writers – Pen to Paper

Welcome back. This week I have another tarot spread that you can use to help you create your stories. This tarot spread works like a game. First, we will go over the steps you take for the came and then what each card represents.

Come up with a question. This isn’t to figure out the overall storyline. It is to find out a solution to a specific problem. Be as clear as possible with your questions.
Shuffle your cards and deal them out according to the spread below.
Follow the thread that the cards create to come to a solution to your answer. The cards will provide you with a possible solution, but you have to ultimately decide if it’s the right thing for you to do. Whether you use the offered solutions or not, it is typically enough to break through any barriers you may have.
Keep a note of what your reading provided you. I keep a writing journal with all of my tarot readings. This can help to serve as future inspiration.

Alright, here is the spread you will be using:

One thing I need to tell you, as you can see each section of cards is color coded. When you lay out your cards, you need to start on the side with three cards, the conflict, world, and motive, and move over to the two outcome cards.

As for what the cards mean:

Conflict: This is what the outer conflict is surrounding your questions. This could be about a character, it all depends on what your question was, to begin with.

World: This what the ordinary world around the problem is and how it plays into your problem.

Motive: This is what your characters inner motive. This is what makes everything move towards an outcome

The next four cards move into what the obstacles are that your character will have to face moving forward.

Guide: This is their guide or mentor of sorts.

Home: This refers to the pull from their home. How their home life is affecting their decisions.

Controller: This refers to what controls them the most. This could be a person, place or thing. Whatever has the most control over the character.

Key: This is the main reason why they are having problems.

Next, we are moving into actions that will help them reach their outcomes.

Decisions: This card is an optional card. You don’t have to pull one. These are the decisions that your character has to make. These will likely be tough for your character.

Steps: These are the actions steps that your character has to take in order to reach their outcome.

Lastly, we have two outcomes.

External outcomes: This the top card. These are the changes that happen in the outside world of the character the physical things that were affected by their decisions.

Internatl outcomes: This is the bottom card. These are the changes that take place inside of your character. This is how he or she was affected internally by their own actions.

Alright, that’s it for this tarot reading. Try this a few times and I bet this will be what you turn to every time you feel stuck in your writing. Tell me what you think in the comments below.

“Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e. do not cave in to endless requests to have “essential” and “long overdue” meeting on those days.”

– J.K. Rowling

FYI:

Grab your copy of Loved by Death on Amazon. Get Loved by Death: Book One of The Wolfsbane Chronicles today.

As a writer, you will have to face rejection at some point. This is especially true if you want a literary agent, and to have your book professionally published. What you write isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea. I may still be fairly new to the rejection game (I’ve spent most of my writing career writing, so far) but I have already gotten a few rejection letters.

Rejection isn’t something that people want to face, but it’s a fact of life. The best thing you can do is to learn how to handle it. Don’t let it destroy your life, and don’t take it personally. You’ll find somebody that likes your work. Let’s look at a few ways to handle rejection.

Learn From It

You won’t always get a personalized letter of rejection. A lot of them are generic “Thanks for querying, but blah, blah, blah.” There are a few that will give you their thoughts. Instead of throwing the letters out, or deleting the email, listen to what they have to say. There may be something in their letter that can help you improve your chances of finding representation. Now, if you receive criticism like, “You write like a child,” or a blanket statement like, “There is no potential audience for your book,” then, by all means, throw that away. Those statements aren’t helpful.

Remember Why You Write

Rejection will get you down, especially if you have heard no over and over again. Take some time to remind yourself why you started writing. Write yourself a letter that states why you write.

For me, I write because I like creating a new world that I can escape into. It’s a way to get out my feelings and plan things out the way I want them. It’s a situation that I can have complete control over.

Find Empowerment with Self-Publishing

A lot of people have worked through their rejections by self-publishing their books. If you think you have a best seller on your hands, then publish it on kindle or nook. There are lots of ways to get your book out there. Before you do that, make sure that your manuscript is clean. Sending it to an editor would be a good idea.

Take a Break

When you are working through rejection, you probably won’t feel motivated to write so don’t. Take some time for yourself and reconnect with the world. Then you can come back to your writing.

Be Friend with Writers

Having people who you can relate to will help you out. If you don’t have friends that write, join some online writing communities. Talking is a great way to work through feelings.

In the end, acceptance or rejection shouldn’t influence you as a writer. If you have a story that you want to tell the world, then tell it. It shouldn’t matter if people love it or hate; you shared your story, and that’s what matters.

“Was I bitter? Absolutely. Hurt? You bet your sweet ass I was hurt. Who doesn’t feel a part of their heart break at rejection. You ask yourself every question you can think of, what, why, how come, and then your sadness turns to anger. That’s my favorite part. It drives me, feeds me, and makes one hell of a story.” Jennifer Salaiz

Tag: writers

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