Book Review Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner

Corrine Kenner, in her introduction to Tarot for Writers, says that "[T]his book can serve as a complete course in fiction writing, as well as a comprehensive reference for writers who are just becoming familiar with a Tarot deck." It is a tall order to fulfill. So does Tarot for Writers deliver on this promise?

The answer is a resounding yes, provided that a person can overcome the greatest obstacle that any writer faces, which is the failure to actually get any writing done.

The idea for this book came out of the 2006 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). For those who have not experienced NaNoWriMo, imagine attempting to hack out fifty thousand words of a rough draft (a short novel) in the space of thirty days. Those people who have participated in NaNoWriMo (an annual event in November) do not have to imagine it; they have lived it.

NaNoWriMo was conceived to help aspiring novelists to get an entire rough draft down on paper (or pixels). The goal is not to write a ready to be published novel; it is just to get an initial rough draft done. Besides offering a website, a forum to discuss the writing process (or to waste time not writing) and organize writing parties, the NaNoWriMo assembles pep talks and articles to help spark one's creativity, and hopefully spur one on to completing that initial rough draft. A surprising number of NaNoWriMo participants actually succeed at that task; some have even gone on to revise and publish their NaNoWriMo novels.

Corrine Kenner, in 2006, wrote an article for the NaNoWriMo discussing how the Tarot can be used to spark ideas to write about. Tarot for Writers is a vastly expanded version of that original idea.

One of the big hurdles for writers is the blank page. It stares back at you from across the abyss, mocking you with its cold white eyes. This monster can be killed with a pen, but you have to start writing (and continue to do so) in order to slay it.

Tarot for Writers is filled with writing prompts. Organized by card, they are short phrases designed to get you thinking (and hopefully writing). For instance, if you picked the Fool card of the Major Arcana, you could write about "the contents of a purse" or "a rebel who gets his wish."

Kenner also gives ideas about the symbols that illustrate the cards, connections of the cards to literary archetypes, and how the cards might relate to one's writing practice. She also talks about the similarities between various Tarot spreads and story plots.

While this book is designed to help a writer with no knowledge of Tarot to use it in their writing process, I found this book thought provoking even with years of Tarot reading experience. It has been my personal experience that doing Tarot readings is much like telling stories. This book might prove to be as useful to occultists and Tarot card readers as it is to writers,

The only way that this book will fail to deliver in its promise of being a complete course on fiction writing is if the writer does not do any of the work. Like much else in life, having access to the ideas is not enough if you do not roll up your sleeves and do the necessary work. This book has several writing exercise, besides the prompts, to help develop one's skill as a writer.

Tarot for Writers (Corrine Kenner, Llewellyn Publications) gets five of five stars. Both writers of fiction and students of Tarot will find it useful.