Tarot for Writers

by Corrine Kenner

Paperback, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

133.32424024808

Genres

General Nonfiction

Religion & Spirituality

Nonfiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Llewellyn Publications (2009), Edition: Illustrated, 384 pages

Description

Once reserved for mystics and seers, the tarot is one of the best tools for boosting your creativity and shifting your imagination into high gear. Famous authors such as John Steinbeck and Stephen King have used the tarot deck to tap into deep wells of inspiration, and you can enliven your own writing the same way--whether you craft short stories, novels, poetry, nonfiction, or even business proposals. This book on reading tarot cards and applying them to your writing will guide you through each stage of the creative process, from fleshing out a premise to promoting a finished work. Enhance your storytelling technique through over 500 enjoyable writing prompts, exploratory games for groups and individuals, tarot journaling, and other idea-stimulating activities that call upon the archetypal imagery and multi-layered symbolism in the tarot. Infuse flair and originality into your work as you learn to: Interpret symbols, myths, and learn to read all seventy-eight cards in the tarot card deck Use classic tarot layouts and spreads to structure your story Brainstorm story ideas and develop dialogue and plot Create detailed settings, powerful scenes, and dynamic characters Overcome writer's block and breathe new life into existing projects As a writer, you hold the power of creation in your hands. By exploring the tarot and incorporating it into your writing practice, you will set your creative potential soaring to new heights.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Silvernfire

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It's a great idea: introduce tarot cards as brainstorming tools for writers, suggest spreads for creating plots and characters, then stand back and let the writing flow. But as the book itself turned out, there's a fair amount of emphasis on mysticism and

divination. Maybe John Steinbeck and Stephen King used tarot cards to help their writing, as the book cover claims, but I have a hard time envisioning either of them cleaning, centering, grounding, and shielding themselves per the instructions in Chapter Two. I also disagree with the author on several meanings and associations with the cards, but that kind of stuff often just depends on where you learned your definitions originally, and other readers may have no problems with the author's whatsoever.

I think several of the spreads show lots of potential. I tried designing a character with the Zodiac Spread and was happily surprised with how easily I came up with the outline of a viable person. I look forward to playing with that spread some more, plus spreads for the Hero's Journey, Freytag's Pyramid, and other spreads meant to help with developing characters (major and minor), plot, scenery, or overcoming writer's block.

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LibraryThing member Kellswitch

I am a bit mixed on this book, on one hand I disagreed with a lot of her interpretations of the card but on the other I am far enough along in my understanding of the tarot that this didn't really throw me and I was able to use what I already knew instead. I did find many of the exercises for

creating characters and scenes and such to be interesting and helpful and rather entertaining to use. This seems to be either for an experienced writer or an extremely casual writer though, as the suggestions were pretty slight and low on detail with creation more the focus vs. HOW to write. I found it entertaining and a useful tool that I will have fun playing with.

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LibraryThing member selfcallednowhere

I used this book for NaNoWriMo in 2013 and it gave me a lot of good ideas. I'm just learning tarot and I'd never thought of using it as a writing aid before I got this book, but it was very thought-provoking and helpful.

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