Building a character

To write an introductory inner monologue, I must know who I'm writing it for.

I'll establish the type of character I want to write using the Enneagram from Jason Lee's "The Psychology of Screenwriting" .

The ENNEAGRAM defines 9 different personality types.

Lee demonstrates how you can combine personality types on the Enneagram to create a more rounded character, e.g. "The Two with a One Wing", a character with the rationality of the One, a reformer, and the emotionality of a Two, the lover/helper.

It'll be interesting to play around with these types and see if I can create a character who contradicts themselves.

I've chosen an inner monologue because it's the most personal. Lee outlines Wagner's 25 questions to ask about your character, to get a better understanding of them.

What is the purpose of life?
What are your defence mechanisms?
What passions are like addictions for you?

And so on.

My only reservation about the enneagram is that I want to avoid making a character just to fit a category. Everyone is inherently different and this approach seems almost mathematical. However, I'm certain that the more I consider the character, the more depth I can add.

Next week I should begin character design with a firm idea of who they are in my head.