So. I used to tell fortunes. Sort of. Very seldom for others, usually for myself. I used tarot cards. And I once tried Viking runes. I never got an intuitive feel for them like I did the tarot. I used tarot cards in two of my books–one published, one not. I really should get SHADOW DANCE published one of these days. I thought it was a cool book, but the first in a trilogy. I need to finish the other two. Some day. The other was a little witchling who read the tarot cards in Jackson Square in New Orleans and she was claimed by a gargoyle. THE SOUND OF SILENCE is also a pretty cool book, even if I say so myself. Anyway, I found this message from the Universe rather interesting…

Truth be told, Silver, no matter how logical or intuitive you are, neither of these virtues, no matter how greatly you were endowed, will ever enable you to peer into the future and reasonably predict the twists and turns your life may take, nor the circumstances, fortunes, and friends that might someday be your own. It is, in fact, impossible.

That’s what imagination is for.

Thoughts become things,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

So, Silver, how’s the new year looking?

As you know, I tend to relate these bits of wisdom to writing, and today is no different. We’ve discussed process several times. I’m also going to compare this to something I learned about ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). A psychologist explained things like this: Some people are farmers. Some people are hunters. Farmers plan. They prepare the land, plant the crops, watch them grow, harvest them, and sell or use the products. Hunters go out, often on their own, and they have to be hyper-alert and vigilant, lest they miss their prey or become the hunted instead. She mentioned that Americans seemed to have a higher incidence of ADD and she equated that with the type of personalities who settled this country. Realize, this was 30+ years ago, but the analogy made a lot of sense to me at the time.

Some people are plotters (the farmers of the writing process). They go about planning a book methodically with outlines and character bibles and follow the logical plot they created. Me? I can’t. My brain isn’t wired that way. I’m mostly a pantser (the hunters), ie. I write by the seat of my pants, on the fly, jotting down whatever crazy pops into my head. I say mostly because I’m also a puzzler.

When I start writing a book, if you delve deep enough into my brain, you’d see all the straight-edge puzzle pieces fitted together in a natural framework. That’s the world and the major characters, even if I know little more than a name and/or a description of those characters. Then, over on that far side of the table, there are pieces fitted together with partial pictures showing. Those are scenes–some full-blown, others just the bare minimum. And sometimes those clumps of puzzle pieces don’t fit anywhere in the current framework. But, they will fit somewhere. Eventually.

Yes, my brain should probably be featured on one of those hoarder reality shows. The thing is, this is what works for me. And the Universe is right. Some people can peer into the future and predict their story. Their logic and intiutive feel for things doesn’t lead them astray. Not me. Nope. I rely totally on my imagination to provide those twists and turns, new “friends”, the circumstances and the fortunes. And that’s okay. 

Writers, where do you fall on the “spectrum?” And how’s your year ahead looking? Readers, have you ever had your fortune told? Did it come true?