Weekly NaNo Q&A

Today's Guest: Corrine Kenner

Posted by Tavia Stewart on 2006/11/4 9:11:46 (6185 reads)

Q: Corrine, as a mystic, you are writing your novel using only tarot cards to guide you. Could you tell us more about the psychic method for novel writing?

Most people think of tarot cards as a fortune-telling device, but they’re also an excellent tool for writing and creative thinking.There are 78 cards in a tarot deck, and every card is packed with archetypal images and mythic symbols.

The names alone will trigger your imagination: the first three cards, for example, are the Fool, the Magician, and the High Priestess.

In theory, each card in the tarot deck represents a separate stage in the journey of life. In fact, tarot readers often refer to the “Fool’s Journey” in the cards — which is a lot like the Hero’s Journey that some writers use to frame their stories.

At its most basic, however, the tarot is simply a practical way to build a novel from the ground up.

If you need a setting for your story, pull a card: the deck is stacked with images of deserts, gardens, mountains, cities, farms, and village squares.

If you need a hero or a heroine, you can take your pick of protagonists, antagonists, and a full cast of supporting characters. The Chariot card, for example, depicts a warrior headed confidently into battle. The lady in the Strength card tames a lion, while the goddess of Justice balances her scales and brandishes a double-edged sword.

If you need help describing your characters, you’ll have no trouble visualizing them once they’re laid out in front of you. You’ll find men, women, and children — old and young, rich and poor, from every walk of life. Picture the King of Coins, for example: a wealthy investor, fat with his good fortune, firmly planted on an oversized throne. Flip to the Ten of Wands, and you'll see an overworked laborer, struggling to carry an unbalanced load. In the Three of Cups, three young women drink and dance, while in the Six of Swords, a boatman ferries his passengers to a new life in a distant land.

With all of your cards on the table, it’s easy to invent dialogue: simply imagine all of those figures talking to each other.

If you’d like an easy way to develop a storyline, throw a few cards to represent the past, present, and future, or the beginning, middle, and end of your tale. If you need an unexpected plot twist, just shuffle, and you’ll find conflict and surprises in every turn of the cards. The deck is filled with images of armed combatants, blindfolded decision-makers, and passionate midnight encounters.

It’s also fun to read the cards for your characters. You can lay out a simple spread to determine what happened to them in the past — or to decipher what’s going on in their fictional subconscious minds.

And if you want to kill off any of your characters, you can always deal them the Death card.

Corrine Kenner is a certified tarot master and the author of several books, including Tall Dark Stranger: Tarot for Love and Romance, Tarot Journaling, The Epicurean Tarot, Crystals for Beginners, Strange But True, and the forthcoming Guide to Fortune Telling. Corrine has lived in Brazil and Los Angeles, where she earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from California State University. She now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and three daughters. Visit her website at www.corrinekenner.com