Friday, June 18th, 2010
Testing your Characters’ Character.
You’ve probably done the Facebook Quiz that tells which Batman villain/Disney Princess you are (I’m Belle from Beaty and the B… I mean the Riddler, I’m the Riddler!!) But what results do you think your script’s protagonists would get?
In scriptreading, often a character acts out of character so they can steer the plot towards the desired set-piece. This never reads well. Similarly, you can tell when a writer is writing a character who is not like the writer…yet still makes the sort of decisions that the writer would. This doesn’t ring true either.
The Meyers-Briggs test is a personality profiler that categorises you into one of sixteen personality types using 70 ‘yes or no’ questions. It’s quick to do and I’ve become quite obsessed with it of late, profiling everyone I know and finding the results spookily accurate. But whether you believe the entire human population can be categorised so easily or not, chances are your fictional characters can be.
Following my post about films set in a single location, I’ve been working on my own confined script where the protagonist’s decisions/actions will really swing the (hopefully) pressure-cooker environment one way or t’other. My heroine turned out to be an ENFJ categorised as the ‘Idealist Mentor’:
ENFJ = Extrovert + iNtuitive + Feeling + Judging
or ENFJ = 
or 
But the fact that she’s a ‘Mentor’ type doesn’t mean she has to take the Mentor role. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice and Sam Becket from Quantum Leap are also considered ENFJs, both sharing the same altruistic, externally focussed and positive outlooks and are both clear protagonists. Yet this personality type also has good powers of persuasion and manipulation - so there’s no reason why a ENFJ can’t be the antagonist either.
So TAKE THE TEST - either for your character or even yourself 
. The results provide a really good abstract character bio that you can then check corresponds with the decisions you’ve made for your protagonist.
I’d love to know if you find they match up (for your character or for you!)
June 18th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Neil Baker said:
Why have I never thought of doing this before?! Thanks!
“You’ve probably done the Facebook Quiz that tells which Batman villain/Disney Princess you are (I’m Belle from Beaty and the B… I mean the Riddler, I’m the Riddler!!)”
Oh dear, John. Oh dear……
Wait. *takes test* I’m Gaston!!!! Yes, Manly Gaston! Certainly not Belle…….these things should ask your gender!
June 18th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
john said:
Well sure, Gaston had issues…but calling him a Disney Princess is a bit harsh
Have you tried it on one of your own characters? Let me know what you think if you do!
June 18th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Stacy said:
I’m an INFJ. ??? Not really familiar with this test. But the description seems to fit.
June 18th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
john said:
Hi Stacy - thanks for letting me know. INFJ ‘The Confidant’, eh? Apparently you make up less than 1% of the population (but it sounds like we could do with a few more of you
)
I wasn’t familiar with this test either until my girlfriend discovered the test and posted on her blog about whether it made her suitable for her job… http://bit.ly/bQqAGf It just got me thinking that it could also work with fictional characters in writing plus I just found it really interesting in general to profile people and see how they interacted.
Just by googling, it’s been really interesting to see which famous people or other fictional characters match which profiles.
I didn’t mention before is that I’m an ENFJ like the character in my script. This was odd at first but then I realised that I didn’t want to admit I was writing a very personal character. When I profiled some of my other characters who I thought would be more like me, I think it just showed I just wished I was more like them.
I guess that’s what fiction’s for
June 18th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Stacy said:
My personality type makes up less than 1% of the population?? That explains so much! ; )
This is a great idea in getting to know your characters. Seems like it gives you more insight into them.
June 18th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Michael Ross said:
Yikes, just done the test and I’m an ISTJ, apparently. (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) This is not good. My career inidicator points me towards computer programming, technology education, engineering and automative repair. (Yes, that sounds right) And famous people of my type are Warren Buffet, Lance Armstrong, Donald Rumsfeld (kill me now!) and Great Garbo. This is just too depressing.
What are you? I think it’s all a load of bullshit.
June 19th, 2010 at 7:22 am
john said:
Ha. Hey Mike - just had a quick google and found a lot of people lamenting they found themselves scoring an ISTJ - especially those of an artistic bent.
If it makes you feel better, I gather Christian Bale and Rowan Atkinson have been profiled and, knowing you in the ‘real world’ I’d say your writing/performing techniques come across as a lot more methodical and ‘detective-like’ than other arty folk I know (for starters - you actually finish your scripts) let alone that your scripts are very observant.
Lots of people have also profiled Holden Caulfield as ISTJ…and with you as my comparison…well
I came out as ENFJ (benevolent pedagogue type) so am like the character I’m currently trying to write. This means I’m actually going to have to think ‘what would I do?’ in my script rather than ‘what would someone cooler than me do?’ which is how I usually try and write
June 21st, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Neil Baker said:
Gave it a try with one character and it was really interesting. Made me think alot more about them and their life. Not so much interested in the result, but the actual answering of the questions is really useful. Thanks!
June 23rd, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Michael Eckett said:
Thanks for the link. I put a couple of characters through the test. One (very close to myself) was INFJ and the other was ISTP. It’s pretty useful to see the differences there
June 24th, 2010 at 8:50 am
john said:
Neil - glad it was interesting. I’ve found both the Qs and the results useful (I’ve found far better definitions of the results elsewhere online but this quiz was the most user-friendly). But yes, it’s definitely good to ask yourself some of these questions like ‘would my character rather read a book or go to a party?’ as the story I’ve been using this test for hasn’t made me think of that sort of thing.
Eckmi - glad it gave you a different perspective! I’ve also found comparing the different types to the casts of ensemble TV shows etc as it helps you work out your dynamics *between* characters too as I find your character mix is as important as the actual characters.
Plus it’s all a bit of fun, innit