How I Plan My Stories

There are two ways I go about planning my stories. I’m talking long-term and short-term. The most important part is, that everything is placed on the page, and that I can use the short term space well.

Short-Term: The Corkboard

Above is my small, yet effective corkboard. With these post-its, I write down short ideas, and brainstorm on the chain of events. I keep this in the office, where I can stop and look at it.

I also use an oracle deck, as you can see. This is the Goddesses and Sirens by Stacey DeMarco, illustrated by Jimmy Manton. When I originally bought this deck, I interviewed it and it told me my stories were fit to work with it (it’s a tarot thing, as you’ll see below).

Long-Term: My 2021 Planner

I have seen other authors use and recommend planners, to track word count and monthly goals. This has been on a two-month-long break, and so, with the tarot, I’m bringing it back into play. This is simply an A4 notepad with blue ruled lines.

I’ve been thinking lately about working with tarot to plan more stories, and I was listening to the Biddy Tarot podcast (Spotify link) tonight. She had an episode where she and a guest discussed using the tarot for writing. It inspired me, and so here I am, letting the cards guide me through each scene and chapter.

I have various decks, but tonight I’m using the Cat Tarot (very niche, yeah? I like it a lot). I won’t get into the specifics, but I will consider teaching how to use the tarot in the planning process.