What’s your personality type?

Depending on who you ask, you may get a very different response. While humans are complicated creatures, we love to put things into neat little boxes. And personality types are just one thing we’ve tried to pin down to a science. It’s no surprise that personality tests have become increasingly popular in recent years particularly the Myers-Briggs test, which is the one we’ll reference in this post.

For those that never took the Myers-Briggs test or do not know what I’m talking about, I’m going to give you a high-level overview. The Myers-Briggs Test is a personality test that scores where you fall between introversion vs. extroversion, intuition vs. sensing, feeling vs. thinking, and perceiving vs. judging. The test will ask you a series of questions and you must answer based on how you would actually approach a situation or how you naturally process information.

When you take the test, they assign you four letters based on where you lean on the 4 main spectrums. The 16 four-letter combinations represent the 16 distinct personality types a person can fall into. Here’s a breakdown of the letters you can be assigned and what each letter stands for.

Source: An Introvert’s Blog

When I took the test, I scored ‘INFP.’ Based on my first letter “I” I’m more introverted than extroverted (no surprise). For my second letter “N” I am intuitive, which means I look at the past and future potential of what I see. In other words, my mind is wired towards finding deeper meaning in symbols and abstract concepts. My next letter, “F” stands for the feeling function. Someone with the feeling function bases their decisions more on emotion vs. logic. And lastly, my fourth letter “P” means I am prospecting. In simple terms, I tend to go with the flow instead of following a strict plan.

Of course, this brief explanation and personal case study only scratch the surface of the test and what each of the core functions means. To learn more about the test I suggest looking here. Keep in mind this test is not an exhaustive measure of human behavior. It merely represents one way to categorize how a person thinks and responds to the world around him/her.

Now that you have a better understanding of what I’m talking about, let’s dive into the question: What does a personality test have to do with fiction writing?

How would a personality test apply to fiction writing?

Quite a lot. In fiction writing you have characters. And you want readers to not only recognize who’s speaking or performing an action but you want readers to care about your characters. For readers to care about your characters, they’ll need a distinct personality that makes the character come alive off the page and into your head and heart.

To form realistic characters that don’t come off flat or generic, it’s important to have a clear sense of who that character is and what they want. The character’s personality shapes the way they talk, the way they think, and the way they interact with the world. While you don’t need to have your character fit neatly into one of the 16 personality types of the Myers-Briggs test, it can serve as a handy framework especially if you are writing a character that is opposite of you and you want to make sure that your protagonist is staying true to character throughout the story. Unless your character is very similar to you, don’t expect your character to approach a situation the same way you would! Let them react in a way that’s consistent and believable with their personality.

For example, a character that is very shy and introverted is probably not going to strike up a conversation with a random stranger at the bar. I’m not saying characters can’t develop or change throughout the novel but there has to be something that triggers that change. Let’s go back to the example of the shy and introverted character. What if they decide to talk to the stranger? What impelling force prompts them to go out outside their comfort zone? Is it several helpings of alcohol? Are they being dared by friends? Are they physically attracted to the stranger and fear they’ll miss their chance if they don’t speak up? Considering those motivations, the character’s actions will make sense. Even if talking to that stranger was painful or awkward for your protagonist, your character grew from that challenge.

While you don’t need to label your character an ISTP, ENTP, or whatever 4-letter type you randomly choose, their actions can be based on defining attributes associated with a personality type. Certain personality types lend themselves better to certain roles depending on who your protagonist or antagonist is like. For example, according to the Myers-Briggs test, they nickname a person who scores ENTJ the “Commander.” This personality type would be very fitting for a leader. As the personality type suggests, they are extroverted, intuitive, thinkers, and judges. Another personality type that has leadership qualities is the ENFJ.

What if your character is the life of the party and enjoys the spotlight? You can model your character off the ESFP personality. If your character is a creative idealist, an INFP would be a good fit.

Learning more about the distinct personality types could help you when fleshing out characters and their interactions with others. Certain personality traits complement each other, so knowing that can be helpful when creating chemistry between characters. Conversely, certain personality traits can clash, which can make for some interesting drama or tension when those characters interact. Combining those distinctive personalities adds dynamism to your story. However if you have no distinctive personality or differences, your characters will sound the same and even act the same. You want to avoid this trap! Otherwise, your characters (especially side characters) will start blurring together, especially if you have multiple characters appearing at once in a scene.

Keep in mind though, not all people that fall under a specific personality type act the same way. Human personality is much too complicated even for the best personality test. A person’s family upbringing, trauma, genetic makeup, and culture all play a major role in shaping a person’s personality and decision-making. The same should be true of your characters.

To be honest, I didn’t read up on the Myers-Briggs test when I came up with my characters. Nor should you feel you have to learn every personality type before you write your characters. Instead, take the Myers-Briggs test with a grain of salt. View it as a way of understanding why you think and act the way you do. You can carry that level of self-awareness and insight into your characters so you can make more thoughtful choices for how you develop them. And if you are struggling to come up with three dimensional characters that are believable and consistent from chapter one to the very end, you can get some inspiration from the full list of the sixteen personalities here. While the Myers-Briggs test is not infallible, many, including myself, have found it very accurate!

So take the Myers-Briggs test and let me know in the comments what your personality type is?

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