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Creating unique characters to play off each other can be difficult. How do you make them sound different, act different, be different? I usually tap into the Sixteen Personality Types, but much of that is crouched in scientific mumbo-jumbo making it hard to access especially when you just want to pants a story. Struggling with the difference between Extrovert and Introvert when all you want to do is write a scene right now can take all the wind out of your sails.
What other groups of personality architypes are there that a writer can take and run with?
Astrology could be tapped to make each of your characters different. Just google a sign – the definitions provided are involved from romantic features to preferred jobs, how they are good and bad at relationships, familiar and romantic – from there you have the basics of a character. And since it isn’t a “scientific” thing, the websites are much more accessible and often give humorous examples. You can use the Western Signs like Pisces and Scorpio or the Eastern Signs like Dragons and Rabbits.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Pick two astrological signs and create a scene of 50 to 250 words. Comment below how it changed your character development.
My Attempt: When the Stars Align (12/24/2023) – I had named the first character Leo just at random, but as the scene went on, I decided to match characters to star signs. Some of the characters I named because they were already showing those traits (Virgo/Virga), and others had personality quirks driven by their astrology name (Sagittarius). I found it really helped make the characters be different people without much effort. In the future, if I think my characters are sounding or acting too much the same, I might tap into these architypes again as a character development tool.
