Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I’m delighted to be joined by Maud Wood – author of Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock, which is out today from Angry Robot! It sounds like an absolutely fascinating novel, but something else that sounds fascinating is Maud’s approach to crafting stories. In this guest post Maud takes us through her use of tarot cards as a writing tool, something I’d never considered before…but which I think makes a lot of sense! Whether you’re a writer yourself or simply interested in what goes into the work of writing a novel, this is a really interesting article.
Maud Woolf: When I was seventeen I changed schools and immediately made a name for myself by breaking an ankle at sports day. Not as the result of pushing myself too hard athletically; my friends and I were being herded out of a locker room where we were trying to hide from the festivities when I tripped down a small incline. It was a pathetically minor fall but I was wearing high heels and the result was a corkscrew fracture (which was just as fun as it sounds). I spent a lot of time sitting around feeling sorry for myself after that, bed bound and drugged to the gills. Finally I consoled myself with retail therapy, which is how I ended up ordering my first ever tarot deck.
Before this I wouldn’t have considered myself the spiritual type. I turned my nose up at astrology and while I like shiny rocks as much as anyone, I never believed in the healing power of crystals. But there was something about a tarot deck that appealed to my writer’s brain and by the time I threw away my crutches I could tell you the meaning of every card with only a minimum of Google checking. I did readings for friends and family and while I didn’t (and still don’t) believe they were endowed with magical properties, I came to treat them as very powerful in their own right. We see narratives about our lives played out in the cards. Reading the cards is an act of storytelling.
This is most evident in the major arcana, which when examined from first to last, is a kind of epic quest. We start at card zero, the fool setting out onto a journey into the unknown. We meet various characters (sorcerers and rulers) before stumbling into romance (the lovers), plot twists (the wheel of fortune), evil temptations (the devil), disaster (the tower) and ultimately, judgement. As an epilogue we have the final card; the world itself, which encapsulates everything that came before and promises a future after.
This is a simplification of course. Tarot is best known for the twenty-two cards that make up the major arcana, but the deck is seventy-eight cards in total. The minor arcana are similar to a standard deck of cards, with four houses, each with their own royal suite. Every card can be read in a variety of different ways. Like everything in life, the closer you look the more complex things get and it would take another book to get into the nitty gritty of it all.
There are a lot of ways to use the tarot deck creatively but in this article I want to focus on one very specific technique: the classic Celtic spread. This is an ancient way of reading the past, present and future but I’ve found it serves an additional purpose. With a few minor alterations it can be an invaluable tool for the blocked writer when it comes to exploring and creating characters.
Let me demonstrate with the use of a diagram. In the Celtic Cross spread, the cards are laid out like this:
Each card has a unique meaning based on its placement. What’s important to note is that with a standard reading I shuffle the cards and pick them at random. If I’m at a complete loss I might do that as part of the writing exercise. If there are some things I know for certain then I’ll seek out specific cards.
1. The Character. The first card traditionally represents the questioner, the person consulting the deck. In this case I call it the character card and it represents the core element of who they are. It doesn’t have to fit perfectly. For example, my character may not have a long white beard and a lantern but if they’re defined by being a lonely outsider then I might use The Hermit to stand in for them.
2. The Challenge. This card, laid over the protagonist represents the primary obstacle they face. For a traditional reading this card represents the problem that brought the questioner to consult the deck in the first place. Similarly, for me this is the inciting problem that disrupts the status quo and sets the story going. Dorothy’s house is picked up by a tornado and she’s lost far from home. Poirot’s holiday is interrupted by the appearance of a body. Charlie has to survive the chocolate factory tour without suffering some horrific injury and so on.
3. The Hidden Motivation. Sometimes referred to as the subconscious influence or the root of the matter, this card represents the motivation that my character may not even be aware of. Do they want bloody revenge or do they really need to absolve their own guilt? Are they really in love or are they just horribly lonely?
4. The Past. In a tarot reading this represents the recent past that might influence the situation. I use this as a useful way of fleshing out backstory. Rather than doing a step by step character history I find it’s useful to think of one defining image or incident.
5. The Motivation. See card three. This is the ‘I want’ song from a Disney movie. This is why my character thinks they want to set out on a quest/uncover the mystery/help rescue the town.
6. The Future. Just to make things confusing, this is not the card that predicts your fortune in a normal reading. It simply tells you what the expected outcome will be if things continue on the path laid out. I like to think of this as a kind of threat. If your character doesn’t step up or make a change then this is the fate they’re doomed to. It doesn’t have to be death; sometimes it can just be the dreary unbroken status quo stretching out ahead of them. If Luke Skywalker decides to stay home then it’s the eternal rule of the Empire. Sometimes they dread it, sometimes they might pessimistically expect it, but it’s crucial they should cringe at the thought of accepting it!
7. The Approach. Here’s where things start to get plotty. I’ve fleshed out the character, now it’s time to think about what part they play in the story. The seventh card is where things get a bit murkier. There are a few different interpretations floating around about what this card represents in a reading; whether it’s your fears, your emotions or your outlook. From a writing perspective I like to think of it as what role my character plays in the story. Do they stumble blindly into the events? Are they laser focused on the end goal? Are they reluctantly forced into a role they resent?
8. The Environment. This card traditionally represents the other people involved in the situation or conflict that the questioner is asking about. For me, it represents how the rest of the world reacts to the protagonist. Is it them vs everyone else? Are they taken seriously? Note this card doesn’t have to represent the whole supporting cast. If I’m writing a romance then sometimes this card represents the love interest and their relationship.
9. Hopes and Fears. While on the surface this card plays a similar role to the motivation cards, I like to think of it less of a character study and more of an inspiration for plot events. What is the best and worst thing that could happen to this character? What would be their lowest low or their highest high? While the traditional spread calls for just one card, I like to use two here so I don’t have to choose. I might not give them their hearts desire or throw them down in the pit but I want to have those options locked and loaded, ready to go if the plot calls for it.
10. The Outcome. The culmination of the process, this is the card that tells you what lies in wait. I see this as representing the end of the journey for our character. Where do I want them to end up? What lesson do I want them to have learnt and how have they changed? Using this technique can also help me work out plot problems. I don’t need to know exactly what happens but I know where I want my character to be and I can work backwards from there.
I’ll be honest; the main reason I like this technique is because writing everything down or thinking it all over can end up being more confusing than helpful. I have a bad habit of going in circles or writing notes so illegible and covered in doodles that it looks more like the ravings of a madman rather than a clear plot. In comparison, tarot cards with their symbols and bright colours are a release valve for my brain. Just shuffling through the deck, the story comes alive in my head and I can think things through in a more free and abstract way rather than losing myself in word choice and detail. While I like using the structure of a traditional reading, it can be just as rewarding to play around with a deck free-form.
When I came to writing my first novel, I used tarot as both inspiration and as a way of structuring the story. I knew my protagonist would be the last clone of a series, created to kill her predecessors. The thirteenth card in the major arcana was death. Working backwards from that I decided each chapter should be inspired by a different card. Thirteen clones, thirteen chapters, thirteen cards; having this clear skeleton in place made everything else easy and the words came faster than anything I’ve ever written before.
My next book isn’t tarot themed but I haven’t put my deck away. Every time I get stuck and find myself banging my head against the wall or rewriting the same sentence over again and again, I know it’s time to close the laptop, clear my head and start shuffling the cards.
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A washed up star creates a clone tasked with eliminating other clones of herself; a whip-smart and thrilling sci-fi read that’s perfect for fans of Orphan Black, Killing Eve and Keeping it Real by Justina Robson.
Set in a world of the near future, the celebrity elite have access to a technology that allows them to make perfect copies of themselves, known as Portraits. These Portraits exist to fulfil all the various duties that come as the price of fame.
Our protagonist is the thirteenth copy made of the actress known as Lulabelle Rock. Her purpose is very to track down and eliminate her predecessors.
While initially easy, her task is made difficult by the labyrinthine confusion of Bubble City and the unfortunate stirrings of a developing conscience. When she makes the mistake of falling in love with one of her targets, the would-be assassin faces the ultimate question; when you don’t want to kill yourself, what’s the alternative?
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Maud Woolf is a Scottish speculative writer with a particular focus on horror and science fiction. While completing an MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, her unpublished novel was shortlisted for the North Lit Agency Prize. Her work has appeared in a variety of online magazines, including Metaphorosis Magazine where her short story ‘The Stranding’ was selected to appear in the Best of Metaphorosis 2020.
Find out more at Maud’s website, or follow her on Twitter.
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Thanks so much to Maud for this fascinating guest post – that was so interesting! I love reading about authors’ individual approaches to writing, and this was definitely a new one for me, but it’s such a clever idea. And now I definitely need to read Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock, which I have to say sounds amazing!
Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock is out now from Angry Robot – check out the links below to order* your copy:
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This is hands down one of the best articles I’ve come across in a while.