Gina as a new, second point of view character and revamped almost the whole outline. She was always there, but more in the background and now she’s definitely foreground.

Now I have new characters (Gina’s parents for starters) and a new set of problems – which, as an author, is great news! Conflict = Story after all and my very first version of this idea was severely lacking in conflict. Let’s just say it was kinda boring and Leo was kind of annoying.

Why am I telling you this? Because sometimes writers get inspiration from a person walking through the park (my first novel) and that keeps them focused for a few years (!!!) and sometimes we have to take a kernel of an idea and work hard to get it right – making sure it’s the real story we want to tell. That it’s the best story we are capable of telling.

If you’re a writer, what journey has your latest story taken? If you’re a reader – do you like dual POV books? Or do you prefer one single narrator that tells the whole story?

 

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Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Ah, another year is coming to a close.  It’s out with the old and in with the new, that weird old man is retiring and baby new year is bouncing onto the scene.  Side note: how does that baby age so much in one year?   Okay, back on track.  This is my last post for 2017 and I thought I’d talk about what most people are talking about at this time of year – goal setting.

Now, I use quite a few systems that I’ve learned over the past few years to plan out my goals.  I’ve gotten them from various webinars, books, courses, old planners, and online blog searching.   I have no idea who to attribute most of what I’m going to talk about to specifically because at this point it’s a hodgepodge of styles with my own added flair!

I like to start with a general brain dump of things I would like to get done, accomplish, get better at, finish, etc.  That list usually looks like a hot mess, but from there I’ll separate the do-able from the wishes, the first things first to maybe if I have time, and then I make a quarterly plan.  This year was easy, actually, because I know I want to launch my newsletter (with that freebie I keep hinting about) in February and my debut novel will be self-published on Amazon (more about that in 2018) in either March or April so my Quarter One goals were set.  I have a few things bulleted out for Q2, including writing the 1st draft of book #2 and researching blog guest posting, and then I just have a list called: ????  This is a maybe/future list that includes starting a YouTube channel, planning our August family vacation (we know we’d like to go somewhere this summer, but we’re not sure where we’re going this year yet so, for now, it’s on the ???? List), and when to publish/launch Book #2 – only because I have no clue how fast I’ll be able to write and edit since this current novel has taken me years!

I also added some health & wellness goals to my list, music and hobby goals (I want to start singing again and I think I’m getting a hand-me-down acoustic guitar and would like to learn that as well), and some overall family goals (like taking my little one to more museums, doing more things around Queens, and getting the rest of the apartment organized and finished).  My year is shaping up!  It’s all very exciting, shiny, and new.

I am definitely getting excited, especially after I did one final step of my yearly planning…the tarot cards!  I bought Biddy Tarot’s 2018 Planner this year but not to use as a plan-your-day type calendar (I’m still using my Erin Condren bullet journal hybrid), but to help with tarot study – it has monthly spreads, weekly cards, new moon and full moon intentions, quarterly reviews, and some fun journaling prompts along the way.  I did the big New Year’s Eve spread and that was nice, but then I went ahead and also did the Q1 Manifestation Spread (where you talk about your biggest goal for the quarter – mine was launching The Art of Lying) and baby, hold on to your socks – because this was a doozy of a spread.

You basically go through questions about where you are right now with your goal, what weaknesses and strengths you have surrounding the goal, what you need to let go of, what action steps you need to take, and what…overall…the next three months might look like.  These cards were totally speaking to me, they were extremely positive and point to the fact that I am on the right track to finishing Q1 strong!

I won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty details, but I will share with you what I wrote in the summation box of the planner:  This spread has shown me that I need to continue the New Year with hard work and expert planning.  I need to let the creative side celebrate her wins and much earned success, while my business side makes decisions based on knowledge, research, and gut intuition.  I need to stay true to myself, be authentic and human in my marketing and promotions, stay down to earth, but don’t neglect my health in striving for perfection!  If I do these things, keep up my confidence and courage, I should achieve my goal!!!

Now, I’ve done quite a bit of 2018 planning – last week’s Word of the Year and this week’s goal planning, but I’m not done yet.  The writing mastermind I am a part of is having a big Planning Party soon and my mentor will be sharing a workbook PDF that will have questions, prompts, and other goodies for us – now I doubt any of that will have me changing my plans much, but it might help solidify things for me – things I’m worried about, things I’m trying not to freak myself out about (like all the decisions that business side of me actually needs to make soon), and it might just help me narrow down my daily tasks and to-do’s better.  And, I love a good planning party.

So…what have you been planning for the new year?  Any goals you’re just itching to get started with?  Do you do the whole goal setting thing or resolutions?  I personally think both can work as long as you have a plan in place and not just a wish…like I wish I was 25 pounds lighter, but actually, say – I will work out three times a week, cut down to carbs at one meal per day, and meditate daily to help alleviate stress – now that would be a plan!  Also, that sounds very similar to my plan for health and wellness.  HA  So, share!  I’d love to hear what you’re working on next year and where we can maybe each other stay on track.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,  and a Lovely 2018 to you and yours!!!

Creating a 3-Act Structure with Tarot Cards

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I’m back for part two of my writing exercises using the Tarot for Writers book and my tarot cards.  Last week I created a new character, named Leo, and this week I’m using an exercise on page 72 about creating a three-act structure with two plot points.  I did not pull a card for the climax (seen in the book example) because I’m not actually writing this whole book.  Have a look-see at what cards I pulled and what I came up with for my beginning, middle, and end.   At the end of this post, I’ll tell you my thoughts going forward and what I’m going to write based off this reading for you guys! 



Act I – King of Swords
Leo, under the thumb of his father – a former MLB player, has played baseball his entire life from little league on through High School.  It is just expected that he will either go pro or play during college.  His father left baseball because of an injury and then became a professional agent.  He is powerful, successful, and charming.  Women love him, men want to be him – he never married Leo’s mother, but they co-parent as a team fairly well.  Leo’s father has high expectations of him and demands perfection above all else.  Leo must be the best! 

Plot Point 1 – The Moon
Leo, unhappy with the choices his Dad has made for him, has a dream one night while camping with his buddies.  He wakes up and walks under the full moon to the nearby lake where a young woman sits on a rock.  They have an amazing conversation about life, love, and the journey one must take for themselves when starting college. 

Act II – Nine of Cups
A college orientation party finds Leo in new surroundings.  Here no one cares about his Dad or sports at all really, but higher pursuits – science, literature, religion.  Leo must stand on his own two feet, as it were.  He wants to enjoy his time away from family and old friends, especially as he pursues this new life, but he’s finding it hard to figure out exactly where he stands and what he stands for.  He can’t seem to make up his mind about a major and starts having panic attacks that cause him to break down, sometimes going through a major depression for days/weeks at a time.

Plot Point 2 – The Sun
Leo is having trouble making new friends and starts to wonder if he somehow screwed up his entire life by walking away from his Dad’s plans.  He decides to take a long walk one beautiful Sunday to a public park that’s close to campus, to get away from his troubles.  He sees a group of guys playing ball for fun – no jerseys, no real official teams, no coaches.  Just a group, playing with a ball and a bat, having fun.  He asks if he can join them, which they immediately welcome and he plays for hours.  Sweating from the hot sun, he grabs a water and starts talking to one of the young men who goes to his school.  During their conversation, he realizes what he wants to study and finds a hobby that he’s good at and can enjoy for life.  He and his new friend walk back to campus together. 

Act III – The Hanged Man
After his day of fun, Leo chooses a major, settles into college life and meets the young woman from camp at a dance.  She’s the daughter of the Dean and just graduated from college the year before. She’s only a few years older, very taken with our Leo and they start dating.  Leo finally feels like himself.  He feels confident and has the courage to call his father, who he hasn’t spoken to in months and they start hashing things out on their way to redemption and a better, more grown-up relationship.   Leo feels like he’s on the right path – he has a handle on his shiny object syndrome, knowing that he can read and study anything without losing focus and he has matured into a bright young adult. 



Here’s what I’m thinking – I love the scene where he’s camping and meets the young lady by the lake so I think I will write that scene (2-3 thousand words) and post on the blog in a few weeks – I will get this one done quicker than my last tarot short story, I promise.  Does that sound like a good deal?  Or…if you guys like another scene more, comment and I’ll decide in a few days (maybe…Mon or Tues next week).  Thanks!

What do you think?  Would you read this book? Does it sound interesting?  What kinds of things do you see in these cards – seriously, give me your ideas, I might incorporate them.  I enjoy these exercises, but I’m not sure if I would use tarot cards to plot out a full book – but who knows.  I’m working on a novella right now that I plan on giving away for free when I get my newsletter ready so maybe I’ll pull a few cards if I have issues or run into plot problems.

Have you ever used the tarot cards for creative inspiration? Show me – I’m always trying to think of fun, new ways to use my cards.