“M” is for Myers-Briggs Personality Test

For today’s AtoZChallenge, the letter “M” is for the Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Don’t have your characters act alike

Officially called Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, it is a theory that there are sixteen major personality types based on eight factors:

Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)—do you focus on the inner or outer world?

Sensing (S) or Intuition(N)—how you view information

Thinking (T) or Feeling(F)—how you make decisions

Judging(J) or Perceiving(P)—how you deal with the outside world

But, Cheryl, you ask, what does Myers-Briggs have to do with writing?

A great question. For the next two days, my posts for the AtoZChallenge will be on creating characters. One method I’ve used is taking the Myers-Briggs test as one of my characters. Once I have the results, I can look at what the characters have in common, and, more fun from a creative standpoint, how they differ.

Can I put an ENTJ (Commander) with an ISFP (Adverturer)? Will my hero ESFP (Entertainer) take orders from a heroine ISTJ (Logistician). Mixing and matching character types and having a blueprint for how they will react to events and situations helps in the writing process.

Take the test at 16Personalities.com. You might shed some light on your own personality and those around you.

Monday’s #AtoZChallenge* will focus on the letter “N”.

#AtoZChallenge is a blogging challenge that takes place in the month of April.

Blessings until then,

Cheryl

If you’d like to continue reading my entries in the AtoZChallenge* and to receive my blog posts, please use the entry form to the right. Also sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll receive a FREE copy of my short story, Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong, Mr. Alien.

If you know of someone who would like to know about creating characters through the Myers-Briggs personality test, use the buttons on the left to share this post. Thank you.

*#AtoZChallenge is a blogging challenge that takes place in April (except on Sundays). Participants blog every day around a theme of their choosing, in alphabetical order. Throughout the month of April, I’ll share tips, links, and insights I’ve learned in my writing career.

by