 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Kristen Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources, and you are listening to the Well-Sturried Podcast, where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life. Always in 30 minutes or less, so you can get back to writing, of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking. Hello again, writers. My name is Kristen Kiefer, and you are listening to the Well-Sturried Podcast. Today is Tuesday, May 26, 2020, and today I am sharing an episode entitled My Favorite Method for Building Character's Personalities. I first published the article that corresponds with this podcast episode on September 24, 2015, but have since given the article an update and would like to now update the podcast episode as well. If you would like to read along as you listen in, you can head on over to well-sturried.com slash personalities. Now let's get started. Can you define what makes your characters unique? As writers, it's easy to craft characters who embody common archetypes. Take, for example, the noble-hearted hero, the femme fatale, the wise old man, or the snarky sidekick. There's nothing wrong with characters who fit these molds at first glance, yet there's something inherently uninteresting about characters who fail to break free of these pigeon-holed identities. Readers already know their stories. They've read them a thousand times over, leading archetypical characters to feel stale and cliche. To fill our stories with characters who feel as real as the people around us, we must delve deeper than archetypes and easy characterizations. This work begins with developing richly complex personalities for our characters that lend to their most vibrant portrayals. How can you develop such personalities? A character's personality is more than just a list of traits. It's a complex web of interrelated characteristics that determines how a character thinks and operates, as well as how they perceive and interact with the world around them. With such a wide range of impact, taking the time to determine and explore your character's personality, especially when that personality is so unlike your own, is key to developing characters that feel alive on the page. To accomplish this mission, I recommend utilizing a popular real-life personality tool, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI. The MBTI was compiled by Catherine Briggs and Isabelle Myers-Briggs to make the work of psychologist Carl Young available and applicable to the average person. This personality assessment classifies participants into one of 16 personality types based on the most relevant indicators in four dichotomous categories. In essence, the MBTI defines a participant's personality type by asking them a series of questions that determine how they resonate with four this or that pillars. The Myers and Briggs Foundation website defines these pillars as follows. One, favorite world. Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called extraversion, E, or introversion, I. Two, information. Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in, or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called sensing, S, or intuition, N. Three, decisions. When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency, or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called thinking, T, or feeling, F. And four, structure. In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided, or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called judging, J, or perceiving, P. The letters that accompany the preferences in each category combine to determine a participant's personality type. For example, I'm an INFJ. This means that I'm introverted, that I prefer to apply my intuition to the information I receive rather than taking it at face value, that I tend to make decisions based on emotion rather than logic, and that I prefer determined structures over evolution and change. The MBTI assessment reveals how these aspects of my personality interrelate to determine how I operate and interact with the world around me. By extension, the assessment can do the same for you and your characters. You can find a brief summary of each MBTI personality type in today's episode transcript at well-storied.com slash personalities. The official MBTI assessment from the Myers and Briggs Foundation will set you back $50. However, several unofficial tests are free to use and, in my experience, provide just as much insight into one's personality. My test of choice can be found at 16personalities.com. In addition to identifying one's personality type, 16 personalities offers in-depth reviews that break down what it means to be a certain MBTI type. By taking the 16 personalities test from the perspective of one of your characters, you'll learn how your character would respond to each of the four main questions the assessment addresses. One, how does the act of engaging with other people affect you? Two, how do you process new information? Three, how do you make decisions? And four, how do you prefer your life to be structured? The answers to these questions combine to reveal numerous elements of your character's personality, as well as how that personality shapes your character's inner world and their experiences with the world around them. This includes your character's strengths and weaknesses, the goals they might set for their life, what they seek in relationships, how they might handle stressful situations, and more. Not sure if the test is worth the effort? Consider how the MBTI can help you determine how your character would act in the following situations. Unsure of how your character might handle being put in the spotlight? Discover if they are introverted, I or extroverted, E. Unsure of how your character might react to a shocking revelation? Discover if they are sensing, S or intuitive, N. Unsure of how your character might make a tough decision? Discover if they are thinking, T or feeling, F. Unsure of what approach your character might take to achieve their goal? Discover if they are judging, J or perceiving, P. With a firm knowledge of the foundational pillars that form your character's personality, you can write your character into the pages of your book in the confidence that you're portraying them as realistically and complexly as they deserve. Anytime you're unsure of how your character might think or act, simply return to their personality review for confirmation. Because determining your character's personalities should affect their actions and reactions throughout your story, I recommend taking the MBTI assessment from the perspective of any character whose actions directly impact your plot. To achieve the most helpful assessment results, focus on what you already know about your characters. Do you intend for your romantic lead to be dark and brooding? For their love interests to be sociable but a bit stuck up? Use these personality basics as the basis for your assessment, answering each question as best aligned with the traits you've predetermined for the character. Once you've completed the assessment, note your character's personality type and key assessment insights in an accessible place, allowing for easy reference as you write and revise. Repeat this process as many times as necessary to get to know each of your major characters, and you'll write a story that contains a cast so vibrant and compelling that readers will lose themselves in the pages of your book. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Podcast Writer. I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey. If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode, and to give the podcast a quick rating and review. Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating. You can also give me a shout out directly on Twitter at christen underscore keeper. For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing light, be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses, and other helpful resources for writers. Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d dot com. Thank you again for tuning into today's episode, my friend. Until next time, happy writing!