Writing Characters with Personality
By Sonja Yoerg | June 21, 2019 |
Last week, I turned in my new book to my editor, and immediately answered the siren song of the next one—the so-called affair book, unsullied by the drudgery and frustration of actual writing. Sadly, the affair book is now my WIP, so it won’t be long before it sports the same morning breath and protruding nose hairs every manuscript eventually does. At the moment, however, I am smitten.
One of my favorite early tasks is defining major characters. Because this story features a family with nine children, I am in heaven. How do I go about creating this cast? They are a family—they belong to each other, for better or for worse—so they must hang together in some way. As individuals, however, they must be distinctive.
For this job, I turn to the Myers-Briggs personality types. You’re probably at least broadly familiar with the system, which assesses pairs of traits along four dimensions (Extravert/Introvert, ObServing/INtuiting, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Prospecting) to create sixteen types. Myers-Briggs is based on solid research, has withstood the test of time, and is used widely for quick behavioral assessment, such as in HR departments. I’m an ESFJ, called the Consul, or the Caregiver. The mother in my WIP is the same. Coincidence? I think not.
Here are some ideas on how to use personality typing in your writing.
Establish character early. Creating true-to-life characters is no mean feat; ask Dr. Frankenstein. But we have to start somewhere, and for me that place is a Myers-Briggs site, 16personalities.com. Reading the descriptions of each type forces me to ask the right questions about my nascent characters. Of course, human behavior is shaped not only by personality, but also by experience, aka backstory. Science tells us, however, that personality is a strong driver of behavior, so deciding which of the sixteen types define each major character will go a long way toward getting your story off to a coherent start.
Balance your cast. The sixteen personality types are grouped into four categories: Analysts, Sentinels, Adventurers, and Diplomats. Each category contains two extravert types and two introvert types. One way to ensure your characters are distinctive is to choose types from different categories. In the US, for example, extraverts outnumber introverts two to one. You don’t need to match the actual population distribution, but do take advantage of the wide variety of behavioral types available to you. It will help make your characters memorable.
Draw relationship vectors. Personality traits describe, in part, how we relate to each other. This site emphasizes the social aspect of Myers-Briggs, and I use it to get an early handle on how my characters view and treat each other. From personality alone, I can predict which of the nine children in my story will be natural allies, or potential enemies, and I can then use the plot to play up or push against these tendencies. For example, the eldest daughter is an INTP, an introverted thinker, not a natural leader, but she is forced into that role by her father, whose own personality makes him somewhat dense about others’ feelings. It comes back to bite him.
Gain deeper insight into characters. Even after my story is fairly well-developed, occasionally I need help figuring out how a character will behave. If I read the detailed descriptions of their personality type, the perfect reaction often jumps out at me. People are complex, and characters should be, too, but if you’re like me, sometimes you overthink a scene or a pivotal moment. When this happens, a reminder of the fundamental nature of a character can point the way out of the woods.
Do you use personality typing to help create characters? If not Myers-Briggs, then perhaps Enneagram, or another rubric? Or do you have another method entirely?
Sonja Yoerg grew up in Stowe, Vermont, where she financed her college education by waitressing at the Trapp Family Lodge. She earned a Ph.D. in biological psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and wrote a nonfiction book about animal intelligence, Clever as a Fox (Bloomsbury USA, 2001) and four novels: House Broken, Middle of Somewhere, All the Best People, and the upcoming True Places (1/19). Sonja lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
What an interesting approach! As you say, we have to start somewhere, so why not make use of a taxonomy that already exists? For sure, the Myers-Briggs template doesn’t tell us everything we will need to know about our characters in order to bring them to life, but it can help to identify core features—hubs, as it were—from which idiosyncrasies, combinations of traits, and relationships among the characters can be crafted. An intellectual framework like this can help us organize and balance the interacting lives in a story; it’s a skeleton to which we obviously have to add flesh, clothes, and quirks. Thanks for this fresh approach to character, Sonja!
Hi Barbara,
A skeleton, yes. I’m glad you see the merit in this approach. It’s always useful to have new ways of thinking about the components of a story, don’t you agree? People are complex and there will never be one way of describing them–just one more arrow in the quiver.
I was so surprised to see the sticky with INTJ. That’s me :) What a fascinating approach to making story-people. I know several large families and my mom was one of seven children, and yes, indeed, each person is unique.
Stories for me usually start with a character in a pickle and as I develop their history I have them write letters to various people, including each other. This helps me to establish their voices.
You have such a fascinating background. I immediately had to place an order for a couple of your books! Happy writing!
Hi Vijaya,
I’m inundated with garden vegetables right now so your comment about characters in a pickle triggered a different association entitely. :) I love the idea of characters writing letters to each other; you can establish voice and personality at the same time! Thanks for taking a chance on my books. I do hope you enjoy them.
Haha! One year we had such a bumper crop of cucumbers, we ending up pickling them. I do so enjoy that taste of summer during the winter months.
Myers-Briggs, to me, is like horoscope or Tarot…interesting and accurate, descriptive of who one is now, in the moment.
(BTW, just did 16personalities.com. I am ENFJ-A, the “Protagonist”. Ha! True enough.)
What Myers-Briggs does not do for me is explain what shaped me or my characters: childhood, wounds, burdens, beliefs (false or true), desires and yearning. Myers-Briggs tells us who we are, but not how we got that way or where we have to go to become whole.
Personality can also be built by basing characters on real life people. (See Kathleen McCleary’s post here a few days ago.) For me, the operating principle in creating personality is putting characters in opposition to each other. If one is methodical, another is impulsive. If one is a skeptic, the other is ready believer.
Mythical roles can help, too. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to go about it. The only failure is characters who lack personality, or a cast who all feel the same. It’s also important that characters–especially protagonists–have changes to go through. That’s what gives stories their emotional grip…
…says The Protagonist, all confident and assured. On the other hand, I love to learn, so thanks. Enjoyed this thought-provoking post.
Glad you enjoyed the post, Benjamin, and I was nodding all the way through your comment.
“Sadly, the affair book is now my WIP, so it won’t be long before it sports the same morning breath and protruding nose hairs every manuscript eventually does. At the moment, however, I am smitten.”
Love this.
Excellent, thought-provoking article, Sonja. Thank you.
And hmm . . . now I’m wondering what I am. I knew once, but I forgot. Will definitely be brushing up on my INTJs, my XYZs, and my PDQs.
You’re welcome, Julie! And you should take the test–you might be surprised at the result. I was.
I use Myers-Briggs as a check, to make sure I’ve got a variety of personalities in my cast.
This also resonated with me: “a reminder of the fundamental nature of a character can point the way out of the woods.” I try to have such a reminder for each person in my cast. Just a word or brief phrase, it may be something from their Myers-Briggs or something else that describes their essence. For example, one character’s mnemonic was Joan of Arc (a clear-sighted, brave and outspoken person) while another was the abandoned child (the source of his wound and the motivation for many of his actions). Of course I explore different facets and shadings, especially for the main characters, but as you say, a quick reminder of their fundamental nature can be helpful.
You’re right, Barbara, it’s normal to have characters drift a bit, so having a way to remind yourself of who they are is useful. Good luck with your writing!