Day 25
Word count:47,267 words
Word count goal: 50,000 words
Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Encore
Save The Cat: Finale
#vss very short story
Finding herself lost in abstraction, Kara began losing definitions. Sure, she had her beliefs and all the time in the world, but she lost her cat, her shoes and her fingers.
Plotting with Tarot
Here we enter an exciting day in our journey: The whole journey out on the table.
- The Ordinary World: Ace Of Pentacles
- Call to Adventure: King of Cups
- The Refusal: Page of Cups
- Mentor: The Magician reversed
- Crossing The Threshold: Four of Swords reversed
- Tests, Allies and Enemies: High Priestess
- Approach to the Inmost Cave: The Empress reversed
- The Ordeal: Page of Swords
- Reward: The Emperor
- The Road Back: The Tower
- The Resurrection: Seven of Wands
- Return With The Elixir: Knight of Cups
In Mapping the Hero’s Journey With Tarot: 33 Days To Finish Your Book
She outlines Mary K. Greer’s method for finding the quintessence card or theme of your story like this:
- Lay out your arch of the Hero’s Journey. (pictured above)
- Write down the numbers for each card. Use 1 as the value for the Ace.The court cards and the Fool are numberless.
- Add up your cards. If you get a number higher than 22, add those numbers together. For instance, 102 would be 1+0+2 = 3. Your number is one of the cards from the Major Arcana.
Let’s see what our theme card is using this method: 1+1+4+2+3+4+16+7=38>22 so 3+8=11
11 is Justice so my story theme by this method is Justice. 
The Justice Card: alignment and balance; negotiation and truth. Getting exactly what you deserve; reaping what you sowed. I like this meaning from teachmetarot.com
It is a time for you to sit down and think about your lot and what you have said and done. Be honest with yourself first and then be honest with those around you. It is time for you to account for your actions.
This is a great theme for a story about a man who has recently retired and thinks he’s lived a “correct” life only to find he has been deluded. I have a lot to think about.
Ask Your Character
- Is there someone to whom you have something to prove?
- What are your favorite family traditions?
- What topics do you try to avoid in conversation?
Word Of The Day
frisson: n. a moment of intense excitement; a shudder; an emotional thrill
8 Action Verbs:
articulated compiled described explored
invented originated restored trained
Poem prompt
inspired by a prompt from litbridge.com
Have your MC write a love poem to his or her favorite book.
My Service Manuals
As I have stated clearly
Though you cannot seem to hear me
I would never write a poem
A love poem to my favorite tome
Not that I won’t read a book
I’ve got one now, a thick one, look
I’ll tear through the newest Lee Child
Anything not dull or mild
But if you want to know the truth
The books where I can sink a tooth
The work of words that fully attracts
Is a service manual thick with facts
The one most wrinkled and thick with grease
Pages browned with coffee and creased
Covered in phone numbers to parts shops
These books aren’t table props or doorstops
They are the books I read again and again
I turn to them for advice like a friend
My favorite book, I have to say
Is the one on fixing this car today
Awesome Sentence Challenge
Collective nouns:
Collective nouns are a collection or number of people, places or things. An Exaltation of Larks
Example: A growling of monsters.
A suitcase of travelers.
A cavity of candies.
Have fun with it. Where can you use collective nouns in your stories?
Today’s Simple Task
MC recognizes his or her fatal flaw.
Warm-up Exercise
Your MC is being irrational. Set your timer to 15 minutes. Write a scene where your MC acts irrationally.
Recommended Word Crawl
Today feels like a good day for The Self-Care Crawl.
Experience Writing 