One of my favorite things about reading is that fictional characters are every bit as individual as people in real life. When they’re written well, anyway. It’s fascinating to me that in a world of tropes, we may find similarities but never the same story, same heroine, same hero. It takes all types of authors to write these characters, but it takes all types of characters to keep readers devouring those books, am I right?!
In college, I was tied between career options. Much like Brynn, the heroine of my debut novel, I began pursuing a teaching degree but then freaked out and switched programs halfway through. Unlike her, I couldn’t decide what else to study, so I went to the career center and they signed me up for a little testing to help me pinpoint my strengths and potential careers. One of those tests was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
I was fascinated by what I read about the different personality types and how creepily accurate the description for my type was (ENFP at the time, though now I get ESFP as often as I get ENFP, and both are freakishly accurate). If you have absolutely no clue what I’m jabbering on about, you can learn more at 16personalities.com.
Essentially, there are 16 basic personality types, 32 if you look at the subtypes Assertive vs Turbulent. Understanding personality types as an author helps me to gain insight into what makes my character tick. It’s funny, though, because I do very little character research before I begin writing. Some authors complete entire character worksheets, brainstorming everything from their favorite color, book, or movie to giving them a birthday. Some do full personality profiles with their MBTI, Enneagram, birth order, and even love languages. Which I think is really awesome, but—and maybe it’s my ADHD brain wiring—I simply can’t sit and focus long enough to do. I wait until my characters start talking to me at random times throughout the day as I’m going about my regular business. It can be a bit disconcerting at times, but I’ve learned to just roll with it and keep the Notes app handy on my phone. But it’s still fun to type them after the fact just to see if the results fit!
Some people don’t buy in to personality types or tests, and I totally respect that opinion. But an increasing number of employers and even churches are using tests like these to help people figure out how they work best and with whom.
My daughters, husband, and even mom have taken the MBTI recently for different reasons, so it’s been a frequent topic of conversation around here. Reading the various descriptions got me thinking about people I know, which of course got me thinking about my characters. So I went and asked a few of my author friends if they type their characters, and I found some surprising and fun responses.
Some of you long-term IR blog readers may remember Valerie Comer’s post from late 2021, in which she revealed the personality types of her Urban Farm Fresh heroines. It takes some serious wizardry to manage covering that many different personality types in one book series! LOL!
Liwen Y. Ho sent me the types of her hero and heroine from Love at Second Sight, one of the books in the Fab Forties rom-com series (which I LOVE and you should totally read if you haven’t yet). Movie star hero Brad is and ESFP-A, which totally explains why I related to him so well. He’s a total people person, and the way he makes Cassie feel good about herself is the best. Ironically, Cassie is an ISFJ-A, a defender who cares for people as well as Brad does only from an introverted perspective. My husband is an ISFJ-T, so it cracked me up to discover a fictional pairing that matched me and my husband so well!
Have you read Teresa Tysinger’s Laurel Cover series? You absolutely should!! She writes the most beautiful word pictures. Suddenly Forever‘s Cora and Luke are the same same as my hubby and me too! Remember how I said I’m and ENFP as often as ESFP (maybe more)? Well, here we have photojournalist Luke, a fellow ENFP-A, and Cora, an ISFJ-T. Cora is an inward processor, especially after a traumatic loss, but she’s quick to empathize and care for others who also ache. Luke is creative, curious, adaptive, and intuitive, which makes seeing and meeting Cora’s needs a natural part of who he is. The highest value we ENFP-As have is authenticity, and I can say from firsthand experience Teresa NAILED this with Luke.
This is a fun post! I have gotten both ESTJ and ENTJ.
That’s quite interesting. I haven’t taken one of those tests, but it’s amazing how they can be so accurate.
I took the version on 16p and it said I’m an ISFJ. I loved this post because it explained why I’ve connected so much with some characters I’ve read before, while it’s also made me curious about other books/characters I haven’t checked out yet.
I got ISFP-T 79% Introverted, 67% Feeling, 71% Prospecting, 56% Turbulent
I have done them before after blogs like this one. I know I am an introvert. and think some of the others change at times as some were hard to really answer right.
What a fun idea to type your characters! I’ve taken numerous personality tests, but never remember the results. I’m whatever type has trouble answering personality tests because they overthink every question. I do know I’m definitely an extrovert though!
😂 I love it! Well, at least you know there’s an E and a T (thinking) in there somewhere. Lol! I’m glad you stopped by. Your comment made me laugh, and I needed that for sure!
Also, welcome to the rare extrovert reader club! Lol! The one community where we’re not the center of the action. 😂
🤣🤣🤣
I remember taking a test when I was in college, but that was many more years ago than I would like to admit. I do not remember which test or the results. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Thanks for stopping by, Debbie! Hope your March is a little brighter than the last few months have been. 🙏🏼
haven’t taken it
I’m blown away by all the Defenders here! I thought I was unique. 😂 Haha! It’s neat to see so many of us in one place! What a fun post! Thanks, Jaycee!
Lol! I know, right?! Maybe I should’ve titled it, “It takes mostly just the one type and everyone else is a bonus.” 🤣
This is my type Defender (ISFJ-A) it is so very interesting. Thank you so much for this, I enjoyed reading what type I am. Have a great day and a great rest of the week.
You are in very good company around here! Lol! Thanks for stopping by today.
Just took the assessment:
Defender ISFJ-T – Defenders are very dedicated and warm protectors, always ready to defend their loved ones.
93% Introverted – Introverted individuals tend to prefer fewer, yet deep and meaningful, social interactions and often feel drawn to calmer environments.
76% Observant – Observant individuals are pragmatic and down-to-earth. They tend to have a strong focus on what is happening or very likely to happen.
60% Feeling – Feeling individuals value emotional expression and sensitivity. They place a lot of importance on empathy, social harmony, and cooperation.
72% Judging – Judging individuals are decisive, thorough, and highly organized. They value clarity, predictability, and closure, preferring structure and planning to spontaneity.
71% Turbulent – Turbulent individuals are self-conscious and sensitive to stress. They feel a sense of urgency in their emotions and tend to be success-driven, perfectionistic, and eager to improve.
Seems pretty accurate 🙂
And as per my post, a pretty common personality type among readers/book characters! Lol! I’m glad you joined the fun today.
I am going to take the test. Fascinating.
It’s always fun to learn something new about ourselves, isn’t it?
I’ve never thought of running a book character through a personality test. That’s really cool! I am definitely an INFP-T.
I love that you can state definitively lol! Sounds like you got a very accurate match on yours. 😆
Mine was ISFP-T I took it a few years ago but don’t remember what I was
One of my daughters is an ISFP. I wonder how many books characters fall into that type? I’m guessing a few rom-com heroines, but I’d have to dig a little lol!
I actually took the test for a job, but I don’t remember what I got. I did not get the job, though. I think I will take the test again just to see whst I get.
Thanks for stopping by and reading today and participating in the fun! I hope you find your results insightful.
I’ve done it before, but can’t remember what it said. I’ll have to do it again and write it down this time! lol!! I do know I’ve been told I have a very strong personality, and I know for a fact I’m smack dab in the middle of being introver/extrovert, as we did a test in high school with 26 questions, I had 13 for each. My introvert side is the most powerful most of the time.
Did you know that a person who is equally introverted and extroverted is called an ambivert? I am one as well, though I lean, more toward the extroverted side. With ambiverts, it’s very situational, and it all depends on the company we are with which side comes out more predominantly.
This was a fun test to take and interesting to see the results. I am a Defender (ISFJ-T) 73% Introverted / 70%Observant / 82%Feeling / 97%Judging / 64% Turbulent /
I’m discovering that a lot of readers are ISFJ, lol! Thanks for joining in the fun today.
Just took the test and I am a ISTJ-T. I have taken the Meyers-Briggs test in the past at a job, so this is accurate. Very interesting information. But I had never thought about it concerning characters in a book.
I hadn’t put a lot of thought into it before, but a while back, a friend of mine was talking about typing her characters. She’s very fascinated by the MBTI and uses it, not only for her book characters, but also to help her better understand the people in her life.
I love the idea of finding out characters personality types, it definitely adds another dimension, and you are right, you can do it easily on characters that are well written. I will have to check out the test for myself – my husband did it via his employer a few years back, I can’t remember exactly what ye got but I can remember reading the description and being impressed by how accurate it was!
My husband had to do one for his work recently as well, and he was very surprised by the accuracy of it. I think it gives us good insight into how we work both by ourselves and with others. It’s definitely helpful tool.
I have not taken theMBTI or the shorter, free version but I am going to check it out because it sounds interesting.
I had to take this test for a company I worked for. It was for an employee retreat, and they wanted to help everyone understand the different personalities working together. I am ISFJ, same as many years ago. 🙂
My husband had to do it recently for work too. It’s interesting that our personalities don’t really change much over time, though certain aspects do.
Ha ha! I hope you enjoy your reading your results! They’re always fascinating.
I took the test, and here are my results:
Personality type: Defender (ISFJ-A)
Traits: Introverted – 54%, Observant – 76%, Feeling – 68%, Judging – 72%, Assertive – 90%
Role: Sentinel
Strategy: Confident Individualism
I’ve never thought about any of this, other than I know I’m kind of introverted. The Judging is not what I thought it meant – doesn’t mean that I judge people. I definitely learned some things about myself.
Thanks for sharing! I love learning new things about personalities and what makes us tick. I’m glad you enjoyed it!