@LindsBrac

Before you ask, I totally intended the pun.

Character development can be one of the most interesting—and challenging—parts about writing fiction. As writers, we get to experience the world in so many different ways, through so many varying personalities. Then we give those experiences to our readers—and show them perspectives they may otherwise never have seen.

However, in order to write characters that create a spectrum as broad and bright as the world in which we live, I need to understand how we are each fearfully and wonderfully made.

Enter the Enneagram. I first read about this personality tool in Anne Bogel’s Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything.  She notes, “The Enneagram pinpoints not our weaknesses but our motivations—the underlying reasons that drive everything we do.” Motivations, huh? Exactly what my characters need to advance the plot and keep my story moving.

So what is this Enneagram thing? And how in the world do you say it? (I got you. It’s any-uh-gram.)

The Enneagram is an ancient tool that looks at the core of who you are. Because its roots are spiritual in formation, and a 4th century Christian monk is actually credited with its beginnings, the test looks at who you are in relation to God, others, and self. As part of the spiritual component, you might read about how each of the nine personality types have an underlying emotion or besetting sin.

Which brings us full-circle to motivation—we, like our characters, are all motivated by what we want and what we want to avoid.

The Enneagram divides personality into 9 core types. Like all tests, every person carries a little of every type. But you’ll know you’ve found yours when a description not only resonates, but makes you feel uncomfortable. I’m a type 4, and I sure don’t enjoy admitting that so much of many of my issues stem from my desire to feel special.

By using the Enneagram types to understand the character you are developing, you can come to a richer, more thoughtful portrait of this person. Someone who is a Type 2 (Nurturer) will respond quite differently than someone who is a Type 8 (Challenger). Often times when editors call us out a plot point that seems unmotivated, it is because we have made a decision to have our character do something that he or she would probably never consider, given his or her personality type.

Over the next several months, we’re going to explore the Enneagram types for characters. We’ll look at examples of each type in literature—and I’d love to have you share some of your own. For more reading (and listening) about the Enneagram, here are some of my favorite resources:

Enneagram Spiritual Formation Plan from Saturate

Wagner Enneagram Personality Style Scales (WEPSS)

Eclectic Energies

The Essential Enneagram

Modern Mrs. Darcy

Enneagram.net

The Enneagram at Work

Enneagram and Coffee on Instagram

Eclectic Energies

Enneagram Types of 99 Fictional Characters

Don’t miss the rest of the posts in this series!

• Part 1: How to Use Enneagram to Type the Characters You Write
• Part 2: THE PERFECTIONIST: How to Type Your Characters with the Enneagram
• Part 3: Enneagram Type 2—How to Use Enneagram to Type the Characters You Write
• Part 4: Use Enneagram to Type the Characters You Write – Type Three
• Part 5: Use Enneagram to Type the Characters You Write – Type Four
• Part 6: Use Enneagram to Type the Characters You Write – Type Five
• Part 7: Use Enneagram To Type Your Characters – Type Six
• Part 8: Type Your Characters – Enneagram Seven
• Part 9: Type Your Characters – Enneagram Eight
• Part 10: Type Your Characters – Enneagram Nine

Lindsey P. Brackett writes southern fiction and mentors writers. Her debut novel, Still Waters, was an INSPY finalist and named 2018 Selah Book of the Year. Get her free newsletter (and a novella AND a short story!) at lindseypbrackett.com or through BookFunnel.