How to Use MBTI to Build Better Characters

This year one of my goals is to blog more about writing. Because I feel like if I blog about writing it will motivate me to actually write? We'll see how it goes. Recently I decided that I need to do a complete rewrite on my current WIP. Before I start though, I want to plot the entire thing out and develop really strong character profiles. One of the issues I discovered while reading my WIP was that one of my main characters was really flat. And I think it's because I didn't have a good handle on his personality. Building profiles for each of these characters prior to the rewrite will hopefully help me strengthen these characters and more fully flesh them out.

As I was starting this process, I began thinking about how I wanted to develop their personalities. At the company I work at, every single employee takes the Myers Briggs personality test and then we do all kinds of training and development to go over it. It helps us understand how each other's brains work and how best to communicate with different personality types. When I was going through the program, I found it fascinating so I decided I was going to implement it for my character profiles.

The Myers Briggs personalities are made up of four different letters. I'm just going to give you a brief overview of each letter, but you can read more about them here.

E or I

Extrovert or Introvert

Extroverts are outgoing, enjoy working in groups and have to speak in order to process their thoughts. 

Introverts deal with their thoughts, ideas, etc. internally. They think to speak. They feel comfortable being alone. 

S or N

Sensing or Intuition

Sensing types pay attention to physical details. Things they can see, smell, taste, touch, or hear. 

Intuition types pay attention to impressions or meanings they get from information. They like to read between the lines. 

T or F

Thinking or Feeling

Thinking types are very logical and don't let their own feelings or other people's feelings get in the way of their decision making. 

Feeling types make decisions based on the people around them. They are in tune with others emotions and take them into consideration before making decisions. 

J or P

Judging or Perceiving

Judging personality types are very organized and like to have things planned out. 

Perceiving types are more spontaneous, tend to wait until the last minute to complete tasks and are very flexible.

I evaluate each of my characters based on these criteria and decide which type fits them best. Then I go peruse Pinterest and just search whatever type I'm looking for. Say it's ENFJ. I type that into the Pinterest search bar and bam! I'm hit with tons of information about this personality type that helps me flesh out my character better. I take notes and write down things that stand out to me on a large sticky note which will eventually be added to my storyboard. 

Pinterest also has tons of resources on MBTI types of famous characters. Like The Avengers for example. So if you think your character is a lot like Tony Stark or Black Widow, you may be able to find the correlating personality type. 

Once I'm finished with this process I have a solid foundation for each of my characters' personalities. I know, based on the type I've discovered for each of them, how they will react in certain situations. I think MBTI is such a valuable tool to writers and I'm so happy that I was able to learn more about it through the company I work for and through my own research. 

Have you ever used MBTI to help you fully flesh out your characters?