The Tarot Tent: a virtual summer camp for writers

Join me next week to unlock your story through tarot...

Next week is a special week here at The Shuffle! Every week day, I’ll be dropping a new tarot-informed writing workshop… find out more about what to expect below!

And don’t forget to subscribe to get the pre-recorded video series and all the exclusive bonus content straight to your inbox!

For as long as I have been a writer, I have used art and images to spark the stories I tell. At age ten, I entered - and won - a competition held by a local art museum. The Writers’ Eyes prompted young writers to write a piece inspired by a work of art on display. I chose an obscure Parisian scene, and the rest is my personal history.

It was my first paid writing gig, and I’ve been doing the job in some way, shape, or form ever since.

In my teen and college years, photographs, dreams, album covers and fan-art ignited my imagination. I wrote incessantly: poems, plays, short stories, fan fiction, journal entries spilled over from a tap of visual inspiration. I went on to study the symbolic power of images and objects on stage for my Masters’ degree in London, and even once I started my first “desk-job” as a listicle-machine, I was most compelled by stories with visual leads: striking travel photos, beautiful designs, even relatable memes became the scaffolding off which my writing hung.

All of this to say that while the tarot came into my life by surprise, it managed to fit into my creative practice seamlessly: here was another opportunity to transform images into words. To sweeten the deal, the tarot offered the added benefit of having its own story logic built in.

Writing with the tarot as my go-to tool changed my life. I’m a published author, full-time freelance writer, and I’ve helped hundreds of writers get inspired by the tarot in their own work. My clients have produced plays at fringe festivals, published novels, memoirs and poetry collections, won agent representation, and of course, started Substacks.

Last October, to support writers preparing for National Novel Writing Month, I hosted a 4-part workshop series introducing methods for using the tarot in your writing practice. We explored using tarot to craft deep and compelling characters, plot out the action of your story, and overcome writers block. Then we put our learnings in to practice by writing tarot-inspired ghost stories.

Next week, I’m unlocking those recordings from my archives and bringing them to Substack for the first time (alongside some exclusive new introductions and bonus material!) for THE TAROT TENT, a five-day virtual summer camp for writers who want to awaken some magic in your practice. All you need to do is make sure you’re subscribed to THE SHUFFLE.

Recordings will be available to watch for FREE for the first 24 hours, and then they’ll be exclusively available, along with some other bonuses like bespoke workbooks, writing prompts, and community discussion opportunities, to full-access members of THE SHUFFLE.

Here’s what to expect:

Note: all material is pre-recorded; there is no live component to THE TAROT TENT.

Full-access subscribers will be invited to book a complimentary mini 1:1 session with me to help put the tips and tricks shared in the tent to practice in your own work.

🔮 MONDAY 15 July: Tarot for Writers - An Introduction to Using the Tarot as a Writing Tool

In this free introductory masterclass, we'll cover the basics of how Tarot can be used as a writing tool, including:

• What makes tarot a brilliant storytelling tool

• How to start using tarot in your writing today, even if you've never touched a tarot deck before

• How to read a tarot spread like a writer

• What tarot decks and tools I recommend for writers

🧙‍♀️ TUESDAY 16 July: Develop Compelling Characters with the Tarot

I'll walk you through how to use the tarot as a character development tool. Through discussion and writing exercises we'll cover:

• How the tarot can help you create compelling characters

• How to read a tarot spread for your characters

• How to have a conversation with your characters via the tarot

• How to use tarot cards to explore the relationships between your characters

🧚‍♀️ WEDNESDAY 17 July: Outline Your Novel with the Tarot

I'll walk you through how to use the tarot to plot out your novel or memoir. Through discussion and writing exercises we'll cover:

• Three methods of plotting your whole novel using the tarot

• How to outline specific scenes and/or arcs with the tarot

• How to solve plot holes with the tarot

🪄 THURSDAY 18 July: Dissolve Writers' Block with the Tarot

I'll walk you through how the tarot can help you confront and dissolve your writers' block. Through discussion and writing exercises we'll cover:

• How to generate ideas with the tarot when you're stuck

• How to use tarot to reconnect with the core elements of your story when you've lost the plot

• How to use the tarot as a creative self-care tool while navigating block

👻 FRIDAY 19 July: 78 Degrees of Spooky: Write a Ghost Story with the Tarot

In this generative campfire-tale-themed workshop, you're going to write a ghost story using the tarot.

Following a brief discussion about how the tarot can help us generate stories, I'll give you a series of tarot-informed prompts and invite you to outline your story. You'll then get some focused writing time to develop your idea into a story.

So, pack your bags, your s’mores gear, and of course, your tarot decks. We’re going camping, writers, and we’re coming back inspired.

And hey… while you’re at it, why not invite a friend to come along with you?