The Psychology of Characters

So you've imagined your character.  You think you know them well.  You hope your readers love them and come to know them like you do.  We all want to write great characters.  What writer doesn't want a character that is quoted, loved, and remembered?  As readers, the characters we remember are genuine if nothing else.  They are not predictable but we understand their choices and those choices deepen our understanding of them while still being consistent with what we already know.  It's like wow they did that; but, we don't doubt they did it.

As character lovers, we writers must become students of human nature.  One way I stumbled upon was personality tests.  Originally I took them to better understand myself.  The reason most people take them by the way.  Then the idea struck me.  What if my characters started taking these personality tests?  I could answer the questions not as myself but as my character.  Then I read the pages of analysis that these online tests produce and often I see insights into my character that I originally did not know.  This extra knowledge won't help you write that climatic scene.  It will though help you put in those little details that lend authenticity to your characters.

So anyway.  I'm going to tell you today about two tests that I think are interesting.  Don't limit yourself to these two tests.  I intend, and I hope you do as well, to seek out every variety of test I can find.  These two though are pretty rich examples.  They will provide you with lots of fodder for characters.  

The Firo-B test has four types.  The Choleric, the Melancholy, the Sanguine, and the Phlegmatic.  One thing for sure though is that people will not be 100% a particular type.  There are interesting combinations.  If you do a search online you'll see tons of stuff relating to the Firo-B.  

The Meyers Briggs is another popular and a bit older test.  It produces a 4 letter code that represents your personality.  You can get a lot of info here http://www.personalitypathways.com about this test.  

There are more tests than just these.  Try them all.  Why not?

Here is a link to a page with lots of links to tests.  Many of the tests are free.  Some of course are not.  I make no money from any of them.  
http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/4personaltest.html

So what do you do now?  You take the tests for your characters.  You can also read the results without taking the tests as a means of jumpstarting your imagination.  Maybe one of the types will give you ideas for a particularly interesting character.   Good luck and good writing! 

Road trip!

Ah, yes, who doesn't enjoy a road trip when it's freeze-your-butt cold and snow can come at any time?
Well, the weather is never too bad to keep an author at home. So come Friday, you'll find Turquoise Morning Press authors Lozi Hart, Elizabeth Chalkley and Cat Shaffer at LaGrange, Ky., for a weekend of meeting readers.

And since Valentine's Day is oh, so close, you'll find all your Rolling Scroll authors celebrating with more meet the author days!

Come visit us from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Greenup County Public Library in Greenup, Ky., and from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, at the Boyd County Public Library in Ashland, Ky.

And remember, it's not too late to win an e-book! This month, the book is Cammie Eicher's "Dead Man Stalking," a humorous ghost story involving a sexy cop and a dog only a mother could love. Just send an e-mail to cammieeicher@windstream.net to get your name in the drawing.

Get ready for a fun ride!

Welcome to The Rolling Scroll, a new blog that we hope will amuse, entertain and occasionally enlighten you. The authors are seven writers connected by friendship, a willingness to overlook each other's foibles and an appreciation of the finer things in life, like chocolate and pizza.

A new blog will be posted each week by one of us:

Elizabeth Chalkley
Cammie Eicher
Lozi Hart
Jennifer Johnson

Angela Lewis
Cat Shaffer
John D. Wright

To entice you to drop by, we'll be giving things away. The prize up for grabs this month is the e-book of Cammie Eicher's "Out of the Shadows," the first book in her Shadow Ancient paranormal series (think vampire suspense!) To get your name in the drawing, simply leave a comment; the winner will be selected on Jan. 31.

We hope you enjoy our humble offerings and come back often!