Enneagrams/Character Pro

I've never heard of this software, but I have some experience in psych. It's difficult to fit any one person perfectly in these molds. We're all mixes and shades of grey.

Write the character as s/he's meant to be written and don't sweat the details. You'll know if s/he acts out of character by instinct, right?

zahra said:

What if a character doesn't fit in with any one of the types? What if she seems to be a mixture of, say, the Revolutionary and the Self-Promoter? Does this mean her character is not, somehow, viable? Is it then best to pin her personality down to one or the other to make her fit a viable 'type'?

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I've never used any software like this. Sounds like a fun diversion, but not something to base your writing decisions on.

I'd say you've either got a Revolutionary Self-Promoter or a Self-Promoting Revolutionary. Both sound interesting and viable to me.

A viable character in my mind is one that is both compelling and consistent. If you start thinking of your character as a "type" rather than a person, then you might be in danger of creating a character that's one-dimensional and a cliche.

Just my two cents.

I've never heard of that and don't use any sort of software to "create" my characters. I try to base my characters on real people, on real human nature, which in my mind is far too unpredictable to be predictable by some program.

I've seen the software and similar ones for 'making' a novel, a screenplay, etc and they are so limited. They're like intellegence tests that only ask for what's on the test, they don't look for what is outside of the paper and the ink. Don't let them define your story or your work, you can do beter than that.

I have to say that I don't like the sound of this software. It might be good to just get you started and play around with, but in the end I think it would leave you with some stereotypical characters. The best characters I find are those that come from the people around me, or from myself. Also, characters and plot I think must go hand in hand. Plot arises from character. One person will get into one kind of conflict whereas another person might get into another type of conflict. All depends on what sets them off.