How do you develop fictional characters?

Using psychology to develop characters

It’s important to know your characters well, to understand what makes them tick and how they would behave in different situations. I like to develop rounded characters by using personality questionnaires to profile them. One tool I use is Myers Briggs which looks at ‘preferences’ on four different scales. Here is a brief explanation of the concepts behind it.

Click on each ‘concept’ in order to see a larger view that will open in a separate browser.

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Using the four-letter codes you can create a profile. Cristina’s profile is ENFP. Davy’s is ESTJ. Cristina’s client, Leon, is INTP. 

If you are interested in reading more, full descriptions of the characteristics of people with these preferences can be found online. Just enter the four-letter codes in the search bar.

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