A little while ago, I read a book called Personality Plus by Florence Littauer. This book is primarily about understanding the four main personalities (sanguine, melancholy, choleric, and phlegmatic) so that you can understand why people behave the way they do, but I think that it is equally applicable to writing characters as well. So what exactly are these personalities, and what are their characteristics?

The Sanguine – The Talker

Who is the most extroverted, bubbly, and talkative person you know? Odds are this person is a sanguine. Sanguines are enthusiastic, optimistic, and social. They love people and enjoy life to the fullest with their glass-half-full mentality. However, they can be impulsive, easily distracted, and sometimes lack follow-through on tasks. The sanguine personality can be seen in a character like Tony Stark: he’s enthusiastic, impulsive, and enjoys the good life, but he’s also self-centered and often acts before thinking.

The Melancholy – The Thinker

Melancholies are the polar opposite of the chatty and extroverted Sanguines. They are sensitive, analytical, and perfectionistic. They are deep thinkers and feel things intensely. It’s often very hard for them to realize their weak points until they get around other Melancholies: they can be pessimistic, critical, and prone to worry. One melancholic character is Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, who is obsessive, possessive, and deeply affected by loss.

The Choleric – The Doer

If you know someone who has a very take-charge, leadership-oriented personality, congratulations, you know a Choleric. Cholerics are strong-willed, decisive, and action-oriented. They are natural leaders and enjoy taking charge. However, this can also lead them to be impatient, domineering, and easily angered. Darth Vader is a great example of a choleric. He’s powerful, ambitious, and prone to anger when he doesn’t get his way.

The Phlegmatic – The Watcher

You can sum up a Phlegmatic in one word: easy. This is the easiest personality to hang out with because they are calm, peaceful, and laid-back. They are good listeners and enjoy stability and routine. But sometimes their laid-back personality can lead them to be indecisive, apathetic, and resistant to change. Winnie the Pooh is probably the best example of the phlegmatic personality: he’s laid-back, content with simple pleasures, and always looking for a quiet place to enjoy his honey pot.

One thing I’d like to note is this: no one likes to be put in a box. People can grow and change, and not everyone has one personality. Here are some ways that I recommend you accomplish this growth in your character writing:

Blend the personalities!

Usually, people have at least two primary personalities out of the four (for example, I’m a melancholy/phlegmatic). Experiment with blending the personalities. I recommend that you purchase Florence Littauer’s book Personality Plus and study Chapter 12 so you can understand how to do this.

Give Them a Foil!

Give your character a foil with the opposite personality/personality combination. For example, if your main character is sanguine/choleric, give them a character who is melancholy/phlegmatic to learn from or rub off on. This could be the mentor, the sidekick, the love interest, or whoever! Just make them complement each other realistically and effectively.

Develop Their Personality!

Character development and growth are vital to a story. If the main character doesn’t learn or grow, how is the story supposed to go anywhere? Similarly, no one ever stays the same personality forever. Give your characters room to grow and change in their personalities. For example, give your melancholy protagonist a chance or an experience that makes them more sanguine.

In closing, I believe that understanding personalities is as important in real life as it is in writing. I highly recommend purchasing and reading Personality Plus. I hope that it helps enhance both your writing experience and your understanding and interaction with other people!

P.S., Here is a link to Personality Plus on Amazon