Writing Down The Bones Deck #15

This post is inspired by Denise E Lindquist. I never would have known about this deck of cards if it wasn't for her. So thank you Denise for sharing this lovely deck of cards with all of us on Vocal.

Full disclosure: I have not read Natalie Goldberg's book titled by the same name. I just own her cards.

I also receive a small commission from Amazon if you purchase these cards via the link that I have provided for you. Thank you.

I've been stuck in a writing rut. I have honestly tried everything to get myself out of the funk I have found myself in after losing my fourth child. I tried reading more- when I have time that is. I tried art journaling. I even tried listening to my favourite podcasts about writing and writers block. I mean nothing has been able to get me out of this writers block and depression I find myself in.

I was scrolling Vocal and I came across another post by Denise that featured these cards. And I thought to myself, maybe this is it. SO I bought them. I thought to myself, "Maybe this is what I need". I've been carrying the cards around for about a month- trying to get "in the mood" to write again. I started writing this on my Kindle Scribe today while I was at home and I felt everything just flow. I'm going to try and post every prompt that I work on. I truly love tarot and oracle cards as well as affirmation cards, that is why I clicked so well with these.

SO without further ado- enjoy my attempt at erasing my writer's block with prompt fifteen.

15) Cancer. That word. Write about any single disease you know directly.

The back of the card states this: Sickness is another aspect to include in writing- and often avoided. There are the big diseases like cancer or the smaller things like a hangnail.

I usually like to write from a place of heart. Cancer affects so many of us- but because I write so often about my late grandmother, I decided to go another route.

This is a tricky one but I haven't read many books that discuss autoimmune diseases affecting their characters. Unless it's an informational book that is.

I have two autoimmune disorders: vitiligo, which is a skin disease and Hashimoto's disease, which is a thyroid condition. I take medication for it daily, along with other medications. This makes me susceptible to developing more autoimmune related diseases as my life goes on.

I have written about vitiligo before. Basically, my immune system attacked my skin cells and they lost their pigment in some areas on my arms and legs. I used to be ashamed of it, but now I just tell people straight up what it is. I like to joke that it is kind of like a superpower- because not everyone has it. It makes me unique and I'm quite proud of it.

I struggle having Hashimoto's because I don't look sick but some days I feel like I am. I still feel like I don't fully have a grasp on my health. I'm actually supposed to get my levels checked again this week because things haven't been good. When I was pregnant with my youngest I wasn't on any kind of thyroid medication because they told me it wasn't pregnancy safe. I found out later it was only the first trimester that it wasn't pregnancy safe. I was okay level wise during my pregnancy that's why they didn't prescribe anything for me.

After he was born, something wasn't okay. My anxiety was crazy high. I was taking half a tablet of lorazepam (prescribed) every night at bedtime. Turns out- it was my thyroid. My TSH levels were at 32.8 when the normal range is around 2.0 so something was definitely wrong.

When your thyroid levels are out of whack, it can contribute to depression, anxiety, low energy levels, cold affects you differently, hair loss, memory loss- the list goes on. Now mine went unchecked for so long as my symptoms were chalked up to be just postpartum symptoms.

My levels are high again as per the last check, but I’m definitely afraid of getting other auto-immune diseases such as celiac disease, or diabetes as type 2 happens to run in my family.

Diseases can be scary, but including them in our writing could be interesting as a concept. I’m reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros right now for the first time and the main character Violet is described as sickly as an infant. Her hair fades silver because of illness. It makes stories interesting. You don’t have to go for the big ones like cancer or heart diseases. Just a simple invisible disease is life changing and adds more depth to your characters.

It's like the timing of this prompt is coincidental as I just started reading Fourth Wing last night.

I hope this post inspires someone with their writing journey as I'm definitely feeling inspired myself. ✨️

Chloe Rose Violet 🌹

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Check out the rest of the prompts down below!

Part One: Writing Down The Bones Deck

Part Two: Writing Down The Bones Deck #2

Part Three: Writing Down The Bones Deck #3

Part Four: Writing Down The Bones Deck #4

Part Five: Writing Down The Bones Deck #5

Part Six: Writing Down The Bones Deck #6

Part Seven: Writing Down The Bones Deck #7

Part Eight: Writing Down The Bones Deck #8

Part Nine: Writing Down The Bones Deck #9

Part Ten: Writing Down The Bones Deck #10

Part Eleven: Writing Down The Bones Deck #11

Part Twelve: Writing Down The Bones Deck #12

Part Thirteen: Writing Down The Bones Deck #13

Part Fourteen: Writing Down The Bones Deck #14