As many of you know I've been focussing my time and energy on how to get better at writing fiction via The Writer's Block. I've always been passionate about words, and this great community gave me the motivation to actually start learning the craft. In the past two weeks i've been reading articles like I was in college again. I've read about point-of-view, plotting, pre-writing, writing the first draft, editing, developing characters etc. In this last part I read an article with tips to create a strong, consistent character. The author recommended to fill in a personality test, answering the questions as you imagined your character answer them. I followed the advice and filled in the form. The result was an eight-page long conclusion about that certain personality type. I thought it was a great tool for character development, but of course my curiosity got triggered. I wanted to fill this in myself.
Adventurers live in a colorful, sensual world, inspired by connections with people and ideas. Despite all this, Adventurers are definitely Introverts, surprising their friends further when they step out of the spotlight to be by themselves to recharge. Just because they are alone though, doesn’t mean people with the Adventurer personality type sit idle – they take this time for introspection, assessing their principles. Rather than dwelling on the past or the future, Adventurers think about who they are.
Adventurers live to find ways to push their passions. Riskier behaviors like gambling and extreme sports are more common with this personality type than with others. Fortunately their attunement to the moment and their environment allows them to do better than most. Adventurers also enjoy connecting with others, and have a certain irresistible charm.
I've taken a couple of sentences together from the conclusion of my personality type: the adventurer. When I read the explanation of my assigned type I was a little creeped out to be honest. So many things that were written, were right on the dot. As you can read in above paragraph, I can totally relate to what's said there. I sometimes do take time for myself to recharge, I do have more interest in gambling and extreme sports than my peers, I constantly search for new, interesting projects to be passionate about, I think of myself as an introvert etc.
I've taken tests like these before, but I've never had a conclusion that was this close to the way I think and feel about myself. I think it's also very nicely animated, and the sixteen different types with each their unique characteristics, almost make it like an accomplishment to find yours. It's a little bit like the sorting hat from Harry Potter that tells you to which school house you get assigned.
Since I was this enthusiastic about the outcome of the test, I also convinced my girlfriend and some friends to take the test. The results of my girlfriend's test were as astounding as mine, and it offered some nice topics to talk about afterwards. The tests of my friends were a little more disappointing since they couldn't relate as much with their results.
It might be my never ending need for introspection, but I really enjoyed taking this test and reading about my personality type, perhaps learning a little more about who I am as a person and why I behave like I do in certain situations. It also gives me greater insight in the characters I want to create in my upcoming stories. The more I can keep my characters consistent to a certain type, the more they will come alive and let the reader relate to them.
If you want to take this test, you can find it here. If you do, please share your results with me in the comments below and let me know if it was as recognizable for you as it was for me.
Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
