Tag: tarot

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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