When writing, I like to get to know my characters before I start, so I know how they’ll react in certain situations. In addition to considering the past events that shaped them and their goals/needs, I use several different personality assessments on my main characters as well as their close family/friends and their antagonists.

The main one I use is Myers-Briggs because it considers four different continuums and there are lots of descriptions, videos, and quizzes for the different personalities. Then I always give my characters one dominant Clifton Strength (or sometimes a combination), although several of my own strengths bleed into most characters I write. 😉

(If you haven’t the Clifton Strengths assessment, I can’t recommend them highly enough. Buy the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 then use the code to get your top 5 strengths. The strengths are fascinating, and they’ve helped me understand a lot about myself and others. Plus, the test was developed more scientifically than a lot of personality tests. Just answer the questions honestly and make sure you aren’t interrupted for the 30-45 minutes it takes to complete the assessment for the most accurate results.)

Anyway… So I thought it would be amusing to include some fun links for personality assessments. (For the taking the tests themselves, see the links above.) For most of these, you already need to know your Myers-Briggs type.

• Myers-Briggs as Mythical Creatures
• Myers-Briggs Marvel Comic Characters
• Myers-Briggs Disney Characters
• Frank James’ Personality YouTube (His videos are hilarious!)
  
  • 16 Personalities at Thanksgiving Dinner
  • If the 16 Personalities Had Superpowers
  • 16 Personalities Interacting as Families
• Brittany Fitcher’s Which Fairy Tale Object Are You? (If you haven’t read her, her fairy tale retellings are great.)
• Which Disney Character Are You?
• What Animal Are You?
  

And bonus link, I also give my characters a color season, so I can have them wear colors they’d look nice in. This website has one of the easiest decision trees for determining that. 🙂

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Example: The Enchanted Bird (with links)

Heroine: Wren

• Myers-Briggs: INFP: Idealist (Mediator)
• Dominant Clifton Strength: Input (my #1 too, btw)
• Color Season: Warm Autumn

Hero: Hawke

• Myers-Briggs: ISTP: Mechanic (Virtuoso)
• Dominant Clifton Strength: Self-Assurance
• Color Season: Clear Winter