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During one of my weekly writing group sessions, our host, outstanding author Hazel Manuel  brought up an idea that she and another of our colleagues discussed at a recent lunch (I’d name the other person but I haven’t been able to ask permission yet). This idea was to use the Myers-Briggs Test as a way to define the personalities of the characters in our stories.

So what’s the Myers-Briggs Test?

The Myers-Briggs is a personality test that was developed by mother/daughter dynamic duo of psychology Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers which expanded on theories first put forth by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. It uses a series of questions to place aspects of one’s personality into definable categories.

Each of the categories are assigned two letters of which the test taker will receive one depending on how the questions are answered. After all scoring is complete the subject will have a four letter code that can be used to further examine parts of their personality.

The letter pairs and their root words are:

Extraversion – Introversion

Sensing-INtuition

Thinking-Feeling

Judging-Perceiving

When I took this free online version myself, I discovered my code was ENTP. This wasn’t surprising. I’ve taken the test as part of various staff meeting activities in the past with similar if not the results. Repeatable results are the cornerstone of good science!

Now what does this have to do with our characters? (more…)

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It’s the start of a new year which means it’s resolution time! Time for new projects and goals. Time to set out to make lasting changes to our lives. Unfortunately, these lasting changes usually last anywhere from a few hours to a few months. All in all, our shiny new resolutions tend to succeed only at disappointing ourselves.

Now, before you preemptively take a swan dive into that old familiar pit of despair I ask you to, as Bill Nye would say, “consider the following.”

Pretend, if you will, that you are riding along with Jake and Elwood Blues in their retired cop car, the bluesmobile. As you careen toward the state line (your goal) you must dodge the Nazis and the cops (distractions and temptations) at every turn or risk a trip back to Joliet Penitentiary (failure).

On your journey you’ve managed to snake your way through Illinois (your project/resolution) performing your way past dangers, distractions and even Aretha Franklin. Despite all that, up ahead, there’s something in the road. Elwood spots it first but you recognize it instantly. The bridge is out. You can’t keep going. You’ve failed.

For some, failure is a road block. It acts as a termination point. The end of your project. A signal to start all over again.

It need not be so.

For all of you wondering why I’ve gone with a Blues Brothers analogy, here it is. I say this year, we make like Elwood and Jake and use that road block as a launching pad. We accept our failures and use them as motivation. I say we floor it and send our projects sailing over our failure in a hail of glory.

Failure doesn’t have to mean starting over from the beginning. It can mean starting again from where ever you are when you fail. It means suiting up for the next game, even if you lost the last. It means baking more cookies even if the last batch tasted like clay. It means continuing deeper into the cave even if you peed yourself because the bats were too scary.

If you drop ten of the thirty pounds you resolved to lose then go on a burger bender, it doesn’t mean you need to give up and gain it all back. Keep going from where you are. If you plan to write a novel this year and you fail, don’t give up. Don’t ditch your project. Keep writing. Finish what you started.

Will I succeed at all of my resolutions this year? Probably not but I’m going to try to be like Elwood and Jake when those failures come. I’m going to make my bluesmobile fly.

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Okay, just tried something on a whim and WOW!!! I’m kicking myself for not doing this sooner.

“What did you do?” you ask with a small glimmer of interest shining through the fog of boredom.

Well, dear reader, I used bullet points. Don’t you see? Bullet points!

“???”

Sorry, let me back up.

I’ve been working on the synopsis of my novel The Coals, to include along with query letters. By working on the synopsis I really mean bruising my forehead against any object sturdy enough to take a pounding.

Then an experiment.

I decided to go through my story arc and bullet point the important parts. The intent was to use this as a skeleton. A way to simply get all the info out there. Instead, when I finished, I just took out the bullets, polished what I wrote, and Bob’s-your-uncle.

A synopsis was born.

Clear, concise, and fast.

It might not be for everyone and it might be common sense for others but damn did it work for me.