How I Build A Character Profile: Using Tarot in my writing pt.2

Hello again. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Last post I broke down my process of using tarot cards to help build my characters’ personalities and motivations individually. That post got long, so I decided to break it up into two parts.

In this one I’ll be discussing how I use the Love Story oracle deck to build the relationship aspect for the characters and how that informs the conflict for the story. As a refresher, here is the character profile spread I use. 

In the last post I used Remi and Irene as examples for the character profile, but when I wrote that book I didn’t have the Love Story oracle deck, so I’m switching characters to ones you haven’t met yet: Khadijah and Shae from my upcoming release Love & Sportsball. 

Here are their profile pulls.

Khadijah

1. Chariot: Moving to a new job. K will be the new athletic trainer for the Cannons, a coveted position & one she’s worked hard for. She’s been the assistant prior. Possibly high school or college, but WNBA is a big step up.
2. 2 of materials: Balancing act of having it all. Have focused on career and let relationships slide because before it was mostly a male dominated field and she had to give it her all. On the outside she wants to be super woman handling any and everything  that comes her way. Slightly a control freak with a strict set of personal rules.
3. 2 of voices: While she has it all together professionally, she’s never quite sure/confident when it comes to dating. In theory she wants the HEA she sees her sister and friend living, but she can’t ever pull the trigger. When things even hint at going wrong she bails out of fear. *what is that fear?*
4. The Fool: To stop being scared. To loosen up in the “must have” qualities and “rules” for relationships. The big one not dating someone she works with. To let go and follow her heart to happiness.
5. Tower: Younger sister is not only married first but expecting her first child. Her closest friends are all moving on to a new stage in life and she’s feeling left out. Always the 5th wheel of sorts. Plus she’s finally gotten a job back in Atlanta. No worries on asking someone to move while she is very fulfilled with her job but the loneliness of her friends canceling hits harder.
6. Queen of Materials: If things don’t work out she’d have to quit. It’s not that she couldn’t work with Shae, but rather it’d be harder. She can’t turn off the caring.
7. 7 of Emotions: K rather run from the possibility of happiness out of fear of making the wrong choice. She puts too much pressure on herself and subsequently partners to be ideal. She can never quite go with the flow when it comes to love.
8. Knight of Emotions: A string of relationships that burned hot and fast in the past. She would jump all in only to be left heartbroken in the end. So she started applying the same seriousness to dating as she did to work but on a bigger extreme how it’s been so long she’s scared of letting go again.
9. The World: K could literally have it all if she got out of her own way. If she can’t get her act together she could lose the woman of her dreams.

With all that in mind for Khadijah, it was time to pull the oracle card to see how that panned out. The question I asked for both of them was:

What is her outlook on relationship and love?

Khadijah’s card was FORGIVENESS
She needs to forgive herself for the mistakes of her past. She’s not the same woman and she shouldn’t hold herself or her future partner to those “sins”. Also understand that relationships are work and not to run the first time things get hard.

Shae

1. Ace of Inspiration: Shae looks on the brightside. Always up to try new experiences, have new adventures. Reveals in the challenges of life. Finds ways to turn a negative into a positive. 
2. Justice: Believes in treating people the way they treat her. She’ll start out cordial but if they take a turn so does she. None of that being the bigger person bs. Never sets out to be intentionally malice but won’t stand to be mistreated. Thinks people should face the consequences of their actions.
3. Knight of Voices: Has follow through when she sets her mind to something. Has the if she believes she can achieve mindset. Encourages other to also go for it.
4. Page of Voices: Shae wants to uncover what makes K tick. Wants to solve the mystery of the woman she’s enamored with.
5. 4 of Inspiration: She wants to prove K wrong. K believes in not dating coworkers, Shae thinks it can work. Also wants to give K the community, love, and HEA K secretly wants.
6. Muse of Emotions: Her heart if it goes wrong. It could blow up in her face. Could have a rippled effect throughout the team. Could shake her belief that everything is worth the chance. Could lose K.
7. Queen of Voices: Can be too out spoken and pushy. She sometimes gets so caught up in the idea she is struck with that she overshadows/ignores objections or other solutions.
8. The Wheel: Being ignored as a child. Shae was a bit scrawny in school and it meant she was often overlooked. *possibly only girl* She had to learn to stand up for herself. Be loud and not let others run all over her.
9. 3 of Inspiration: Can be a road block to progress. While Shae is set in her pursuit is she’s unable to take a step back and reevaluate her approach she might lose K.

Shae’s relationship outlook card: SPARK
​
Once it happens she acts on the instant attraction/connection. Listens to her intuition and believes the universe brought that person to her for a reason.
What I found interesting as I looked back over these to type up this post was Khadijah’s pull revolved around her getting her shit together more than anything so she could then show up and be who she needed to be for Shae. Even with her oracle pull, it was about how she needed to let go of things for herself. Shae, however, already appeared to have her shit together and her main obstacle was Khadijah. Which, honestly is on par with how most of my characters are. 

Because of that, I also did a pull asking what was the core basis of their relationship.

DIFFERENCES

Opposites attract isn’t a bad thing. Each of them have different strengths that can help and support the other. They have to embrace what makes them different and respect those differences so that the path to how they are alike and can work will be clear.

Boy did that fit them to a T! Now, things of course changed while I was constructing the story. Khadijah’s relationship aversion changed a bit from her running to her trying too hard to control how things should go which still didn’t work out in her favor, but it did play into the differences between the two women more. She was a stickler, had checkpoints that she thought needed to be hit at certain times whereas Shae was more go with the flow. Things worked, until they didn’t and she moved on. I fully leaned into that aspect of them being opposites and they had to figure out the best way to compromise so things would work.  

Having the oracle cards gave me the extra layer to their personalities, especially since my stories tend to be character driven. I rarely have a ton of outside plot going on as the focus is on my two folks figuring out each other and themselves to go from single to a couple. 

One other deck I decided to pull from as I was rounding out their personalities was The Personal Power deck. I used it to see what the cards would say about each of them at their core. I was honestly thrown for a loop when they got the same card.

I AM WILD AND FREE

For two people who were supposed to be opposites, how could this be who they both were at the core? It fit for Shae no doubt. She lives her life to the fullest. She didn’t believe in limiting herself out of fear. She goes all in, even with the possibility of failure, she still embraces the experience. But for Khadijah I had to think a bit more for her. 

Then it hit me, she wanted to let go (a little). Khadijah’s case of FOMO in regards to those around her having loving relationships had her wanting to stop overthinking and let her heart and emotions take the reins (within reason). 

So, there you have it. A complete breakdown on how my characters (of recent) start to come together before I begin their book. Again, nothing is set in stone because as a pantser I need the room and freedom for the characters to grow and develop as the story takes shape. While everything may not stay exact, the foundation of who they are typically remains the same. 

Love and Sportsball won’t be out until September, but you can preorder it. If you remember this post after the release, I’d love to get your thoughts on how close you think what I started with ended up in the final product.

Until next time,
~Meka