Of Myers-Briggs and Characters

In a previous blog post, I talked about getting to know your characters through their zodiac signs. While that was fun, it's not exactly scientific. And as I continue writing the main character of my latest novel, I want to make sure that she is believable and well-rounded.

At my day job, I've been working on a book about skills for business managers. One of the tools the book suggests is taking the Myers-Briggs personality test and learning about your strengths and weaknesses. But isn't that what we need to know about our fictional characters, too? I decided to take the test as my main character, Emily, and see what happened.

The test is based on Carl Jung's theories of how we experience the world. The test measures four different categories and assigns letters corresponding to which end of the spectrum you lean towards in each category. If you want to read more about the Myers Briggs test and personality types, visit the official website.

The actual Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test is 93 questions long and costs money to take. However, there are free online questionnaires that mimic the original test and will tell you which of 16 personality types you belong to based on your answers. A free version by Humanmetrics is here. And another one by 16 Personalities is here.

The Humanmetrics test is fast and easy to take. The 16 Personalities test takes a little bit longer, but it might make you think about your character's actions more because it asks you to choose on a sliding scale.

I filled out both versions as Emily and got very similar results, which I am taking as a sign that I have a good handle on her personality. On the Humanmetrics test, the result was ESFP. On the 16 Personalities test, the result was ENFP.

Both of these personality types describe someone who is fun-loving, sociable, curious, talkative, and emotional. Exactly what I was going for! But maybe that was a self-fulfilling expectation. I did fill out the quiz, after all.

However, I think the most helpful part of the results is discovering what you weren't expecting to see. Examining your character's personality profile for traits that may surprise you will give you a deeper understanding of how your character will react to the events in your story.

For example, if your character is highly introverted and is in a situation where he must be around family or friends for a long time, he would probably become stressed and seek to be alone. Or if your character is very intuitive and feels others' emotional pain keenly, how would she deal with those feelings?

On the flip side, if you want your character to display certain traits that did not show up in your character's type, find the type that does display those traits. What actions or emotions would your character need to display in order for them to be that type?

Another helpful exercise is to search for fictional characters in literature and film who share your character's personality type. By reading and seeing other characters with the same personality type, you may get some fresh insight into your own character.

So what is your character's personality type? Is it similar to or different from your own? Did you learn anything new after taking the test?