How the Enneagram helps you Write a Better Book

What does the ideal protagonist of a book look like? Who is the ideal self-help reader?

There’s no one type of hero in any story. Protagonists run the full gamut of personality profiles. There are shy heroes, brave heroes, smart heroes, pugnacious heroes, extroverted heroes, and introverted heroes.

The enneagram proves that.

This week, as a special treat, I broke down the 9 personality types in the enneagram and matched them to the heroic protagonists of all types of stories.

The enneagram is a great framework to help you understand your book and yourself. Take a look!

Type 1: Reformer - Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Ones are called to make the world a better place. They can struggle with perfectionism, because their unconscious motivation is to perfect themselves, and sometimes others as well. They thrive in positions like Atticus Finch, raising good kids and holding society to higher standards.

Type 2: Helper - Mirabel Madrigal in Encanto by Cherise Castro Smith and Jared Bush

Twos are warm, supportive, generous, and they care for the people around them. Their unconscious motivation is they need to be liked and appreciated. They give a lot of what they long to receive. But like Mirabel, if they’re overlooked, and not seen as the gift they really are, the whole house falls apart.

Type 3: Achiever - Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

Threes are highly driven people. They are goal-oriented, ambitious and competitive. The unconscious motivation of the Three is a need to succeed, to appear successful in a search for external validation. Think of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. He disowns his humble beginnings to achieve the status he needs to be loved by the object of his infatuation, Daisy Buchanan. And yet, in the end, it all turns out to be a very expensive illusion.

Type 4: Individualist - Frida Kahlo in Frida by Hayden Herrera

Fours, these are folks who are incredibly creative, imaginative. When they're not doing great, they're melancholy. They're self-absorbed. They are motivated by a need to be special and unique because the Four has this unchallenged belief that there's something wrong with them at their core. They don't know what it is. Frida Kahlo is the perfect example of someone who processes deep pain through art, authenticity and honesty.

Type 5: Investigator - Ellie Arroway in Contact by Carl Sagan

Fives are called sometimes called the investigators or the individualists of the enneagram. They tend to be introverted. They are the mad scientists, so to speak, in whatever field with which they become obsessed. They're also the most emotionally distant number on the Enneagram. Their unconscious motivation is to fend of any fear of inadequacy or emotional pain with their intelligence. Ellie Arroway in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact, fits this description perfectly. She may not have external status or power, and disdains it in a certain sense, but she wields her intellect in order to persevere on her quest.

Type 6: Loyalist - Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Sixes, the loyalists, these are folks who are earthy, practical, witty, could be very funny. They have a real unconscious need for safety, security, and to feel supported. They scan the horizon for the worst-case-scenario and like Katniss Everdeen they protect those they love.

Type 7: Enthusiast - Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Sevens are adventurous, future-oriented visionaries who despise limits. But their unconscious motivation is to stay out of difficult feelings and painful situations. They can be called generalists because they hop from idea to idea with absolute enthusiasm. Like Willy Wonka they can create incredible worlds from their imagination, but they’re only truly successful when they use their vision to change painful situations, rather than just hiding from them.

Type 8: Challenger - Thurgood Marshall in Marshall by Michael and Jacob Koskoff

Eights are called the challengers. They are notoriously blunt, pugnacious, and more than a little intimidating. They're not afraid of a good debate. Their unconscious motivation is a need to assert strength and control over others in the environment, especially where they perceive injustice. They’re afraid to appear vulnerable or weak. I placed Thurgood Marshall in this position. This is especially apparent in the biographical screenplay written about him, where he is doggedly fighting the good fight, despite the fact that the whole world is continually against him.

Type 9: Peacemaker - Harry Potter in the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Nines are the peacemakers. They are easygoing and supportive. Their unconscious motivation is to avoid conflict in order to maintain connection with other people to preserve inner and outer peace. Harry Potter is the ultimate curator of “choosing one’s battles.” He only enters a conflict if it’s absolutely necessary to keep the peace. At the end of the seven books (spoiler alert, stop reading now) he doesn’t even keep the elder wand, because what he really wants is safety for his friends and family. He doesn’t want power to stir up more trouble.

Storytelling in any genre gets a lot easier when you can blur your eyes a little and understand the archetype behind a certain character. Understanding the overarching personality allows you to make better decisions when it comes to the narrative. That’s why I like exploring this in terms of the enneagram..