Laura D Durham

Recently I’ve started exploring the Myers-Briggs Typology. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s a way of finding out who you are, your particular weaknesses and strengths and an insight into how you think and move in the world. There are free online tests that you can take to find out what you are, and there are a lot of books on the subject, as well. Carl Jung began the work, and the mother-daughter team of Myers and Briggs broadened it and then others have continued to refine it.

Me, I’m an INFJ. It was a relief to see my own personal struggles as black-and-white text, let me tell you. It was a relief to know that I wasn’t strange and had a misshapen brain or something. I felt selfish when the idea of getting a part-time job at a fast food restaurant to help pay down some bills faster was virulently abhorrent to me. Everything I’ve read says that our values are sacrosanct to us and we can’t put them on hold for some cash. Or even to fit in with other people. Which is a fun thing since fitting with others is kind of an INFJ thing. So, yay, I’m weird, but there are others like me! …sorta. Apparently, it is said that INFJs are the rarest type out there. So, yes, there are others who have the same quirks as me, but they’re not exactly breaking my door down (which INFJs would never do since we’re also introverts and the idea of busting down some stranger’s door is just… yikes!)

Anyway, I tell you all this to say that authors have been using this typing system for a while to flesh out characters. This is how I fell into it, by the way. I was reading an article on character creation and it was mentioned. And, following the link trail, I found myself. <–Possible nerdy song lyric.

There are 16 types and then you have variations on those types due to nurture’s influence. An extrovert raised by a small cult of anti-society people is going to be forced into overdeveloping his or her introvert tendencies. And yet, get them into a college or something, and it would be a fascinating story to tell of them blossoming into their natural potential. Knowing both their natural tendencies as well as their upbringing could be a ton of fun to explore. I’m working on a story now that I think I’m going to type them and see who they are in all levels of their lives.

Oh, interestingly, I’m married to an INTJ, which is the typology of both Hannibal Lector and Professor Moriarty. It’s also the most misunderstood of the types when used for characters.  I married the evil mastermind, bitches! Woot!