Writing with the Enneagram

A secret to success?

In life, as it is in fiction, the concept of character is an incredibly difficult one to grasp. How could we ever explain or quantify the complete nature of humans. Luckily for us, we can leave that one to the psychologists, as writers are not aiming to write people, we’re aiming to write characters. A character, as opposed to a person, is allowed to be easily grouped and identified, and only requires a small number of specifics surrounding them in order for them to pass as believable.

The single most useful tool that I have found when attempting to create and develop characters is the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a personality type method, which groups people into 1 out of 9 types, with each type also having 3 subtypes, and two ‘wings’ but those additions aren’t strictly necessary. In real life, many argue that personality typing methods fail to capture the fullness of a person, but that actually means they are a perfect tool for writers, as it enables the perfect amount of complexity.

First, a quick overview of each of the types. I strongly suggest that you research further, as it would be impossible to go into any significant amount of detail in this article.

The 9 types are split up into three sections, or ‘triads’, being the Gut types, the Heart types, and the Head types. In my opinion, in order to understand the types themselves it is critical to first understand each of the triads. The triads are set up to explain the type's main area of thinking, so a gut type uses their gut to think, a heart their heart and a head their head. This is crucial for writing characters because these triads are one of the biggest influencers in how they make decisions.

Gut types react quickly, and will mostly base their decisions on instinct. This allows you to write characters which are highly based on impulse. The three types within them also respond to the impulses in different ways. 9’s will deny the existence of these impulses, focusing on remaining ‘chill’ or easy going, while 8’s will express them outwardly. 1’s are quite different as they aim to control their instincts, and harness them to achieve their goals. 1’s in my opinion are the most difficult to understand, so some more examples might be needed. Hermione from Harry Potter, and Amy Santiago from Brooklyn 99 are both type 1s. Type 1s are very typically centred on a clear definition of what is right and what is wrong, making them often very adherent to rules, or some sort of ‘code’. Their ‘instincts’ are often to do with what they believe is morally correct.

The heart types are easiest to understand if you view them as all missing a piece of their heart emotionally. The difference between the three types is the unique ways in which they react to that missing piece. Type 2’s seek connection, and they fill their hole with love and affection from other people. They may often come off as kind, but it is important to know that while the intentions are often pure, subconsciously, they are giving out affection because they seek affection back. The type 3’s replace their missing piece with concrete achievements and goals. These are usually after something very measurable, because the most important thing to them is that act of achievement, and not the internal pleasure that they receive. These people will come off as very driven, but often they will be far too ambitious to ever be satisfied. The final heart type is the type 4s. As opposed to the other types, instead of attempting to fill in the missing piece of their heart, type 4’s will proudly display it. Lots of people and characters are mistypes as 4s, because people assume that if they are in any way creative, that they must be a 4. This is not strictly true. Some of the key aspects of a 4 are individuality, meaning they strive to do a lot to be unique, but another aspect is solitude. While creativity is important, the idea that they often prefer to work alone is overlooked. Independence, uniqueness and solitude are all key pillars of the 4.

The final types are the head types, sometimes referred to as the fear types. The reason that they are often called the fear types is because of their inherent fear of the world, which in each type manifests differently. Type 5’s tend to seek security internally, while type 6s will seek security externally. The 7’s will completely ignore security all together, and instead try and pretend that their fear is non-existent.

One of the most useful parts of the Enneagram in terms of writing is the system of stress and growth. In the interconnected web of the enneagram, the two different types it is connected to are where the type will go to in stress and in growth. For example, the type 8 when unhealthy will isolate itself from others, just like the worst parts of the type 5. But when in a healthy state, the type 8s become far more caring and loving, like the best parts of the type 2. This is a perfect tool for writers as this automatically gives us pre-written character arcs. Think of Joel from the Last of Us, one of the best examples of a type 8. His character arc is exactly what the enneagram has written for him: Starting as a stereotypical type 8, but as he becomes healthier he gains traits of a type 2, becoming a caring, father figure for Ellie.

Overall, This kind of writing is what makes the enneagram an extremely effective tool, far more than just a standard personality typing system. Not only does it give you character traits and specific ways in which your character will make decisions, but also provides a realistic way in which the characters will change as your story progresses, i.e. a character arc.

In this post it is impossible to go into any significant detail about all the types, but there are a few resources I would recommend. Typology Central has incredibly detailed resources for each type, which is incredibly important for writing depth into your characters. Additionally, You’ve Got A Type, on Youtube, has nearly unlimited resources on all the types, potential relationships, and other such things making his channel extremely valuable. Last but not least, if you want it in the specific context of storytelling, then LocalScriptMan also on Youtube has a great series about it.

If you’ve made it this far, then I thank you greatly for reading. Don’t forgot to tell me your thoughts in the comments, and I’ll see you next time.