FEATURE FRIDAYS: PERSONALITY TYPES AND CHARACTERS

Creativity: Personality Types and Characters

Different people are different. Albert Einstein's brain

was wired differently from Al Gore's. Both of them are

wired differently from you. And all three of you are

wired differently from the characters in your novel.

And yet people are alike in a lot of ways. One very

useful way to classify people is by their "personality

types." Certain personality types behave in

characteristic ways. If you know the personality types

of your characters, you know very roughly how they'll

behave.

For several years, I've been using the "Myers-Briggs"

personality types as a convenient way to think about my

characters. This is not a way of type-casting

characters. It's a way of making sure that I've thought

of all aspects of my characters before I turn them

loose in my Storyworld.

In the Myers-Briggs terminology, there are four basic

questions you ask of each character.

* Are you an "introvert" or an "extravert?" (Myers and

Briggs spell "extravert" that way, so I'll follow their

lead.)

* Are you an "intuitive" or a "sensor?"

* Are you a "thinker" or a "feeler?"

* Are you a "judger" or a "perceiver?"

We'll define each of these shortly, but first let's

make one thing clear. Each of these questions is about

a tendency or a preference. "Thinkers" are perfectly

well able to feel, and "feelers" are perfectly capable

of thinking. But each group has a preferred pattern of

behavior.

Now let's look at each of these questions in turn.

An "introvert" draws energy from time spent alone. An

"extravert" draws energy from being with people. This

does not mean that introverts never hang out with

people or that extraverts are never alone. Introverts

can often be quite warm and friendly, and extraverts

can be harsh and critical. The key question is where

you draw your energy from.

Extraverts do well in people-oriented careers. The

great majority of used car salesmen are flaming

extraverts. That's a tough job, and it takes someone

with a real talent for exuding warmth. Cops are often

extraverts. So are nurses.

Introverts do well in jobs where they have to work

alone for long periods of time. They don't mind this;

they thrive on it. Accountants are often introverts. A

lot of writers are introverts, because both writing and

reading are solitary activities.

An "intuitive" likes to get the big picture before

getting the details. A "sensor" prefers to get the

details first and then work up to the big picture.

Sensors are much more common than intuitives -- about

75 percent of the population are sensors.

Intuitives tend to be theoretical types who think in

abstractions. Many scientists are intuitives. Al

Einstein was a quintessential intuitive. People often

think of intuitives as "having their heads in the

clouds." This can be either good or bad. If you want

somebody to solve the world economic crisis, an

intuitive is a good person to have on your side.

Sensors are practical and detail-oriented. They are

able to understand the big picture, of course, but they

want to start with the facts and work up to

abstractions. Sensors can be annoying because they want

to "get the facts all straight." But if you want

somebody to do your taxes done right the first time,

you want a strong sensor.

A "thinker" prefers to solve problems rationally. A

"feeler" prefers to solve them emotionally. Let's

emphasize again that "thinkers" do have hearts and

"feelers" do have brains. It's not a question of

ability, it's a question of preference.

Feelers do well in jobs that require somebody who can

connect emotively. Oprah Winfrey excels at her job

because she's a feeler. Psychologists and social

workers are often feelers. Bill Clinton is a

quintessential feeler -- "I feel your pain" was

practically a mantra for him.

Thinkers gravitate to jobs where they need to use their

heads. Science and engineering are obvious thinker

occupations, but a mechanic needs to be a thinker too.

Certain occupations require people who are equally

adept as thinkers and feelers. A doctor needs to be

good at diagnosis (a thinker) but also have a good

bedside manner (a feeler). Likewise, an attorney in

court needs to make a great case (as a thinker) and yet

connect well with the jury (as a feeler).

About two thirds of men are thinkers and two thirds of

women are feelers.

A "judger" reaches decisions rapidly and decisively. A

"perceiver" delays making decisions as long as

possible, constantly looking for new evidence.

Judgers are often criticized as being too quick to make

decisions before all the evidence is in. The fact is

that sometimes making a quick decision (even if it's

"wrong") is better than no decision. Soldiers on the

battlefield can't afford the luxury of waiting for all

the data to come in. They have to make tough decisions

with limited information.

Perceivers are likewise criticized for dithering. Yet

there's a time for withholding judgment until all the

evidence is in. When you're trying to decide if a new

drug is safe for human use, you want to make sure

you've taken every scrap of data into account.

When I create characters for my fiction, I always ask

each one all four questions. Since a character can give

two possible answers to each question, there are

sixteen possible sets of answers. Once I know how a

character answers the four questions, I know quite a

lot about him or her.

If my character is a CSI investigator and he's an

introvert, a sensor, a thinker, and a perceiver, I'm

confident that he'll do a good job. As an introvert, he

won't mind pulling long hours in the lab alone. As a

sensor, he'll look at every detail on the scene. As a

thinker, he'll use his brain to come up with the

answer. And as a perceiver, he won't jump to

conclusions, he'll wait until he's got a complete

picture.

If, however, that same CSI investigator is an

extravert, an intuitive, a feeler, and a judger, I'd be

worried. As an extravert, he's going to get restless

alone in the lab. As an intuitive, he'll form a theory

early and fit the facts to that theory, whether they

work or not. As a feeler, he may be swayed by the fact

that he doesn't like the main suspect. And as a judger,

he may jump to a decision before all the evidence is in.

How well do you know your characters? Can you answer

the four basic questions for each of them? If not,

spend some time getting to know them better. You may

want to interview your character or just have a long

imaginary conversation.

When you've assigned personality types to each one, do

some research online. You can find general descriptions

of each of the sixteen Myers-Briggs personality types.

You may be surprised to find that these descriptions

fit your characters surprisingly well. Or you may find

that your characters are a bit muddled in your mind and

you need to rethink them.

In any event, I strongly suspect you'll find the

exercise very much worth your time. There are online

Myers-Briggs personality tests you can take to learn

your own personality type. You may find that the reason

you click so well with one of your characters is that

he or she is your type.
 

This article is reprinted by permission of the author.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the
Snowflake Guy," publishes the free monthly Advanced
Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 31,000 readers.
If you want to learn the craft and marketing of
fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to
editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing
and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Feature Fridays runs every Friday on this blog. Stay tuned for tomorrow's article