Sam says: "my guess is that (like for all of us) it's not just a simple bad habit, but a deeply ingrained behavior or belief that takes some significant growth to overcome."

That's absolutely right! And of course it's even harder for our characters to overcome their ingrained behavior/belief than it is for us, because WE get a lifetime to do it...whereas they have to do it in 250 pages.

I've always thought it'd be a fun challenge to tell writers "the next nine books you write need to feature each of the nine types" -- or, well, actually "the next four and a half books."

Because you're right; we do tend to fall back on the same general types...I've had more Nurturer heroines and Adventurer heroes than anything else, and felt a little strange the first time I tried an Adventurer heroine and Perfectionist hero. Go figure!

Laurie, who just has a thing for Adventurers :)

Loved this!

Thanks so much for the insight on enneagrams. It's a whole new world of tools to build better characters.

My friends and I love your work!

Kay, your phrase "Instant conflict" is a perfect description of what happens when you pit your characters' personalities against one another!

I like that kind of conflict even more than the kind that comes from outside forces -- villains, tornadoes, foreclosures, etc -- because it's built right in. The rescue can't come from an outside force -- police, paramedics, lottery -- which means the characters have to EARN it.

Although, okay, there's something to be said for characters who ARE police or paramedics or millionaires...

Laurie, figuring they deserve challenges of their own!

"If it helps me in assessing real people, why not apply those attributes in developing fictional characters?"

Lyle, you're so right -- that's what I like best about enneagrams!

Because the cool thing is, we can actually use them to CHANGE characters...whereas we can't always do that with real people. (Drat.)

There's an enneagram tradition that says nobody can tell anyone else what their type is. I might be pretty certain my husband is a Leader, for instance, but only HE can say that for sure.

But with characters, there's none of that "respect" required -- we get to make 'em be whatever we want!

Laurie, loving the power :)

Feeling like an "adventurer" today is a great reason to post! And it could be you really ARE a Type Seven most of the time, or maybe just once in a while.

Because we all do have some of each type in us, here and there...it's just that one comes up more frequently than all the others.

There's more to it than that, though. If, for instance, you're usually a Seven Adventurer, you'll also have "wings" of a Six Skeptic and Eight Leader. And every type also "goes to" two other types, meaning you'll have traits of (for Seven) a One Perfectionist and Five Observer.

Those just happen more often than the other traits -- which gives the enneagram a whole lot more dimensions.

Laurie, hoping you have all kinds of fun today :)

Oops, just realized I don't need to put the questioner's name in the headline because all these posts are showing up in perfect order -- how cool!

Anyway, as for combinations that don't work together...my next book is going into detail on that, but the short answer is "nope, they can ALL work together. It's just a question of how."

At first glance, we might think it'd be tough for two Eight Leaders, who are both used to running the show, to get along well. But in fact they can get along great if they're each clear on which aspects of the show they run -- maybe he takes care of the business while she takes care of the family, or he takes care of the checking account while she takes care of the savings account.

And it might seem like two Nine Peacemakers would have a conflict-free life, but that won't necessarily happen either. Because any little issue might expand into devastating proportions just because neither of them wants to confront it head-on!

Even (to stay on Eights and Nines) a Leader and Peacemaker have the potential for discord -- one gets frustrated at the lack of response; the other plays passive-aggressive -- and the potential for happiness -- one envisions; the other applauds.

So there really CAN be difficulties with any pair...but there aren't ANY which are un-workable. It's just a question of what they'll need to work on!

Laurie, thinking it'd be handy if there WERE some automatic "do marry" and "don't marry" assignments

Okay, I gotta ask...what KIND of cigar jokes? ;)

And how cool that you liked the book well enough to share with others -- that's lovely to know; thank you!

Laurie, who's heading to Talking Books tonight to record that very same one for the blind (although we're still only on Chapter Four)

"Can a person be more than one type?"

They sure can!

We all have aspects of all nine types in us. It's just that some are more prevalent than others.

And a lot of the time, circumstances force us into acting like types that aren't necessarily our own. We all become nurturers, for example, with the birth of our first baby. (And our second and third and so on.) We all become observers when we're holed up studying for the final exam, poring over research notes and devouring every fact in sight. But that doesn't mean we've become a Two Nurturer or Five Observer at our core...only that we're engaging in those behaviors.

(Gosh, how pompous does THAT sound? "Engaging in those behaviors?" Aaack!)

We act like different types all the time. (There, that's better.) So it makes sense that our characters will, too.

It's just that, with characters, we don't have as much room to show all those different expressions. That's why it's simpler to go with JUST their one type, and throw in the wings or arrows as needed. Because if any of us had to tell our own life story in just 200 pages, we'd want to make it as simple as we could!

Laurie, envying writers who get to keep their characters going for years and years

Shoot, I've gotta break off and get to work...it's fun being up early to start enneagram chatting, and I hate to stop just as such a great question comes in. :(

Back soon!

Pat, congratulations on recognizing your own type -- some people have a hard time choosing, but it shouldn't surprise anyone that a Leader doesn't!

And while I don't think it's ever done consciously, people sure do choose mates/partners/friends based on their type. When you look around at the people you MOST enjoy, they tend to fall into the same handful of numbers.

Of course, you might have met half a dozen other men who shared the same traits as the one you married, so we can't say it was ONLY because of his enneagram type. But that's a huge factor in his (and everyone's) personality, so it definitely affected your choice!

Laurie, figuring it must've been a good one to last 50+ years

Darlene, you're right on target in thinking characters can be a combination of numbers AND that we all change with the circumstances.

As for the main flaw, it's gonna be the character's main strength taken to extremes. So whether you start by creating their virtues or their vices, either way you know where to find the other one -- it'll be two sides of the same coin!

Laurie, figuring you might want to try on all the possibilities before choosing which best suits your character

Nan, it sounds like you're ready to go right now!

Which makes me suspect you've already got the information you need...of course I hope it's my book and my class :) , but there's actually a whole LOT of good enneagram info out there.

Have fun using it!

Laurie, who likes it both for writing AND for understanding real-life people

Dawn, that's a good point -- you're absolutely right that a flaw can be turned to a heroic trait.

Okay, maybe not flaws like being a serial killer, but certainly the flaws we encounter in fictional characters. (And, heck, even Hannibal Lecter used his passion for control to help the FBI.)

So if even THAT flaw had a good side, it's a lot easier to find the good side in flaws like being too picky, too overbearing, too devious, too unassertive, too grandiose, and so on. They've all got positive aspects, as well, which is especially handy for creating wonderful heroes!

Laurie, suspecting it's probably ALSO handy for seeing our at-home hero's annoying little traits as tolerable :)

Oh, yeah, the next one is enneagram-based as well, but it's all about relationships.

I was surprised when a friend who's a marriage counselor (we went through counseling school together, and he's one of the few friends I've got who ISN'T a writer) said he'd been giving my book to clients who came in for couples therapy.

Because I'd never thought of it outside the context of writing. But, shoot, so much of writing IS about relationships!

So that's the book I'm taking off this fall (well, taking off from teaching but not from my advertising day job) to write...and hoping I don't go through withdrawal symptoms over not having any classes in progress.

Laurie, who's okay for a week or two but after THAT...ulp

Kris, what a great idea -- using character types to get the writing process moving again is brilliant!

Because you're right, knowing somebody's type makes it easy to figure out how/why they'll react to any given situation. For example, if they come out to the grocery store parking lot and discover someone has dented their car...

Perfectionist will think: "that's just WRONG; I'm angry!"
Nurturer will think: "some poor driver needs help; I'm proud of my thoughtfulness."
Achiever will think: "who's watching? My reaction has to look good."
Romantic will think: "oh, poor me! My life is so full of turmoil!"
Observer will think: "hmm, a six-inch dent. Or is it five? No, six."
Skeptic will think: "yep, danger is everywhere -- gotta stay vigilant."
Adventurer will think: "I wish I'd done that myself on a racetrack!"
Leader will think: "gotta make sure the insurance pays up fast."
Peacemaker will think: "in the overall scheme of things, no big deal."

And every single ONE of those responses could lead to some kind of conflict!

Laurie, annoyed that the advertising clients are ASKING for stuff :(

Angeleque, how nice to meet another Five!

That's usually the most frequent type I find in enneagram classes, because we love learning how things work.

And I'll bet you can guess which type appears the LEAST frequently...yep, it's the Adventurer Seven, because they're out having adventures. :)

Laurie, who'll be embarrassed if June turns out to be a whole different mix

Julie, that combination sounds like you might be a One with strong wings on either side.

And always wanting to fix a problem when you see one? That could SURE be the Perectionist!

That doesn't mean you go around with a white hat on, vanquishing evil and insisting your way is the only right way. But I'll bet you don't slack off very often, and are usually trying to make things better for everyone around you.

Which is a wonderful trait to have. :)

Laurie, liking the "Mrs. Fix-it" label

Oh, Jeannie, I remember you from that forum -- you asked some GREAT questions!

And I've gotta ask...what character types did you wind up creating?

Laurie, who can't wait to read 'em :)

Michael, those others are ALL good vehicles for building characters!

The reason I like enneagrams best is because they're (at least for me) the easiest to identify. With the others, I feel like I'm working to keep all the traits in mind; like there isn't an instantly-recognizable person there.

But that could just be that the first enneagram book I read was so lighthearted and easy to understand! I loved Keirsey's "Please Understand Me" even though it was more dense, and I've seen some pretty dense enneagram books as well. The Renee Baron/Elizabeth Wagele book, though, was a great introduction to what could've been a tough concept.

But now I've gotta go check out that other book...could be a whole lot MORE great stuff in there!

Laurie, liking "Jung at heart" :)

Susan, I'm right there with you -- maybe it's a Five trait!

Laurie, already thinking (as I'm sure every other Observer ON here is thinking) what a cool study that would be :)

Bon, it's amazing how often we DON'T write characters of our own type -- maybe because, to us, that type isn't especially exciting. We've already figured out all the pros and cons, so there's not much left to discover!

Laurie, whose favorite Five character was written by a Four...go figure :)