@LindsBrac

Except for the last two months, in which I launched a bookand directed Oklahoma!(hello to my own type 3 tendencies), we’ve been discussing the Enneagramas a tool for building authentic (and flawed) characters. There are nine Enneagram types—and experts believe everyone carries tendencies of each type. But the beauty of the Enneagram is its focus on discovering your personal motivation, which we do already when developing characters, right?

Readers tell me I have a gift for “creating well rounded characters!” I’d love to tell you it’s because I’m healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically … but in actuality my “gift” probably stems from my own personal struggles with identity and being loved for who I am.

Which is the core struggle for someone who identifies as a Type 3 on the Enneagram.

As characters (and real life people) Threes are quickly known for their successes. They are goal-oriented, efficient and productive, and exhibit mult-tasking as a superpower.

When my third daughter was a newborn, my mother stayed with us the first several days at home. I did nothing but nurse my baby and sleep. She folded laundry, cooked dinner, picked up my older girls from school, washed all the dishes, and fixed me round-the-clock snacks—all while working remotely from her laptop at my kitchen table. At the time she was in her last years as the liaison between the Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the website Recreation.gov. One evening I walked into my kitchen to find her frying chicken, cuddling my whimpering baby, and talking on the phone TO THE WHITE HOUSE all at the same time.

Multi-tasking superpower confirmed.

Other Type Three Characteristics:

• Competitive
• Workaholic
• Will “shape-shift” in order to make a necessary impression.
• Optimistic
• Restless (have trouble doing nothing).
• Not well-connected to personal feelings or feelings of others.
• Often feel like a phony.

The Enneagram offers insight into when a person is healthy or unhealthy within the sphere of their type. Healthy Threes, while still goal-oriented, believe they are loved for themselves rather than their accomplishments. Unhealthy Threes, however, believe love must be earned, and the only way to gain love is to be successful at everything they do.

A character with that kind of motivation can give your book an incredible spiritual and emotional arc—not to mention stir up all sorts of obstacles to increase the story’s tension.

One of my most beloved side characters in my Edisto seriesis Ben Townsend. He’s an entrepreneur and suave businessman, the sales persona to Tennessee Watson’s construction business. For my free novella, Magnolia Mistletoe, I wanted to dive into the motivation behind Ben’s attitude—and what I found was a young man who fears failure because he believes he must be loved for his success.

Let’s give our characters—and the world—hope that we can all be loved for more than what we do.

Who are some of your favorite Type 3 characters? Share in the comments below!

For more Enneagram Type Three Study:

• Modern Mrs. DarcyEnneagram.netThe Enneagram at WorkEnneagram 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 cooks big family meals, but she complains about the dishes. Her debut novel, Still Waters, released in 2017 and was named the 2018 Selah Book of the Year. Her latest novel, The Bridge Betweenreleased July 31, 2019. Someday she hopes to balance motherhood and writing full-time. Until then, she’s just very grateful for her public school system.

Connect with Lindsey and get her free newsletter at lindseypbrackett.comor on Instagram@lindseypbrackett.