Blogger: Rachel Kent
I had a wonderful conversation this week with Lindsay Franklin about her latest book. This book is well on the way to being absolutely amazing. I had a few notes for Lindsay after I read the story, so we were talking them over before she starts her revisions.
Lindsay was sharing with me that she intentionally made the main character in this book an ESTP from the Myers-Briggs personality chart. Her last two main characters were INFPs and we are pretty sure that the majority of fictional characters do end up as INFPs–possibly because many writers are? Lindsay was making sure she didn’t fall into the rut of writing the same main character again and again.
Just in case you are unfamiliar with the Myers-Briggs personality indicator– or if you would like a refresher–here is the link: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
I think Lindsay’s intentionality with her main character’s personality is very smart. It would be easy to fall into the trap of writing a character that matches your personality over and over again, so creating a character chart–mapping out who your character is–before you start writing is a good way to avoid making this mistake.
What about you? Do you map out who your characters will be before you start writing?
Is there a specific personality type that your characters are more likely to be?
And what is your Myers-Briggs personality type?
I believe I am an INTJ, but I am also very close to an INFP.
My main character is an introvert, with the extrovert being ushered out. That is so much like me. I think God always pushes me out of my comfort zone. But in spite of the one that likes to hide away inside … I love to laugh and have a blast with good friends. And I think the older I get, the more apt I am to freely walk out to the uncomfortable zone … because I know God will bless and He keeps His promises.
I don’t map out my characters…because they’re not really mine. They belong to God, and he loans them to me so that I might chronicle that part of their stories with which I’ve been entrusted.
They are who they are, by Design. I could no more change them than I could plow the ocean.
Also, I don’t really believe in the Meyer-Briggs catalogue…or any other such method of characterizing personality, for a couple of reasons –
1) The tests are short enough (especially the online versions) to be “fooled” by changes in mood and other transient phenomena.This doesn’t mean that answers are not honest, but they have to do with feeling, and not fact. Feelings change; the way we SEE our feelings changes.
2) I believe that God made each of us as unique individuals, with a range of potentialities, liabilities, resources, and lack that are not duplicated in anyone else. To try to make discrete ‘boxes’ out of what’s really the continuum of Creation is antithetical to appreciating God’s genius, and the care he took in fashioning each one of us.
3) The personality ‘findings’ can be self-fulfilling; if we feel rather flattered by what we get when the results come up on the screen, we’ll tend to emphasize those aspects of our personality…the road to caricature. try complimenting someone on her posture, and you’ll see that she’ll at least subconsciously be paying more attention to her posture in the wake of the compliment’s receipt.
Granted, self-knowledge and self-understanding are a good thing, but they should be based on Biblical examples and Scriptural truths, not a statistical model developed turn the personality…a work of messy majesty…into a Hallmark card.
Andrew, I’m glad you came at this from a different angle. I distinctly remember and appreciate you answering some questions I had about a character in my novel that had some similar personality traits to you. Do you remember that?
I sure do, Jenni! I was honoured.
Seeing so many people whose work and character I deeply respect making use of the M-B inventory does make me wonder, though…what can I learn?
I agree that we shouldn’t let a personality test define who we are. We are created in the image of God. And every personality type reflects God.
I think these tests are more for fun than much else, but the best use for them might be for defining a fictional character.
I do buy in to the Plato’s Forms philosophy–so I do think that when we create characters we are copying–in a lesser way– what God has done in us. And we can use this gift to his glory.
rachel, thank you for the considered reply.
I do agree with the Platonic analysis; God has placed so much into us!
I addressed this to some degree below, In answer to Jeanne’s response to my further comment, but I’ll expand upon it here, from my own experience.
As an assaulter – a door-kicker, someone who’ll do a dynamic breach and remove the threats in a given area…I’m an extrovert. It’s necessary, to establish and maintain team cohesion. You have to be in the brain of the guys in the stack, ready to go through the door. You have to let them be in your brain, and in your heart.
As a long rifleman, the opposite is true; it’s an extremely cerebral and introverted specialty, both in its technical application, and in the spiritual aspect of dealing with monitoring a potential target, sometimes for days…and then executing the mission.
I’ve done both…what am I?
I can be an extrovert when I need to, but it is taxing. I end up exhausted after the efforts.
Do you feel energized by being a “door kicker” and a “long rifleman”? Or is there one that would drain you over time?
It could be that you just can’t be put into a personality box like many of us. 🙂
Both specialties can be both invigorating and draining; i think that God puts into the righteous heart the capacity for being recharged by the job’s profile.
I may be hard to characterize; I don’t really know, because my perspective of my own mien is so limited. It’s really a judgement for someone else to make.
It’s easy to associate the common language terms of extrovert and introvert with traits like shyness, reticence, quietness or outgoing, likeable, assertive — but that’s not at all what the Myers-briggs definitions mean. The MB test uses these terms to describe how a person processes information, gains energy, and creates. The Air Force uses this profile to teach staff members how to best use and relate to every person on the team. I wish more people had the opportunity for a thorough evaluation and follow up on how to appreciate the other types. Few laymen believe what a strong introvert I am because I speak up and am comfortable in front of any size audience. But please don’t expect me to think out loud. My pause when answering orally is not because I don’t know the answer, but because I carefully and internally evaluate any answer.
I commend Lindsay for being purposeful about writing different kinds of characters. Our local ACFW recently hosted a couple who taught our group about Myers-Briggs and various aspects of types and temperaments. It was fascinating to see the possibilities on how to make our characters unique and consistent.
Wow, I would’ve loved to attend that meeting.
That sounds like a fun class! I really like this type of psychology. I ended up minoring in psych because I loved the classes so much that I happened to have enough units to get my minor when I graduated. Studying people, the brain and how God has created us so intricately and uniquely is amazing.
I couldn’t agree more, Rachel. 🙂
Great thoughts, Rachel!
Yes, I do “map out” my characters. I have to know who they are first before I can write about them. Just makes good sense–or at least that’s my method.
I do love how all writers have different ways of doing things! 🙂
Yes! I love doing this! The whole Myers-Briggs test fascinates me and can really help authors stay true to what their characters would do in a situation. Plus it gives good ideas for conflict. Love this post!
I’m an ENFJ 🙂
Ooo! I hadn’t thought about that. You CAN come up with realistic conflict by looking at a personality!
I write non-fiction, and I focus on how we look to God. I can’t quite picture the Creator checking off the personality traits as he sends our souls out into the world. It amazes me that in His all-knowingness, He can see me as holy and without spot or wrinkle. To God be the glory!
Yeah, Shirlee … God is good. And that’s never cliché. 🙂
🙂 Yep. Our fictional characters will never be as complex and real as God created us. Thank goodness! 🙂
God’s personality chart has billions of boxes, I’m sure.
I love what Lindsay did! I’m also careful to make my characters in each book different. I’ve had only a few overlapping personality types. Sometimes authors will write one character really well, and then that type becomes their go-to type. Then only the details change (background, hair color, etc.) After a few books, you begin to think, “Haven’t I read this before?”
I love using the Myers-Briggs not just to identify my character, but to understand how they’ll react under different situations. I have to know the extroverted character is going to gather her friends around her in times of trouble, while the introvert might go off by herself.
Oh, and I’m an INFJ 🙂 So far, I’ve only had one INFJ heroine, and no INFJ heroes. Even writing my INJF heroine wasn’t easy, because her background was different, her fears were different, and therefore, her reactions were different. But I did understand how she thought 🙂
Sarah, you are the queen of character charts. 🙂 So thankful you shared your techniques with our ACFW group.
I’m so glad you chimed in on that, Sarah. When I start my next project, I’ll have to think about different personalities. It’s so easy to fall back on what you know … who you are. Thank you.
I appreciate how deliberate you are in making your characters unique. And I’ve been able to relate to all of them, even if I don’t “match” with them on the chart.
I love the idea of using the Myers-Briggs to flesh out a character’s personality.
My husband and I took the MB personality inventory decades ago. I am ENFP and he is ISTJ. Pretty much polar opposites!
Fortunately, when I ask for input on my WIP, he is always willing to help. I appreciate his feedback…ie “I think he would react differently”; or, “I think he would say it this way…”
Nice! It’s so great that he is willing to help out. And I love that you two represent that “opposites attract.”
I don’t think my husband has done the quiz, but I know we are both introverts.
OK, I am totally out of touch.
I am willing to learn, to be a better writer, so if someone would explain why they feel the M-B Inventory is a good thing, and how it helps in both life and writing, I would be sincerely grateful.
I really do want to understand.
Andrew, one thing I like about it, is that it gives me a realistic idea of how a character will react in a given situation. Just taking the introvert/extrovert aspect, an extrovert will reach out to others because it’s a part of who they are. They process out loud (just ask my hubby) and eventually come to the essence of their thought. Whereas, an introvert will process internally, expressing nothing out loud until their thought is fully formed. And they will choose their words carefully. Knowing these personality types help writers have a better idea of how to write a character authentically.
Each aspect of the M-B personalities has these differences. Extrovert-Introvert, Sensing-Intuiting, Thinking-Feeling, Judging-Perceiving. When a writer has an understanding of these facets, it helps us to have a better feel for how different characters will respond to a given situation.
Does that make sense?
Jeanne, it does make sense – thanks.
I guess my concern can be summarized thus…different situations can call out different aspects of personality, and a categorization can be misleading.
Using myself as an example, as a civilian I am an extreme introvert, but if my dream comes true and I can go back into the field, I’ll go back to being an extreme extrovert.
Here, I talk to no one; running ops, I insult EVERYONE with great good cheer and unbridled Tourette’s. Out in the blue, I’m the life of the party.
It’s not really a dichotomy, at least I don’t think it is; it’s just that personality seems deeper than a test can indicate, and there are so many factors that can be brought into play that a character has (in my view_ to develop organically.
Andrew, I can understand the dichotomy of your personality, and your concern about authenticity with your characters. My hubby (also an ISTJ–as are 90% of those in the military) is really, really good with people. Those who don’t know him well swear he’s an extrovert, but the way he re-energizes is through time alone–the key to an introvert.
I think you’re right that people act differently in different situations. Maybe the thing to think about is the root of the personality. Just taking the E and the I in the MB the thing these look at is what energizes them. This is usually (not always) the indicator of if they are essentially an introvert or an extrovert.
I tend toward extroversion, but I am definitely an introvert in a crowd of people where I don’t know anyone.
I think you’re spot on in knowing that people act differently in different situations . . . for a lot of reasons. 🙂
I think it helps people to know what kind of career would be good for them. 🙂 My daughter took it recently … she loves people … so, her list of possibilities for a career entailed–
attorney
nurse
bartender
ha ha!! I’m serious. 🙂
I had to take a test like that in college. It advised me to be a forester.
Not because I liked trees, according to the career advisor…but because i related to trees WAY better than I related to people.
Hi Shelli,
That is a great story!
When my daughter was dating, she asked her macho firefighter boyfriend to take the inventory.
The possibilities for his career included …
floral designer. 😉
Andrew and trees … I can see that! 🙂 Coming from someone with yard full of them!! 🙂
Kathy, that’s hilarious!! 🙂
Hi Andrew,
The MB Inventory has definitely helped me to understand why my husband and I react differently to most situations. When we disagree, sometimes I even resort to name-calling: “oh, you….ISTJ!!” 😉
He was career Air Force, and I suspect many military personnel are ISTJ ( quietly systematic, concrete, efficient, factual, logical, stable, conservative, etc”
On the other hand, he married an ENFP (spontaneous, creative, imaginative, insightful, optimistic).
We’ve come to the conclusion that on the ship of life, he is the anchor and I am the sail. But thankfully God is our captain, and keeps us on course! 😉
Kathy, thank you…the way you describe how your personality types make up the “ship of state” is really enlightening.
That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing the link Rachel. I do try to make my characters different but just on my own without the test. I use what they are struggling with spiritually. One MC was struggling with the idea that God is not perfectly and completely just all the time. She felt that if she did everything right (and she was pretty sure she did) that all would be well. God would be just. Another character struggled with feeling that her past(foster care and adoption) dictated who she would become. Another mapped out her whole life and expected that God would “Bless” or follow precisely her 20 year prayer/life plan. This gives me a wide variety of people. The first was proud and confident the second was naïve and hopeful the third was picky and details conscious. But the personality tests are very interesting and would be helpful.
It sounds like you are writing different main characters already, but using the test to form one could be fun.
You had me at Myers-Briggs, Rachel. I also like the DISC method.
“The MBTI works on illuminating the way you think and deal with information internally. Picture it as the way you think about the world around you.”
DISC is more about observable behavior. It measures HOW you do what you do. http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/disc.htm
I do extensive mapping of my characters, but still sometimes inadvertently shift into transferring my INTJ mindset onto them.
Nerd alert! I have a list of book and movie characters that fit each Meyers-Briggs personality type. 🙂 If anyone would like to banter about this, I’m up for it. Me and INTJ Mr. Darcy? We’re kindreds. 😉
How would you characterize the character of Danny Archer (played by Leo DiCaprio) in “Blood Diamond”?
I do have a specific reason for asking.
I’ve not seen the movie, Andrew. I did a quick search though and came across ESTP as a possible fit. See if you agree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESTP
Other ESTP’s might include Sonny from The Godfather, Captain Kirk of Star Trek, and possibly Downton Abbey’s Mrs. Crawley. I’m ambivalent about Flynn Rider of Tangled.
I did test out as an ESTP, looking at the most consistent results from several tests, over several years. Interesting.
Ooo! I love that you have that list! How fun.
Thanks for sharing the link about the DISC method!
I’ll have a look – thanks.
I take note of them, but I don’t map them out. They just sort of appear fully formed. Like a soap opera character who was born 3 years ago, and shows up one day, just finished college.
I’m not one to deeeeeeply analyze why they’re doing what they’re doing, but I do enjoy making sure they act like real people.
I like making siblings very different from each other. SO many times, people have met our children and asked how #4 is related to #3, because the differences between those two boys are unreal. We actually call them Oscar and Felix.
The sibling thing works with dogs, too.
We have two sets of siblings – brother and sister Aussies, Indie and Megan, and twin sister Ridgebacks, Reebok and Josie.
Indie is a hard-edged, combative little guy, who tries to pick fights with everything he sees, while his sister is a sweet-natured girl…who is nonetheless capable of knocking Indie back into the 18th century if he irritates her enough. her full name is Megan the Tank.
Josie and Reebok are The Predator Twins…they have to be kept rigidly separate from dogs, cats, and rabbits, because they work as a team to kill.
But individually, they are delightful companions. Josie’s an extrovert who loves to be carried, belly up…she falls asleep like a baby. Reebok is more reserved, and will sneak up behind you and lean on you. They both love people, and in the sleeping crate they share, they are always cuddled as close as they can be.
Love that, Andrew. 🙂
Sounds like we come at creating characters in a similar fashion. More organically. I’ve never used the MB test for a character (and can never even remember what letters I’ve tested although I KNOW it starts with I). But then here I sit with a book on my desk waiting to be read called THE MALE BRAIN… so I am obviously interested in the subject. 🙂
I totally get what Andrew is saying. My hubby is a J at work, a P at home. Everything to do with work is in order, down to the placing of his keys. At home, is a different matter. He never puts anything up and never gets in a hurry about anything. But the first three letters remain the same. I love the post and the conversations. This is my first time commenting but definitely not the first time reading the comments. You guys are great!
Thanks so much for commenting! I wonder if men are harder to categorize than women–well their personalities anyway? Just thinking out loud here. I have done no research into this!
And I’m so glad you enjoy our blog!
Welcome, Gail!
Hey, Gail! 🙂
I take the Myers-Briggs test as my character to discover their personality and how they’d respond in different situations. It’s fun to discover new personalities other than my own—ESFJ.
I have to admit that my latest character, Alexis Dawn Cooper, aka Lexi, for my middle grade journal/devotional, is a lot like me, although she has different likes/dislikes. I think it’s also because we’re both middle children. I think birth order plays a big part in forming our personalities as well. Here’s what Dr. Kevin Leman has to say about it: http://www.parents.com/baby/development/social/birth-order-and-personality/
That’s fun, Sherry. I think I’m an EST/FJ. I’m about 50-50 on the Thinking and the Feeling. 🙂
I’m an INTJ, and the Myers-Briggs is the *only* personality test to ever peg me accurately. My secondary is ISTJ. I have the traditions are important from the ISTJ instead of the logical rigidity from the INTJ.
I don’t map my characters out with personality types, though. I use archetypes, with a dominant and secondary archetype for most of my MC’s. My heroes tend to be warrior/protector types, and my heroines tend to be librarian or nurturer types.
Having archetypes to build my characters around made heroines so much easier for me. I did Ramona Richards’s heroine archetype class at ACFW in St. Louis and it changed my writing life for the better.
Interesting.
I’m the trained killer, but I’m also the one who dogs and babies run to.
What an interesting subject, Rachel. Thank you.
I have taken the Myers-Briggs a couple of times (with about 15 years gap in-between). My letters stayed the same, but at different places on the scale (e.g my “I” went down from being in the 50s to being in the 20s; I guess I had to be much more outgoing at that point in my life). With my first novel, I have two main characters and I did think about their Myers-Briggs personalities. One is an INFP (he’s a poet, songwriter, and a visual artist). The other character is an INFJ. The two are best friends and the novel focuses on thirteen years of their friendship, which is impacted by the fact that the INFP character was not only abused but literally tortured from infancy by a schizophrenic uncle. I felt that the fact that both characters with INFs gave then a solid foundation for understanding each other and fitting together well. The J / P difference is difficult for them and was quite fun for me to play with. For one to be a super-high planner / organizer (his J is probably 60 at the start of the friendship) and the other to be a spontaneous person who hates to plan and rarely ever sticks to a plan even when there is one creates a natural tension / frustration between these two characters. In addition, it causes both of them to grow as they have to deal with the other’s “preferred way of being” so each one has to modify his own behavior and expectations. One of the themes of the novel is accepting and valuing other people for who they are as unique human beings and this
J / P polarity that they have to deal with if they are going to be in a friendship means having not only to accept that “this is part of who he is” but that it is a legitimate way to be. That’s what I find so wonderful about the M-b: it emphasizes that both ways of being are fine. Both have pros and cons and ANYONE can employ either. I may be an introvert by nature, but I can be extroverted when I need to be. I may prefer to plan everything and have everything go by plan, but I can deal with spontaneity (and even have fun as a result). Also, it is good to remember that you and your polar opposite (an N and an S, for example) are really very good for one another as you are complementary (even if you do sometimes drive one another nuts!)
Have a good weekend! 🙂
I have heard that your experience with the results being less strong the older you are is common.
And thank you for the added insights!
Until now, I had never heard of the Myers-Briggs test, Rachel. Looked it up on the web and it seemed pretty complicated–compared to my favorite, Florence Littauer and her Personality Plus book which explains the different personalities of people. She also notes that most of us are a combination of types, with one being dominant.
If you pay attention to how people behave, it is interesting to recognize her findings. And I’ve been able to identify them in characters in books too. I fall in the sanguine/choleric column and find lists a great trial. My sister however makes them by the tablet full and cannot exist without them.
Yes, I insist on making my characters take the Myers Briggs. 🙂 I learned this trick from Angie Hunt during her fiction track at Mt Hermon.
I’m an INFJ and my protag is and ISFJ. Her grandmother, also a POV character, is an ESFJ.
I’m an INTJ and I use the MB test to sort my characters, too! Partly because I want to make sure I’m being true to their personality type and not just doing whst I, the author, would do in a situation. I agree that we are also not to read too much into our MB testing but as a Christian, I should be striving to be more what God would have me to be.
I like to also test my characters’ love interests to see if they would logically match up. Courting/falling in love/dating, etc looks different with the various personality types.
Example: My husband is an ESFJ, almost exactly opposite of me. His romantic gestures are different than mine.
Great initial post! 🙂
In another life I facilitated workshops on personality types, not actually Myers-Briggs but similar Carl Jung based programs. when I did the charcacter sketches for me novel I decided to apply the ‘test ‘ to my characters. I found it very helpful. I also found it very useful in establishing how the different characters/personalities interacted. It takes a little longer to write the character sketches but I think it is worth it.
Great post, Rachel. I didn’t realize I had made my two protagonists as INFP types and my antagonist as an ESTJ, but it makes sense.
I am an INFJ 🙂 Learning about the different ways of processing and reacting to things has helped me as a mom and wife. I’m pretty sensitive and it’s helpful to understand that just because someone doesn’t react like I do doesn’t mean they hate me, haha.
I have thought about my characters in terms of the Meyer’s Briggs as well. I don’t think I map my characters, but I’ll have to google that and see what it is. I don’t use a chart or anything. I just free write for days about them, sometimes in and out of their voice, until I get who they are and why. And then I just start writing the book. Great post and I love reading all the comments here and seeing how everyone works.