How to Never Run Out of Story Ideas, No Matter What Genre of Fiction You Write
If you are a writer of stories, whether they be romance, drama, or science fiction, there is one trick you can use to never run out of story ideas or lines.
Use tarot cards. Any deck that has pictures will do. Even if you have no idea how to read tarot cards. Let me explain.
First you’ll need a deck of tarot cards, any old deck as long as they have pictures on them. For this article, I will show you on the classic Rider-Waite deck, a deck that is available at most book stores or on your favourite online seller.
You can either start a story with the cards, continue a story line with the cards, or smash through a writer’s block with the cards.
For this example, we are going to start a romance novel to sell on Amazon.
We take the deck of cards and shuffle them any which way that feels comfortable. You really want to mix them up, especially if they are new. You don’t have to look at them or put your energy or thoughts into them. There are no tarot police watching. Just mix them up.
Once you feel they are shuffled enough, place the deck face down infront of you. Take any card any way you feel inclined. From the top, bottom, middle, just choose one. This card is where you’ll begin.
For this example, I’ve chosen the Three of Wands.
Look closely at the picture. What do you get from it? What story to you see in the card? What is the card number? What colours are represented? What time of day do you see? What location? How many people? Are there even people?
This is what I have come up with, which might be totally different than what you have come up with; there are no right or wrong interpretations.
This is the third time Joshua wanted to leave his job in Kuwait. He just didn’t know how. As the sun set over the sea of sand, he started to dream of the loves he left behind and how he’s going to get back to them. It turns out his career isn’t the most important thing in his life.
Now I pull a second card and it’s the Five of Swords. Whoa, this card is full of symbolism.
I see a fight that has just ended. There are winners and losers. Even though it’s the five of swords, there are three people. The clouds are angry, a storm perhaps. It’s on a shore of a large body of water. It’s mid-day. Using what I can pull from the card, I continue.
He left in a haste, after the final fight that ended their marriage. He took his pride and left for what he thought was a fresh start. He’ll miss his home in the UK, but he needs to make his mark in his career. What’s the sense of having a marriage if he has no pride as a man?
Next I selected the Page of Swords. I see a young person with a sword. Hmmm… what do I get from that? Right away I conclude ‘cuts like a knife’ or sharp words. A young female, a fiesty ginger. Summer. Fresh. Blues — honesty.
So I continue:
The first person he called was Jessica, the young red-head who he met at work a few months ago. He needed his ego stroked and thought her fresh looks would be intersting to entertain for one last fling before he left. Excitedly, he sent her a text — Hey, it’s me, Josh from work. Let’s meet for a drink or three — lol. Say at 7:30 at the Piggy’s? Even thought he was in great shape and only 43, she quickly texted back that she was flattered but he was to old for her. Ouch.
And so on. Once you have these outlines, let the card symbolism, colours, numbers, and pictures tell the story for you. Now, I’m not a fiction writer, so this is a crude example. But once you have the outline, now you can embelish the story as per your genre.
Here’s another example:
What story could you make if you drew these three cards?
The Devil, Ace of Pentacles, Seven of Cups
A drug addiction, perhaps?
Or someone slips something into the drink?
Getting involved in the occult?
Using magic to control the outcome?
A partner who is an alcoholic?
A partner who is involved in illegal activities?
Another way to use the cards is to just draw one if you are stuck or have a choice of outcomes. This also works for writer’s block.
If you don’t know if she ever meets up with her twin flame again, draw a card. If you have a negative type card, the story will end with no, if you have a positive type card, the story will end with a yes. If the card is more neutral, then the story continues.
The possibilites are endless using this system of fiction writing. And the reason this works is because tarot cards are symbolism of the human condition.
If you want to go even further and deeper with this system of story telling, find a deck of tarot cards that match your genre. There are hundreds upon hundreds of themed cards, just search your genre+tarot cards for suggestions.
Let me know if you think this will work for you or if you’re willing to try something like this. And especially let me know if this worked for you!
