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What’s Your Sign? Selling More Scripts
Through Personality Typecasting “What’s most
important? High concept or character?” In the screen- and
novel writing classes I teach, most students shout out high concept. Yet
consider your favorite book or film. Isn’t there a character you still remember
and wonder about, weeks, months, and even years after the story ended? Crafting truly
original characters is both a joy and a challenge. At times, characters just
suddenly enter our minds, fully formed. Author Ray Bradbury claims he hears his
characters’ voices demanding that he march to the keyboard and write out their
stories. Other times, we have a story we want to tell, and need the
“appropriate” characters to play it out.
Professional
speakers know that every audience is filled with four basic personality types
and that each “type” understands their message in a different way. Furthermore,
some “types” need to hear information in the form of a story or anecdote, others
need to see it visually (perhaps as a chart), and others need a demonstration. As writers, it’s even more important to understand that the characters in your book or screenplay must mirror the real world in terms of common personality types.
Hippocrates, often
called the father of modern medicine, divided humanity into four basic types
based on a combination of an individual’s physical attributes that hinted at the
hidden “humors” (or predominant fluids) in their body, consisting of blood,
phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Each fluid was associated with a specific
personality characteristic. Blood, for example,
was associated with a passionate Sanguine personality. Someone with a Phlegmatic
personality was sluggish and dull, while yellow bile represented a Choleric
individual quick to anger. Black bile represented a Melancholic personality. So, you might ask,
what does any of this have to do with selling your screenplay or novel? Ancient wisdom
suggests that every human being has one of four predominant personality types.
When you understand your character’s specific personality type, you have instant
insight into his positive and negative traits, as well as compatible
personality types and the personality types that will bring conflict and angst
into your work. Thus knowing your character’s astrological sign or personality
type can pave the way to richer, more vivid characters and a work filled with
more tension, conflict, and emotion. When you, as a screenwriter or novelist, assign a specific personality type to your characters, you can better:
- Understand how
your character relates to and conflicts with other characters, In my new book
Creating Characters: Let Them Whisper Their Secrets, I reveal an easy way to
create intriguing character types with the More-Personality ™ system, which is
loosely based on the ancient Enneagram in addition to personality typecasting
theories developed by Hippocrates, Carl Jung, Myers-Briggs, and others. The four basic styles include:
Seen in his best
light, the Mover’s personality makes the world go around. Like Energizers, they
are often the main character of the story or film because of their drive and
ability to focus on the bottom line. The Mover
protagonist is admired by those who know him, seeing him as a stern but
benevolent taskmaster. Movers work hard for their seat of power and pride
themselves on their accomplishments. Unlike the Energizer, the Mover does not
believe in the concept of “fake it until you make it” or spinning a career with
smoke and mirrors. In real and reel
life, Movers are usually not immediately likeable. They don’t try to charm or
take pains to be pleasant. In fact, their blunt manner can put many people off.
Yet when they are at their best, Movers are natural leaders whom everyone
looks to in a time of crisis. They can be excellent but stern mentors and can go
out of their way to help others climb the ladder of success. Movers crave
control and power above all else. Unlike the Energizer, they have the focus and
patience to methodically plot their course and can wait years, even decades, for
their plan to come to fruition. Keenly observant of
the world around them, Movers take nothing at face value. Credibility is
essential to the Mover, and everyone in his social or business circle must prove
his worth. Male Movers can be
overbearing in personal relationships, as their desire to prove their
superiority takes place both in the office and private residence. Their “macho”
behavior can be problematic in marriages, and their desire to “conquer” can take
form in adulterous affairs. The women who do earn a Male Mover’s respect think
as they do, and are Movers themselves. In the world of
literature, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, and Detective Hercule Poirot share the
Observer personality style. The hallmark of an Observer is that he observes
everything with extraordinary perceptiveness and insight, even if he doesn’t
“seem the type”-- such as Lt. Columbo, played by Peter Falk in the TV series “Columbo.” In real life, this
group includes virtually every profession, yet its members are characterized by
their analytical nature. In contrast to the
Energizer, this personality style demands verification of all information.
Before giving a talk, an Observer reads volumes of information and is careful to
backup all sources. As a group, they
are highly independent and focused, often to the extent that they live in their
own world. They are wary of strangers and new information until credibility can
be established. When President Regan spoke of a new alliance with the Russians,
he used the words: “Trust, but verify.” This is the credo
of the Observer. Well-educated
Observers take pride in their keen intelligence, and excel in occupations
involving law, science, mathematics, architecture, and of course, as detectives. Observers usually
play out a scenario in their mind before taking an action. Their worst fear is
to be “proven” wrong or stand corrected. Observers function
at many different levels. At their best, they are top-notch scientists or
attorneys, well versed in every aspect, every minute detail, of their
profession. Many Observers can be found on Court TV, where as attorneys, they
find the most obscure detail of the law that gets their client out of jail free.
Most detectives are Observers, as they take pleasure in analyzing and piecing
together elements of a crime. Albert Einstein was
an Observer, as are Stephen King and director David Lynch. Reasons for this
include the Observers’ intense desire to always be right, and their terror of
being wrong or unable to convince others of their keen, superior intelligence.
Anxious by nature, many Observers lose it completely when a world they’ve
defined by their own logic suddenly seems illogical-- and there’s nothing they
can do about it. In an office
environment, the Relater can usually be found in the Human Resources department.
Unlike the Mover personality style-- who demands “just the bullet points” of
whatever you are going to say, the Relater wants you to sit down first, make
yourself at home, have some tea, and nibble on a cookie. As you may suspect,
the Relater is a “people person.” This personality
style enjoys being helpful and of service to everyone she meets, even strangers.
Relaters also like to be in agreement with others, and will go out of their way to
go with the flow rather than insist on their own agenda. In old James Bond
films, a perfect Relater would be the secretary to James Bond, Miss Moneypenny. Relaters are always
looking out for the welfare of others, particularly if they are secretaries,
wives, or mothers to the other party. They like to talk and gossip, and tend to
touch people a lot. People pleasers,
they often resort to flattery to motivate other people to like them and want
them around. Relaters set out to make themselves needed, so that other people
will always want them around. As mothers, they
are often suffocating in their desire to impose their love on their offspring, though
their real desire is to be loved in return. Because they give so freely, they
expect love in return, and often are devastated when it is not reciprocated. In a family
environment, Relaters position themselves to be at the center of things. They
are the ones who keep in touch with distant family members and check in with
closer relatives often to see what’s up and how they can be of service. In
return, they expect to be viewed as the cement that holds the family together. A good fictional
example of a Relater is the female impersonator/mother played by
Nathan Lane, who co-starred with Robin Williams in The Birdcage. Though
a bit over the top, Lane’s drag queen character, “Mrs. 'Mother' Coleman,”
dramatized the lengths a Relater would go to “sacrifice” oneself and prove
loyalty to the family. Relaters hold a
similar position in an office environment, where they are the “go-to” person for
all the latest gossip. They are nosy, asking the most personal of questions and
violate personal space, sitting close to strangers and taking liberties of
friendship. Note that it will
be difficult to make a Relater your protagonist, mostly because the very idea of
rocking the boat is anathema to them. Though they enjoy gossip, they would be
devastated to hear that their loose tongue resulted in someone losing their job
or other tragedy. Stories are all about dramatic conflict. By their very
nature, Relaters seek to avoid discord whenever possible. Scarlett O’Hara,
played by Vivian Leigh in the film Gone with the Wind, is a good example
of an Engerizer. So was the role played by Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire.
Real life examples of the Energizer style include a fair amount of actors as
well as individuals who’ve achieved fame for their abilities and are noted for
their engaging charm. This group includes athletes O.J. Simpson and Kobe
Bryant, who both have faced violent criminal charges yet retain a core fan base. The supposition
that charm goes a long way in helping the Energizer personality style along in
life is an important one to consider. This style can be used to build the kind
of character who manipulates his way through life, trading on a heady
combination of intelligence, wit, inherent likeability, natural ability, and
instinctively knowing how best to play the hand he’s been dealt. Both luck and hard
work are responsible for the Energizer’s success in life. Of all the styles, the
Energizer is the most likeable because he operates with a “win-win” mentality
and feels a responsibility to dazzle and charm on command. Energizers often
have a smile, good word, and quick joke for everyone, but are often quite
different in their private lives. If your character is an Energizer, you are
well advised to consider that your character may have two distinct sides to his
personality. For example, an Energizer is always “on”-- whether trying to charm
colleagues or his kids at home. Yet radiating all that energy is draining. Try
to place him in scenes where you capture his reflective nature to give the
character (and the audience) a break from all that excitement. As a general rule,
Energizers do not have other Energizers as friends or lovers. Such a
relationship is competitive by its nature, as Energizers have a deep-rooted need
to be the star. One can speculate that the reason that the Tom Cruise/Nicole
Kidman marriage didn’t work out because they were both Energizers. Female Energizers
are drawn to male Movers or a high-powered Observer, while male Energizers are
drawn toward any of the remaining personality styles. While it’s possible for a
female Energizer to build a relationship with a male Relater, her main objective
is power and status. She needs a mate who can help fuel and accomplish her
dreams.
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Marisa D’Vari is the author of the new book Creating Characters: Let Them
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