Sometimes I wonder if I really am an introvert or if, as an only child, I’ve just been conditioned to be one. A lot of times, I actually want to socialize. Other times, I get rage-y when I have to interact with people outside of my immediately family for more than a few hours a week. So, yeah. Totally normal, right? It actually is based on this Medium article and other sources.

Since middle school, when I was first introduced to those career aptitude test-thingies and psychological profiles, I’ve been kind of nuts for personality tests, and mines always report that I’m an INTJ (Myers-Briggs)/Introverted-iNtuitive-Thinking-Judging. Always.

Which I think means: Leave me alone to dissect decisions and determine motivations while building a better mousetrap. Yup. Sounds about right. Also fun at parties! NOT…well, sometimes, if I work at it.

In the book 45 Master Characters, Victoria Lynn Schmidt uses her doctorate in psychology to break down archetypes. Most of us who’ve attempted to read a writing craft book or two know that characters must be motivated into action. Their behavior should not be predicated upon a series of sequential events. If your character stops rush-hour traffic to help a dog get across the street, the why shouldn’t simply be because they didn’t want the dog to get hit. The why may be that their instinct is to protect the weak.

But why? I can say with authority that most people will try to save the dog, but what happens after? Does your character try to locate the owner? Do they ensure the dog is away from danger? Do they curse at the dog? Do they call animal control? Do they take the dog home?

Whatever happens next opens the door for deeper exploration of this Protector archetype where the writer begins to explore their character’s past, present, and future. What do they fear? What do they love? How do others see them? How do they see themselves? What are they good at? What needs work? All these elements combine to create a multi-dimensional character that readers will latch onto (whether they’re ‘likable’ or not) and race through your pages to see how things turn out for them.

Bear in mind that your antagonist is the hero in their own story. Schmidt then takes that same archetype and turns those noble traits on their head. It’s fascinating stuff. The ‘negative’ side of the coin may have your character who instinctively protects the weak be drawn to danger and have a death wish.

But why?

This is where you go into backstory and complete character profiles to unearth dark secrets and coveted memories. Try one of these Character Creation Sheets.

Try some personality tests out on your cast of characters. There are tons all over the web. The following use Myers-Briggs Type Indicators.

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

http://www.my-personality-test.com/personality-type/

https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/personality/start.php

You can also test for the four temperaments, which are (from Wikipedia): Sanguine/optimistic, active, social; Choleric/short-tempered, fast, irritable; Melancholic/analytical, wise, quiet; and Phlegmatic/relaxed, peaceful.

http://personality-testing.info/tests/O4TS/

https://www.thecalculator.co/personality/Personality-Test-by-Temperament-322.html

http://temperaments.fighunter.com/?page=test

Try some of these tests out on yourself and your characters. You might be surprised by what you discover.

Blessings, y’all.