My Book Character Takes a Personality Test

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

When I embark on a new novel idea, about the first thing I make notes on is the main character. I write out a few of her attributes and go from there, trying to make her as round and complete as possible. I want to know her as well as I know myself.

I love making character charts - I’m sure every writer has their own way of doing this, because we all love creating characters, don’t we? But I’ve always wanted to take a personality test as if my character were taking it and so, since I’m developing a brand-new protagonist for a new story, I tried it out over Thanksgiving.

A friend told me about this personality test which is called The Keirsey Temperament Sorter-II. But let me give you this website: http://typelogic.com/. You can find the test by clicking on the question “Is there a test?” and then, on the new page, clicking on the link that says Keirsey’s Temperament Sorter II. However, I took that test before as myself and came up with a personality assessment that wasn’t exactly right-on (it said I was an ISFP, which I’m not). The website I directed you to, typelogic.com, also has an explanation for each of the types (which is where you’ll discover what in the world those letters mean - no, they do not describe a droid). If you don’t want to take the test, it’s worthwhile and interesting just reading those. That’s how I found my true personality type, INFP. Each explanation includes a list of famous people and literary characters with that personality and even the personality types that contrast or complement it (helpful for developing secondary characters, don’t you think?).

I enjoyed taking the Keirsey test for my new character yesterday. There were a lot of questions, and sometimes they seemed to be asking the same thing, but I wrote them all down in my notebook to reference again and again because they forced me to think about what my character would do in sundry situations - many of which might find place in her story. However, I did not feel like giving the website my name and email address, so I didn’t get her droid name - code - initial - whatever you call those letter groups. But I certainly got a better understanding of her personality.

Next, I perused the personality codes on typelogic.com and narrowed down her type myself: INFJ or INTJ. She’s introverted and perceptive, practical yet idealistic, and a hardworking perfectionist.

If you decide to take this test or find your personality type (or your characters’!), please let me know your results or how it worked for you!