Monday, October 14, 2013

Research-y Things: The Tarot Edition

Hello all!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Hopefully I'll start blogging regularly again soon, because I have a fun new YA Horror to gush over. But the gushing will have to wait for now. What I would like to talk about today is book research. Some of us have googled some questionable things in the names of our manuscripts, and I'm not saying I've done that, but...

I've totally done that.

Anyway, when I started writing this ghost story, I knew I wanted Tarot to play some sort of role. I'd been really fascinated with it for a while, but had no idea how to read the cards or what the purpose actually was. So, in the name of actually getting the facts correct in my manuscript, I looked up Tarot card meanings while sitting in an airport. And then I bought a book. And then I might've gotten a reading.

All for research, of course.

So Quinn, my main character, has been doing Tarot reading for years. She's quite good at it, and really dismayed when they visit a psychic who only has a very surface-level grasp of the concept. The psychic in my story is a bit of a wonderful troll, though, so she gives everyone an ominous card or two. The cards could definitely be taken as hints/warnings, but since this psychic really doesn't know what she's doing, they could also be taken as someone trying really hard to be a mystic and failing even harder.

It was a lot of fun to figure out who got what and how their cards relate to the story. I figured I'd share them, since I haven't posted in a while and I just bought a Tarot book today to further my research :)

So, without further ado, my characters and their cards:

Quinn: 
My main character gets The Magician, which suits her ridiculously well. This card is all about being resourceful and being a change agent and using what you have to achieve your goals. My dearest Quinn faces quite a few obstacles, and she uses her awesome skills (and her friends' skills) to make the best of each situation.

My favorite line of hers, though, happens when the psychic reveals her Major card.

“When you say it like that I sound like a magical, talented, cocky asshole.”

Cam:
One of Quinn's best friends, and the one who constantly keeps her in check, Cam's Major card is Strength. Cam can be assertive when she needs to be (usually when she's reigning in her friends' sometimes overly dramatic tendencies), but she's got a lot of heart, and is a very calming presence. Cam isn't afraid to tell it like it is, but she's also a huge fan of giving out hugs.

Leo:
Leo gets The Star because he wants to work in TV. Just kidding, he actually gets The Star because it mainly represents hope. Even though Leo gets pretty badly shaken at the beginning of my story, he holds on to the hope that his friends can solve the mysteries surrounding the infamously haunted White Woods. He's there to ground his friends, and pick them up whenever they're feeling down.

Rav:
Rav's card is probably my favorite, because I love foreshadowing :) My master of disaster gets The Moon is this awesomely ambiguous card that can represent uncertainty and deceit. To say more would give a lot of my story away, but I'll just say that his card is scarily accurate, and that he might want to trust his friends a liiiiiiiiitle bit more!

That's all I've got for now! I'll post four more characters and their cards tomorrow :)