Tarot Card Stories

[rowyn]

When I was doing readings a few weeks ago from shatterstripes' Tarot of the Silicon Dawn, one of the things I enjoyed most was taking three different cards and then synthesizing some kind of narrative from them. It was a bit like making up a little story around the cards and the question.

So I thought it'd be a fun writing exercise to do tarot-card-inspired stories, and I am soliciting prompts for them.

Here's the format. You provide:

* A question/problem/situation. This will form the conflict for the story. I'm writing stories this time and not giving advice, so no guarantee that the conflict will be resolved in a helpful manner. }:)

If you want, you may also provide:

* A character: if you want to describe a character that's involved in the story, I'll use them for the protagonist/antagonist (your choice). Please only pick your own characters (or mine, if you like) -- no fanfic unless one of us holds the copyright.

* One to three tarot cards: if you want to pick your own tarot cards, I'll use them. Otherwise, I'll draw at random until I have three.

The Tarot of the Silicon Dawn is a not-safe-for-work deck; the stories I write are not going to be more than R-rated, but if you'd like a G-rated story or want to avoid certain themes, feel free to specify as much and I shall oblige. I'll post the stories in separate entries as I write them, and leave a comment on your prompt with a link to the story when it's up. The stories will be short, around the length of the word-of-the-indefinite-time-period stories I did a few years ago.

Comments

How fun!

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I find someone has made unauthorized clones of me.

I think this would be a great piece to write firs person POV, and I look forward to hearing what Tarot cards you draw.

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

Neat exercise!

How about: a person with no extraordinary qualities (not a great warrior, not a powerful mage, not a member of a royal family) has just been captured by the minions of The Evil Overlord(tm). No one else was captured and nothing else was taken from this person's village. Why?

Choose any three tarot cards you like; I have no preferences.

Thanks! :)

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

All right, here's one: How do you get rid of recurring nightmares?

(I got here through wyld_dandelyon's plug. I wanted to mention this prompt call on Twitter; do you have an account there I could/should mention?)

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

At about the same time you first posted about your Tarot deck, another friend on my flist posted a Tarot project of her own - write an original story for one randomly selected card each week. Just a few weeks in however she was stumped* by the World*. Since she didn't have any prompt other than the card, I will leave you with that. Here is her post with an image of her card and it's meaning: http://pennin-ink.livejournal.com/33508.html.


*I mean, it's the world. The whole world. How can you not find anything to write about in the whole world? But since I can't write period I suppose I shouldn't critique ;-)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

A young man/woman recently graduated, employed, having found a place of residence, now in search of a companion, possibly a pet or a Significant Other!

*fishes out the Tarot of the Cat People*

The Empress (right side up)
The King of Pentacles, reversed (7th picture in the link)
The Three of Cups, reversed (2nd picture in the link)

I picture the reversed cards being either mistakes made by the character or antagonists who complicate the character's life. };)

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

Not a prompt, but I thought this book looked interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Writers-Corrine-Kenner/dp/0738714577