🐻Thoughts from the Den #12: Build-a-Hero(ine)
Using Astrology or 16-Personalities to Develop Deeper Characters
✨ Ever wonder what your hero(ine)’s sun sign might be?
Or what Enneagram your villain might be secretly hiding?
This post is for every author who wants to deepen their character arcs without slogging through 300 pages of psychology textbooks.
🌀 Why It Works
Astrology, 16-Personalities (based on Jungian archetypes), and Enneagram offer ready-made patterns of motivation, fear, and growth.
By mapping these systems onto your characters, you create:
Internal consistency
Natural conflict
Built-in transformation arcs
🛠️ Choose-Your-Tool Guide
Pick your favorite system:
🌞 Astrology
Assign a sun/moon/rising combo to key characters
Use their signs to shape emotional reactions, habits, and flaws
EX: A Scorpio moon heroine won’t open up easily—but when she does? She’s loyal for life.
🧠 16-Personalities
Use MBTI types to explore how characters think, feel, and make decisions
EX: An INFJ antagonist may have the purest intentions… but still manipulate outcomes “for the greater good.”
🔥 Enneagram
Great for discovering hidden fears and core motivations
EX: A Type 3 character might chase fame to escape shame—but what happens when it’s no longer enough?
✍️ Writing Prompt
Choose one main character. Assign them a personality type using your favorite system. Now write:
A journal entry from their POV
A moment where their “type” causes friction with someone else
A secret they’d NEVER tell… unless pushed
🐻 Bonus Bear Tip
This tool is especially powerful during early drafting or character revision stages.
It’s not about limiting your characters—it’s about revealing their depths.
✍️ This post was originally published over on the Author’s Mojo site as part of this week’s Mojo Musings series.
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