3 Ways I Use MBTI for Characters // because lists and letters are fun

The words 'Myers Briggs Personality test' has haunted me basically from right at the beginning of my blogging life. People randomly used letters to describe their personality. People asked me what 'MBTI' I was and for all I knew that might've meant 'massively bouncy tiny iguana.' 

It was actually only this year-ish that I really bothered to work out what this mysterious thing actually was.

Each of the older half of the family took the test. I almost gave up halfway through because I was bored, BUT NO. I persevered until the end. (And that was the day that I discovered that I was an extrovert. And it absolutely made sense, I'd just never considered the fact that it was even a possibility. I thought I was just hyper. xP) 
For anyone who was wondering and doesn't already know - I'm ENFP. For anyone who is still as clueless about the Myers Briggs test as I used to be - yay I'm not the only one. Go check it out. :P

But since my personal discovery of these mysterious four letters and the meaning they have, I've found them really intriguing and actually quite useful when it comes to characters. And that's what we're going to talk about today.

How does the MBTI help me with characters? Well, there's multiple ways I find it useful, but let's go with three...

1: It's an easy way to describe a character if asking for personality advice

No one's the same, obviously, but it can really be quite useful to be able to ask an ENTP friend (for example) about how they react to situations and how they think and show emotions, as research for an ENTP character. I've done this multiple times and it has absolutely helped with the realistic aspects of the characters I've done it for. I don't copy off everything they say (and I often try get as many of that 'type' as I can to see a lot of points of view) but it really good to have that inside perspective on how they see things.


2: Researching in general

If you look up 'angsty characters' you'll get a huge variety of posts and articles.
If you look up 'INTJ characters' it narrows down the search and in a matter of moments becomes at least 50% more applicable to said character.

I've used this tactic multiple times too and it really does help weed out the less related articles.


3: Doing the test from their POV is actually a really good experience

Whatever test you're doing (there's a fair few out there), there are always questions that honestly just don't relate to your characters and their situations. BUT it can be really interesting to work out what would so-and-so do in that sort of a place? How would he react? It's just another way that I've worked out some teensy little details about my characters that really do help me know them better as an overall person.


Bonus - the MBTI of some of my characters!! Because you definitely wanted to know this. (Shh, don't argue. Of course you wanted to know.)

Rogue Escarlate and co.
- Will Escarlate: ENTP
- Ben Kit: INFP

A Sprig of Green
- Braden Argo: ISTJ
- Michayla: another INFP

Adventures of Lando Erif
- Lando Erif: ISFJ
- Titus Kanter: ISTP
- Thomas Kanter: ISFP
(Interesting note: the twins were 1-3% off identical in everything but the thinking/feeling section which they were 10% apart in. So - very similar.)
(Also interesting note: all three of them start with 'IS' which is interesting. Although Lando was close to 'IN.' *strokes chin thoughtfully*)


And there you have it! Keep your eyes open for a BIG and IMPORTANT and EXCITING post this Friday. *looks mysterious*


Do you use MBTI for your characters?
What are some of the benefits you've found?

Disclaimer: I'm absolutely not advertising this test or site or anything. I've just used it in the past and have found that it can be somewhat useful. :P