Enneagram for Character Work = Game Changing

I'm not sure if this will be allowed (and if it's not, I'll remove), but this has changed the entire way I create characters, so I thought I'd pass along the juicy info, and there's some fab news too (scroll to the bottom to skip all the blah-de-blah for just the good news)!

TL;DR: Claire Taylor did a Kickstarter last summer for building characters using the Enneagram personality psychology system, and it changed my writing game. She's doing another one for relationship building that closes in 3 days. And now, I gush about it for several paragraphs. Skip to the *** if you don't care about that.

Claire Taylor, Enneagram author coach extraordinaire, ran a Kickstarter last summer for a book called Write Iconic Characters. In it, she spelled out the 9 Enneagram Types and how to apply those details to character creation.

Y'all. Y'ALL. This book changed the entire way I map character creation.

I know our book beloveds come to us in highly personal and individual ways—I'm probably the biggest diva about character building because if I lose their voice, I can't write them at all. I used to use a highly detailed character background worksheet, complete with a picture of visual inspiration, even for secondary characters. The more detailed I could make it, the better I felt I knew them. What their fave drinks/colors/movies/cars/phrases were, accents, mannerisms, background stories, clothing style, pets, nicknames, tics, even health challenges. I wrote it ALL down. My Scrivener projects were ... messy.

But I would still struggle, and often. When it came to putting MCs and side characters into friction-filled situations—whether that involved an argument or physical danger—I wasn't always clear how the character would react to the events. When it came to them reacting to others' behavior, it was worse. I'd get so stuck. Sometimes for weeks at a time. My poor spouse got stuck with sooo many conversations where I'd try to pick and pick and pick at what was wrong with a scene to get myself unstuck.

The Write Iconic Characters book changed all that.

Not only did it help me map all the characters in my existing WIPs into their respective Enneagram Type categories, it's helping me map them in new stories. The book gave me a deep understanding of how they'll behave in stress moments, what their growth arc might involve, how they react to traits of those around them or influence others (considering if the Type of those others are absorbent types or not).... If they're in downward spirals, I understand how they behave as they move down and then back up along that healing spectrum (or not, if they're the villain and don't heal). I get now how the others will react to the spiraling character.

This technique fixed three books that were in limbo at stuck points, and I've used it to help me finish plotting the final 3 books in a 5 book series that's been languishing for 2 years. I've also finished a short story I started over 10 years ago as a freebie giveaway/lead magnet, but I now realize it has serious legs, so I've changed my plans to publish it as part of a series of standalone-but-interconnected shorts that have a matching theme. And because I understand how the characters all relate to each other, the themes I can weave through the whole narrative are so much more fun! Anyway, I'm rambling now. Sorry. I'm just so excited!

***The Best Part—for those who skipped/skimmed***

The best part isn't that Write Iconic Characters is still available (at wide retailers) so anyone who writes books can get it now. The best part is Claire Taylor is doing another Kickstarter, following up on the first book, and I could not be more thrilled to (back the new one, duh, but also jump up and down and shout about it to) spread the word, because I'm not kidding, the first one entirely changed how I understand character development. That she's going even deeper makes me absolutely giddy.

Write Iconic Relationships is the next iteration, and if it's half as good (hell, a quarter as good) as the first one, my anticipation as a romance writer is immeasurable. The Kickstarter campaign only has a few days left. The campaign closes 9/10. Right now, she's incredibly close to two of her stretch goals (13 backers away from one, and $1K from the other). But even if there were no stretch goals at all, I would want all of us to have the chance to get in on this treasure trove of character creation gold.

Sorry for the long gush, but I really mean it, this method has changed so much for me in building not just character background, but what they do in reaction to my plot twists. I feel like I'm writing richer, more nuanced stories than I ever have before. I cannot WAIT to see what my readers think.

If I ever get to meet Claire Taylor in person, I will probably embarrass myself in how profound my thanks will be.

Full disclosure: I make ZERO in return for this endorsement. I am not affiliated with Claire Taylor or FFS Media in any way. Just a very enthusiastic and grateful backer of her last Kickstarter and passing on the current one in the hopes even one other writer gets the joy I have.

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Enneagram for Character Work = Game Changing