Fiction Writing Modes

Use Fellowship of Fools and the Tarot to generate story prompts, develop your stories and characters and to assist with writer’s block.

“The Tarot is a machine for constructing stories.”

–Italo Calvino

Tarot as a Tool for Writers

The Muse Spread Mode

This gameplay Mode uses the Magick Mod or the Intentional Mod.

Use the Tarot and FoF to help with your writer’s block.

This spread is great for prewriting and working through writer’s block, whether that comes in the beginning, middle or end of your project. Find your source of inspiration, creative blocks, suggestions on how to channel your inspiration and the potential outcomes of your creative project.

1. Choose which deck(s) of FoF you will be using, then which Mod you will be using.
2. Shuffle and then draw five cards with the idea that they provide some perspective on the questions above about your creativity.
3. Write down the card sequence prompts above and the cards dealt with the accompanying upright Topic or Situation Prompts according to your chosen Mod. If using the Intentional Mod, choose the orientation and upright prompts for your drawn cards as your read and interpret the spread.
4. (Optional) For more inspiration on reading the cards to inspire your writing, we recommend this numerology source and this Tarot resource.
5. Write about each card and its corresponding question. Consider the prompts on the cards and how they relate to the story prompt it was supposed to help develop.

Story Prompt Mode

This gameplay mode can be played with either the Signifier Mod, Magick Mod or the Intentional Mod

Use FoF as a writing tool to generate story prompts.

1. Decide which FoF deck(s) and which Mod you will be playing with.
2. Draw 1-2 Situation Cards according to the Mod chosen, two for a more complex situation.
3. Draw Topic Cards according the Mod chosen and the number(s) indicated next to the Situation Prompt(s) you chose.
4. (Optional) For more inspiration on reading the cards to inspire your writing, we recommend this numerology source and this Tarot resource.
5. Write about these prompts for 15-30 minutes.

Story Development Mode

This gameplay Mode uses the Magick Mod or the Intentional Mod.

Use the Tarot and FoF to further develop a story’s narrative.

Leading Tarot authority and novelist Rachel Pollack published an anthology of Tarot Tales (co-edited with Caitlin Mathews) and more recently produced a collection of Tarot stories, The Tarot of Perfection. In her Introduction, she explains an exercise in “Tarot for Writers” that she developed for her students in a college course at Goddard College in Vermont.

1. Choose which deck(s) of FoF you will be using, then which Mod you will be using.

2. Shuffle and then draw seven cards in sequence with the idea that they will answer the following questions about the characters, themes, and plot development of the story:

• Who is my character?
• What situation does he/she/they face?
• What is the outer motivation?
• What is hidden?
• What opposes him/her/them?
• What helps?
• What is at risk?

3. Write down the card sequence prompts above and the cards dealt with the accompanying upright Topic or Situation Prompts according to your chosen Mod.

4. Write about each card and its corresponding question. Consider the prompts on the cards and how they relate to the story prompt it was supposed to help develop.

5. (Optional) For more inspiration on reading the cards to inspire your writing, we recommend this numerology source and this Tarot resource.

Character Development Spread Mode:

This gameplay Mode uses the Magick Mod or the Intentional Mod.

This Spread is helpful for developing your fictional character in relation to the story’s conflict and plot. It can also help with finding their Signifier Card.

1. Choose which deck(s) of FoF you would like to use and what Mod.
2. Shuffle and draw 7 cards, then arrange them on a table like the spread in the photo above.
3. Write down the card sequence prompts above and the cards dealt with the accompanying upright Topic or Situation Prompts according to your chosen Mod. If using the Intentional Mod, choose the orientation and upright prompts for your drawn cards as your read and interpret the spread.
4. Write about each card and its corresponding question. For more inspiration on reading the cards to inspire your writing, we recommend this numerology source and this Tarot resource.
5. Repeat for as many characters as you wish.

Explore other Character Development Modes: