Groucho Marx once said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
Although he was joking, he was right about one thing — a book can be your best friend.
He was probably also right about it being too dark inside a dog to read, unless you took a torch with you, but that’s not something that I’d recommend trying at home!
We all love books, and it’s probably the love of a great book that got you writing in the first place, but did you know that books can talk and that you can train your favourite book to answer questions?
This is a little magic trick known as Bibliomancy that wizards have been using for years.
Here is what you do:
• Pick out a book that you love and hold it in your hands
• Close your eyes and ask the book a question
• Open the book at any page that feels right to you and put your finger on the page
• Open your eyes and write down the sentence or paragraph that you are pointing to, or the first words that you notice
• This is the book’s answer to your question
You can use this whenever you get stuck in your writing, to ask for advice or guidance, to generate ideas for stories or scenes, and even just to ask for a first line to get you started.
Because you picked the book and you opened it, no matter what it says, the answer will be useful and appropriate to you.
It’s important to work with a book that you love as books, like dogs, each have their own distinct personality, and some are more obedient than others.
Be patient and with a little training you will soon have a loyal and faithful friend that will help you with your writing.
Just remember to say “Good Book!” and take it for a walk afterwards.
I love this. My tween and teenaged self used to do this with my friends to get answers about our crushes at slumber parties. Could be troubling or hilarious depending on the book you asked your question of.