Submissions Open!
For our Tarot Prompt Zine
During the month of November we drew a Tarot card every day and created a prompt based on that card. Now we're inviting you to send in your three best responses to those prompts for possible inclusion in a saddle-stitched publication we're thinking of as a high-class zine. Find a selection of prompts below. Responses should be in the 750 - 1200 word range. Submissions are due by December 31st, so it's not too late to go back and revise or even discover the prompts for the first time! Click the button below to be taken to the form. (Please note this is a Google Form and you will be prompted for an email address.)
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Queen of Wands
Write about a time when you were the coolest, most exciting person in the room. What were the physical details of the setting? Who else was there? What was the conversation about? Were you aware of your coolness at the time? Temperance
Remember a time when you lost your temper. Rewrite the scene as if you were a bystander who didn't know the situation. Do you look unreasonable? Self-righteous? Dangerous? |
Knight of Cups
Find a mundane text thread on your phone. Now rewrite it, infusing every line with overblown emotion. Pretend you're writing the script for a soap opera. The Magician
Describe a character in the midst of divine inspiration. It could be an artist, a writer, a musician, or even a street preacher. Describe their process. What is their environment? What is their physicality? What tools do they use? Can you capture the spark that animates them as they work their magic? |
Six of Cups
Remember a friend from childhood that you haven't thought about for a long time. Describe the way they talked, what they looked like, what connected the two of you. Include the last time you spoke with them. Five of Swords
Write about a time somebody lied to you. How did it make you feel? What was the lie about? Did you know they were lying, or did it take you a while to figure it out? Now think about the person who lied. Do they do this all the time? Are these white lies or more insidious ones? |
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Seven of Swords
Remember a time in your life when you failed to take the high road. When you were greedy, or sneaky, or self-serving. Now write a dialogue between the metaphorical angel and devil on your shoulders. How did you justify your action? What was your conscience telling you at the time? Did you think about how your actions might affect the others involved? Wheel of Fortune
Poem: Write down five moments of the past year that have been good. Then write down five moments that have been bad. Alternate the moments so you have a good following a bad, and vice versa. Be creative. What's the best way to combine these? What threads emerge? Now rewrite the whole thing so the ideas flow more poetically. |
The Empress
Remember or imagine a scene of nature. It can be a garden, a forest, a national park. In two or three paragraphs, describe it in full detail. The Fool
Think of the stupidest possible title for a story or poem. Now attempt to write the story or poem with that title. Queen of Cups
Write a letter to someone who gave you understanding when you really needed it. Someone who didn't judge and listened when you spoke. It could be a teacher, a relative, a friend. Relate the details of the situation back to them, telling them how you really felt at the time. |
Five of Wands
Spend twenty minutes describing a terrible, horrible, very bad, no-good day. Everything goes wrong, from your alarm failing to go off to the fact that you forgot to buy coffee filters to missing your bus. Give your protagonist a clear goal they're trying to accomplish, even if it's only getting to work. Ace of Cups
Think about someone in your life that you don't know well but would like to know better. Spend twenty minutes writing a description of them getting a cup of coffee at their local coffee shop. What do they order? Do they make chit-chat? What are they thinking as they wait? Feel free to change the names to protect the innocent! |
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The Hermit
Pretend you have been gone from your current life for a very long time. Maybe you're on an island, maybe you're on a mountaintop. Now write a letter to someone important to you, telling them why you left, what you miss, what you've learned. |
Two of Wands
Remember or imagine the best boss you've ever had. Now pretend that person is going over your file with someone else, discussing your strengths and weaknesses. Write a dialogue. What do they say? Do they joke about you? Have they ever thought about firing you? Promoting you? |
Justice
Create a character who's made a poor decision in the past. Now it's ten years later, and that character is confronted with the results of that decision. Write this confrontation in scene form. Who is affected? What's the setting? What are the current circumstances of the people involved? |
Find the full list of prompts on Facebook or Instagram @hocusreadings
