The Power of the Myers-Briggs: A Developmental Tool
I haven’t been very active here, which has been partially the Thanksgiving holiday, partially my day job being a bit “all over the place” right now, and partially my using that time to write more on my next book, Wenceslas. As I have been writing and better developing my plot, themes, and characters, I have decided to share with you one of my favorite tool for developing a story: the Myers-Briggs personality test.
The Myers-Briggs was developed by two female American writers, Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, with the version we know today, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) published in 1956. These ladies were highly influenced by Swiss analytical psychologist Carl Jung. Results include one of 16 possible personality types that prioritize between Extraversion (E) and Introversion (I), Intuition (N) and Sensing (S), Thinking (T) and Feeling (F), and Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). This test, as well as—to my knowledge—all traditional personality tests, is considered pseudoscience but not only am I the type of person who enjoy knowing others people types like some people get into zodiacs, but I also use it for my main characters.
Something absolutely necessary to a good story is that characters have strong and consistent motivations. What makes conflict in many cases is when two or more characters have conflicting motivations, different means of following the same motivation, or a sort of combination of the two. What I tend to do is start with a rough idea of who my character is: how they talk, what they enjoy, what gives their lives meaning, what role they have to play in the story. Then I take one of the versions of the MBTI online and read up on that character’s profile. Even more importantly, I examine their strengths and weaknesses and their type’s compatibility (or lack of) with other characters they must interact with.
In Bonny Boy, my main characters Anne Bonny and Mary Read come up as complete opposites: ENTP and ISFJ, respectively. As an ENTP, Anne can be witty, bright, controversial, and ambitious. In relationships, she shows off, looks for a healthy dose of resistance and debate, and can be a bit too flippant with feelings. Mary, an ISFJ, is loyal, practical, quiet, and sensitive. She can feel very deep feelings but have difficulty expressing them, instead relying on acts of service to convey that person’s value to her. While these types can complement each other, they can also have explosive conflicts when the ENTP is too spontaneous or rude and when the ISFJ fails to self-advocate, is pushed to be too social, or is overly sensitive.
Printable-Myers-Briggs-Matrix-1536x1321.png (1536×1321) (practicalpie.com) with character names added
In Wenceslas, a sequel to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, a few of our main characters are Scrooge, Judith, Fred, and Stephen. Fred, Scrooge’s kindhearted nephew from the classic, is married to Judith, the daughter of hardworking Stephen, the owner and operator of a memorial masonry (gravestone workshop). Scrooge has been typed by others as being an ISTJ and as such is rational, committed to his own causes, direct, stubborn, and judgmental. Judith and Fred, both social young people of early Victorian England, are ESTJ and ESFP, respectively. Judith as an ESTJ is motivated by the social order, is dedicated, and struggles to relax or have fun. ESFP Fred, on the other hand, is the life of the party, truly fun-seeking and passionate, and a bit flighty, no matter his good intentions. This couple balances each other and bonds best over social opportunities and an appreciation for moving up in the world, but can butt heads on how they spend their time or attention. Finally, Stephen—before fighting the battle of dementia as he ages—is an ENFP, who is respected by his sensible ESTJ daughter and can relate to his creative and emotional-driven ESFP son-in-law. It is not surprising that Judith finds a man who pushes her to new experiences and outlooks but also reminds her of the dearest person she has in the world.
Sometimes these characters and their personalities change slightly over the writing of a book. I cannot say for sure how the characters of Wenceslas will end up, but I enjoy getting to share my process with you!