by Diane Krause,@DianeKrause2
In addition to writing and editing, one of my other
interests is human behavior and personality types. I’m fascinated by the way
we’re each uniquely wired, and what it takes for us all to work and play nicely
together.
For a number of years, I’ve worked with a personality
assessment called The Birkman Method™. This particular assessment stands out
among others, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, because Birkman measures
more aspects of an individual’s personality than other assessments. One of
those aspects is Stress Behavior, a
concept that can be quite useful for fiction writers.
Stress
Behavior, according to The Birkman Method™, is the behavior we exhibit
when our needs aren’t met. That seems logical, right? When all is right
with the world -- the bills are paid, the laundry’s done, the children are
behaving, and we’re exceeding our word count quota – our behaviors are usually
pretty positive and we’re a joy to be around. Yet when all is not
right with the world, well, it’s not a pretty sight, is it?
The Birkman assessment takes that concept and breaks it down
by the four primary personality types, with each type possessing its own set of
positive behaviors, basic needs, and stress behavior. An understanding of the
four types and some common stress behaviors can help us add a bit more
dimension, or complexity, to our fictional characters. After all, we do want
our characters to be stressed, right? Stress creates conflict, which is
critical to creating great fiction.
The following is a crash course in the four basic
personality types, and some common stress behaviors that are likely to pop up
in each when all is not right with his or her world.
The
Doer Personality. This is the classic Type A personality. He’s
quick to make decisions, likes to be in charge, and lives to see results. This
is the Ready-Fire-Aim guy. He’s most
comfortable with people who think and act like him, and he tends to have little
patience with creative types who prefer to explore options and think before
acting. He prefers to deal with people in a frank, direct and straightforward
manner with a minimal amount of emotion and sentimentality.
The
Doer’s Stress Behavior. When his needs aren’t met – say he’s stuck
working with a bunch of free spirits -- he will tend to become insensitive,
bossy, dogmatic, impulsive, edgy, and impatient. He’ll be overly factual and
abrupt, and will tend to have difficulty responding to the personal needs of
others.
The
Influencer Personality. This is your killer saleswoman. She loves
being around people and can work a room like nobody’s business. The Influencer
likes novelty, change, a minimal amount of structure, and the freedom to do her
own thing. She tends to get along well with most people, but doesn’t care for
people who are overly insistent on rules and procedures.
The
Influencer’s Stress Behavior. When the Influencer is stressed
– say her personal freedom is limited and she’s stuck following rigid rules –
she’ll tend to become defensive, argumentative, resistant to rules, easily
side-tracked, and may be overly concerned with saving face.
The
Rules and Regs Personality. This is your class process
person. To him, Heaven – not the devil – is in the details. He loves working
with rules, definitions, processes, and systematic procedures. He’s not much of
a people person and is typically content working quietly by himself. He’s
orderly, consistent and cautious, and likes all the lines clearly drawn. He
wants to know what’s expected of him, and what he can expect of others
(preferably that they’re following the rules).
The
Rules and Regs’s Stress Behavior. When order is lost or
abandoned, the rules guy will be stressed. In reaction, his fear of the
unexpected will cause him to become over-controlling, too factual, opinionated,
and resistant to change. Personal interactions with others will be even more
challenging than usual.
The
Thinker Personality. She’s the best idea person around – creative,
innovative, and almost always able to see things from a new angle (a good
quality in a sleuth). She’s insightful and typically easy-going. She longs for
freedom from social demands, values strong personal relationships, and needs
plenty of time to make decisions.
The
Thinker’s Stress Behavior. If the Thinker’s world gets too loud or
busy, she’s easily overwhelmed. Extended social demands, pressure to make quick
decisions, heavy doses of criticism, and bossy people will all cause the
Thinker to become stressed. When that happens, she’ll become oversensitive,
easily hurt, idealistic, withdrawn, and even more hesitant to make decisions.
She’ll also tend to second-guess almost everything she does.
As writers, of course we want to create fictional characters
as complex and unique as real people – a formidable challenge. Borrowing traits
from the living and breathing can often give us a jump-start on creating the
characters that will bring our stories to life.
Are there any interesting stress behaviors you would add to
this list? What are some characteristics you’ve given to your characters to
increase the conflict in your stories?
Diane
Krause is a freelance editor, writer, and author of 25 Ways
to Create Classic Characters Readers Will Love. You can connect with Diane through her website at www.thedianekrause.com, or on Twitter @DianeKrause2.
25 Ways to Create Classic Characters Readers Will Love is a short book designed to inspire writers
and provide a jump-start on creating believable fictional characters. Available
on Amazon.