I tend to shy away from gadgets for the story writing process. But sometimes I find something that seems credible enough to try. I usually get a story started with a character, either based on someone I’ve known, or know, or someone I’ve made up, or some combination of these. But my characters sometimes suffer from lack of complexity and contradiction. I have never been good at “interviewing” my characters or writing up a detailed biography of them. I’m not good at doing these for the same reason I’m not good at making outlines. I’m a seat-of-the-pants type writer. But becoming your character and taking a personality test for him or her (or it) bears some consideration. One such test is based on Jungian psychology, the Jung Typology Test. Not that it is a foolproof method for developing character. But it’s something to toss into the toolbox.
So, you could think about how your character would answer each question on the test. Put yourself in your character’s mindset, then take the test as your character. Not only can this help you learn about your character, but the test results could give you story ideas. In particular, look at what the test suggests about your character’s weaknesses. Like fears, habits, blind spots, obsessions, personality disorders, recurring dreams, and so on. You could imagine your character in a situation where one of those weaknesses becomes a problem, and there begins the seeds of a story.
The test asks questions I wouldn’t think to include in a character interview or resume and suggests career choices and romantic preferences for the character, among other things. The responses are “yes” or “no,” so it’s a straightforward and first-thought spontaneous set of reactions.
For what it’s worth.
Reblogged this on The Darkness in the Light.
Thanks for the reblog!
This is a great idea – I’m going to try it out now!
Hope it works!
Thanks for visiting.