What Type Are You?

by Kimberly A. Cook                          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back in the ancient days, I was a business trainer for the federal government. Some of the fun things we did were take tests to know ourselves better and help teach others. Enjoyable tests, not the SATS or anything. One I really enjoyed was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test.

We answered questions on a large form and then our results came back to tell us which of the 16 “types” we were. The great thing is there are no wrong answers and it explains a lot about group and family dynamics. Mine came back as an INFJ, which translates into a writer and emotional sponge. Always good to know.

One of the best books we used is “Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type” by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger. Not only does this book help you for your own career choices, but it is a goldmine for information to use when creating characters.

The four letters specify if you are an Extrovert or Introvert, Sensing or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling and Judging or Perceiving. When you get all the combinations possible, it ends up being sixteen.

Each personality type and their motivations are explained in a chapter in the book. Perfect for building fiction characters, figuring out yourself and your family. My sister had taken the test  at one time and we found out we were exact opposites except we both wanted to be in charge. That explained a lot about our childhood! There is usually always one type opposite from the other types in any given biological family. The cliché of a black sheep in the family might really mean a different type!

Learning about ourselves as writers and how we fit into the world is fascinating from a creative and personal standpoint. What type are you?

(P.S. I know I’m a day late posting, but the Trailblazers won Game 4 with their backs against the wall! Rip City!)