Building Better Characters
An MBTI Hack for Writers
When I was training for my certification in MBTI (Myers-Briggs) personality types, while many of my classmates were analyzing themselves, their loved ones and even their pets, I was trying to “type” my characters. One frustration I have with fiction novels I’ve read, and something that I used to struggle with in my own characters, is clearly differentiating personalities. For example, in a hypothetical story about one woman and two single men living in the same apartment complex, it’s not enough to simply give them different hair color, height, and maybe a subtle quirk. And while it helps to mix up their speech patterns and give them each their own lexicon, I would want to go deeper into who they were as people (or in my case of some of my books, aliens).
If you’re like me, you probably have a loose backstory for each of your characters, but then soon discover them rebelling and taking on a life of their own as they make decisions you didn’t plan for and reveal more about the inner workings of their minds. While you, as the writer, are technically putting pen to paper, the more you get to know your characters and ask, “How would someone with these personality traits respond to this situation?” And “What happens when they decide to do something out of character?” the characters become richer and more interesting.
Whether you’re a seasoned writer, just looking for a fresh idea or a new writer who is having trouble differentiating between your characters, try starting with this very basic writing hack that I stumbled upon when studying something that had nothing to do with writing.
The 4 Basics of MBTI
Taking the first example of the three people living in the same apartment complex. What if each of the men live on either side of the woman, who also happens to be single and roughly the same age as her neighbors? Let’s pretend these men are both interested in asking this woman out on a date. You, as a writer, have to make them both interesting and unique. Where do you start? Choose one man first…
1. INTROVERSON or EXTRAVERSION — Does this man prefer one-on-one conversations, keep more to himself, and recharge by retreating from the world for a while? Or does he thrive by being social and engaging people in activities he finds interesting? This doesn’t mean that the introvert is shy or socially awkward, but he might be. Nor does it require that the extravert is always assertive and doesn’t need alone time. But what is his preference, most of the time?
2. SENSING or INTUITION — Does he make decisions based on past experience and the cold hard facts and prefer to stay firmly grounded in what is practical? Or, is he the inventor always exploring the “What ifs?” in the world and looking toward the future? A Sensing personality focuses on what is tangible, while an intuitive thinker loves to see patterns and possibilities… again, not all the time (and there are exceptions to the rules), but most of the time.
3. THINKING or FEELING — Is this man ruled by logic like the Thinker? Does he separate himself from his emotions to analyze a situation objectively? Or is he a Feeling type who is more concerned about relationships and is more likely to “put himself in someone else’s shoes?”
4. JUDGING or PERCEIVING — And last, at his core, does he always have a plan? Is his life well-structured? On this point, how does he react when life doesn’t go according to plan? A Judging personality is more likely to move from point A to point B. Or, maybe your character is a Perceiver who prefers spontaneity and has no problem flying by the seat of his pants. What happens if someone else forces him to make a decision before he’s ready to make it?
Mixing It All Up
If you were to do this for each of your characters, you would have 16 potential combinations of very basic personality types to choose from, and then add nuances, disfunction (or, as I like to say, “messing with my characters”), a man or women at their best or worst. And while MBTI goes much deeper than this, I find using this basic core a great way to build characters.
For example, are they an introverted thinker who discovered how to travel through time, but maybe they are disorganized, and have sticky notes all over their walls, on the backs of notebooks and sandwiched in the pages — so that they struggle to put all those notes together in the right order in time to present it to their peers? Or, maybe your character is an energetic person who thrives going door-to-door raising money for their favorite cause, only to discover that behind one door is a lonely introvert who obviously needs a hug?
As a thought experiment, you might play with the scenario I gave you, and explore… the goal: Two men interested in the same woman; Determine each of their four core personality traits; Decide how they interact and what might happen.
BONUS TIP: When creating a character, ask yourself, “How does this character view the world?” And “How does the world view this character?” They may not be the same, and that disparity can create a more interesting and complex approach for the reader.
Questions about me or my work? Email: Danielle@birdlandmediaworks.com or visit my website BirdlandMediaWorks.com.
