How to Use the Enneagram to Develop Your Fictional Characters

It’s all in the numbers.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

I’m obsessed with the enneagram. It’s an analysis system that types personalities. There are nine numbers that each carry personality traits. We can type ourselves based on how we relate to those traits.

Each number has a great fear that drives them and informs how they respond to just about everything. That fear generally stems from a childhood wound. Each also leans toward one or the other of the numbers on either side of them. This is their wing.

I’m an enneagram 6 with a 7 wing.

My great fear is actually fear itself. My childhood wound is my parents’ divorce, and later, my dad going to prison. I have a deep-seated fear that I can’t make decisions or choices good enough to keep myself from disaster.

Knowing those things about myself makes it easy for me understand why I behave in certain ways. It helps me to make good decisions. Can you see how understand the enneagram can help you to develop well-rounded characters with depth?

Let’s get into it.

The 9 enneagram numbers.

Here is a very simplified description of each of the nine enneagram numbers.

Ones are the reformers. They have a very black-and-white thinking. They can be bossy and they often spend time contemplating morality — their own and everyone else’s. Their big fear is being wrong.
Twos are the helpers. They are usually the glue of their friend groups. They will go to great lengths to make other people happy — until they start to feel like it’s not reciprocated. When that happens, they become resentful. Their big fear is being unwanted.
Threes are the achievers. They are go getters whose work ethic can sometimes seem performative. They are high energy, charismatic, and driven. Their big fear is not being valued.
Fours are the individualists. They are constantly seeking the thing they think everyone else has that they don’t. They are highly creative and they desperately want to be noticed as such. Their big fear is being insignificant.
Fives are the investigators. They are introverted and quiet, and generally will not speak unless they are very sure of what they’re saying. They tend to do a lot of research and study. They’re very up in their heads. Their big fear is being overwhelmed.
Sixes are the loyalists. They have a plan for everything. And for everyone. They tend to be suspicious and anxious. They are always aware of the worst case scenario, although once they have a plan, it doesn’t bother them. Their big fear is lacking security.
Sevens are the optimists. They are fun-loving and playful adrenaline seekers. They will try anything once. They manage anxiety by running at it head on. Their big fear is pain.
Eights are the challengers. They are confident and very self-assured. They go after what they want as if there is nothing standing in their way, whether that’s true or not. They are fiercely protective. Their big fear is being powerless.
Nines are the mediators. Everyone loves a nine, because they are so focused on making everyone else comfortable. They hate to rock the boat and in their mellowness, they might seem unmotivated or without ambition at all. Their big fear is conflict.

Let’s play a game.

Imagine a party. A big one. There are nine people around the edges and across the room is the table of food. Between them and the food, there are tons of people dancing, talking — just having a party.

Let’s think about how each of the nine enneagram types would react in a situatin like this.

One has her eye on how much food there is, compared to how many people there are. It bothers her that some people are just camped out there, eating whatever they want, while others haven’t had a bite yet. Why can’t they see that they’re not being fair? She’s going to say something to them. Someone has to.

Two turns to ask his friend if he’s hungry. His friend has already headed for the dance floor without bothering to see find out if Two wants to eat. His friend doesn’t even look back to make sure he’s following. He doesn’t care. With all two does for him, why doesn’t he care? Bastard.

Three makes her way toward the food, saying hello to everyone she sees. Everyone knows her. And she knows exactly what’s on the table, because of course the hostess asked her to arrange the catering. Who else?

Four stands back, in a corner, watching. The food is over there and everyone else is eating it like it’s no big deal. They’re all talking and laughing and having fun. Why doesn’t anyone come ask him if he’s hungry? He pushes himself further into the shadows. Is he invisible or something?

Five evaluates the room. If she walks around one way, she’ll bump into the guy she works with that she doesn’t really want to talk to. If she goes the other she has a clear path, but she’ll have to go the long way. Is eating worth it? Walking straight through the room is no good, either. Way too many variables. What she really wants to do is go home and eat leftover pizza with a good book.

Six takes a pretty straight route to the table. On the way, he makes note of the exits, the hallway where the bathroom probably is, and whether his shoes feel tight. Next time, he’s wearing sneakers. He practices saying I know CPR in his head, in case anyone chokes or starts to have a heart attack. He does know. He took a class last year, just in case.

Seven dances her way through the crowd. When a guy offers her a piggy back ride to the table, she jumps on that. How fun! Then she fills her plate with a little bit of everything. She doesn’t want to miss out on anything delicious.

Eight knows without being told that his friend Five is uncomfortable. He just knows her. He makes a beeline for the table, straight through the crowd. Some people have to scramble to get out of his way and he apologizes, but then just keeps going. A little bit of a bull in a china shop. When he gets to the table, he makes himself a plate and one for Five, then barrels back through the crowd to make sure she has something to eat.

Nine wouldn’t mind a plate, but it’s not worth making a fuss over. She’s hungry, but not starving or anything. She stays with her friends and is happy to go to the table if one of them makes the suggestion. Or, eat something if she ends up over there at some point. She can also have a PB&J when she gets home. It’s not a big deal.

Now imagine your character at this party.

How do they engage? What is their strategy for getting through the crowd to the food table? How do they react with everyone else in the room? What’s going through their heads?

An example from my WIP.

My work-in-progress right now is a Robin Hood retelling set in modern-day Las Vegas, from the point of view of Matilda, who is my Marion character. Mattie lives and works at the Nottingham casino.

If Mattie was at a party like this, she’d be on alert, noticing if anything is going wrong. Is everyone happy? Is everyone okay? If they’re not, she’d want to fix it.

She would be juggling a dozen balls at once. Where are the important people? Are there any problems that need her attention? Is there enough food or should she go heat up some pizza bites? Maybe she needs to go buy more ice.

Underlying all of that, though, would be the one person she’s equally the most angry with and most wants to please. She might think that she’s so angry, she’ll never forgive him. But she’s wrong. It’s just not in her to leave things so unfinished.

Ask yourself these questions about your character.

Deep down in their core, what scares them the most in the moment?
How do they manage that fear?
How do they manage conflict?
How do they manage anxiety?

In my own story, Mattie is afraid of losing control. Mostly, though, she’s afraid that other people won’t believe that she’s capable. Literally, of anything.

She manages that fear and her anxiety by working. She takes on more and more and more. She doesn’t everyone’s jobs. She also spends a lot of energy trying not to upset anyone. Even when it would be much healthier for her if she stood up for herself.

When someone hurts her or someone she loves, though, she can hold a grudge. She gets resentful. She can’t hold it forever though, because it’s in her nature to fix things.

If it helps, pull out words that describe your character at the party. For Mattie those words are: work, jobs, control, competency, fixing.

Now look back at the descriptions. Where does your character fit?

This is where you decide which enneagram best embodies your character. The fit doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember, your goal is to write a person who feels real and real people don’t fit neatly into any boxes.

Does the fear you identified connect with any of the enneagram biggest fears? Remember:

One is afraid someone will take more than their fair share.
Two is afraid that no one cares about his hunger.
Three is afraid that she hasn’t done enough to keep the party running smoothly.
Four is afraid that he’s not special enough to be there in the first place.
Five is afraid she’ll be overwhelmed and would really just like to leave.
Six is afraid someone might choke.
Seven is afraid of missing out on something.
Eight is afraid he won’t be able to get his friend Five her food.
Nine just wants everyone to have a good time.

From my work-in-progress.

Mattie refuses to be seen as incompetent and takes responsibility for literally every single thing. She’s a three.

She also cares more than is healthy for her about how much other people care about her, which gives her the two wing. If she was more worried more about the moral implications of her own actions and everyone else’s, rather than wanting to be loved, then she’d have a one wing.

Once you know your character’s enneagram number, you can use that information as you develop them and their story.

Because I know that Mattie is a three wing two, I know that if I want her to forgive Rob for disappearing on her two years ago, I need to give him a way to get through her resentment. He can do that by appreciating her work. Acknowledging her competence is the path to her heart.

Because I know Mattie is a three, I know that when push comes to shove, she will not be happy in the background. She’ll take an active role in the crisis of the story, where she’s actually doing something. She’s never going to be happy sitting in the background waiting for someone else to act.

She’ll risk everything to do the work she needs to do, for the people she loves. That is the epitome of a three with a two wing.

Her crisis, then, comes when she is forced to rely on the one person who has broken her heart by letting her down. She has to let him do his own work, instead of trying to do everything herself.

This is all about wants and needs. Luckily, so is your story.

Fiction writers hear the words ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ a lot. We’re supposed to figure out what our characters want and what they need, understand the difference, and work that into the story.

But that’s freaking hard. What even is the difference between want and need? What if the character wants and needs the same thing? What if they don’t even know what they want or need anyway?

If you know the character’s enneagram, you have a lens to look through. Instead of having to sort through the entire range of human responses and fears and wants and needs, you can narrow it way down.

Mattie is a three. That means that she’s a high-achiever who is afraid other people will think she’s incompetent. That’s the lens.

If I look through that lens, I see that Mattie wants to keep everything from falling apart. She acts on that want through work. And I also see that she needs to be able to rely on someone else, which means learning to trust.

Oh. Oh. That makes things so much more clear. And it makes Mattie a more well-rounded, fully-realized, developed character. She’s not just going through the motions of the story anymore.

And the heart of my story, of course, is Mattie getting what she needs. Which is the ability to trust other people to be as competent as she is. But also, just to trust them in general.

It might be easier to do this a few times with well-known characters.

Let’s give it a try.

If Katniss from the Hunger Games was at our party, she’d take in everything around her. Every detail about who is there and what the space is like. And then she’d make a plan. How can she get what she needs from that food table?

Can she sneak some extra, in case she gets hungry later? She probably has some baggies in her purse, just in case.

When she shoots an arrow toward the judges, to get their attention, it’s not spur of the moment. It’s a plan.

She’s a six with a seven wing.

If Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird was at the party, he’d be very aware of everyone else there. He’d know something about every single one of them. He’d have an opinion on the fairness of not only the food table, but his community at large. And he’d be doing something to make it more fair. He will always fight for the underdog, so he brings whoever looks the hungriest to the table with him.

Atticus is a one with a two wing.

If George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life was at the party, he’d be the life of it. Everyone would call out his name as he walked past. He’d do the Charleston right into the secret swimming pool, thrilled that everyone was watching and cheering him on. Once he’s dried off, he’d make it to the table and eat whatever looked good.

Deep down, though, he’s kind of angry that he’s there at all. He wants to be out in the world, building things and exploring. Instead, he’s here taking care of everyone.

George is a seven with an eight wing.

You can do this with any character in your book.

Make a list of the important characters. Then put them in your imaginary party. How do they react? What are they scared of? What’s their enneagram?

From my WIP.

Rob was overwhelmed long before he even showed up at the party. He doesn’t want to be there, especially if it wasn’t his idea to go in the first place. He’s afraid of being swamped by the whole thing. And he responds to that fear by taking off — removing himself entirely from the situation. What’s wrong with him that he can’t just fix himself a plate and have fun?

Rob is a five with a four wing.

Guy makes his way to the table like he owns it. And he wants other people to know that he owns it, too. He wants to be noticed. His biggest fear is being inconsequential. He’s deeply afraid that he doesn’t matter. He’ll show everyone that he does.

Guy is a four with a three wing.

Much somersaults right into the thick of things and takes what she needs. She wasn’t invited, but she doesn’t particularly care about being caught or getting in trouble. Party-crashing is right up her alley. And she can charm her way out of just about any jam. Besides, if she does get caught, she knows how to get out of it.

Much is a seven with a six wing.

Philip doesn’t eat at parties. Who has time for that? He spends all his time making sure that everyone else is doing what they’re supposed to do. He knows what’s supposed to happen and can’t stand it when someone else drops the ball. Someone shirking their responsibility will ruin his appetite.

Philip is a one with a nine wing.

John would make sure that all of his people have enough to eat. God help anyone who stands in his way. He is single-minded when it comes to the people in his sphere and the rest of the people are a distant second. He doesn’t want to be at this party. But if he has to be, then he’s definitely not going to pretend to be anything other than what he is.

John is an eight with a nine wing.

I could go on and on. Knowing who these people are and how their brains work makes it easier for me to write their story and to turn them into richly detailed characters.

Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, King Louie Baloo the dog, and Ollie Wilbur the cat. She is the author of Viral Nation, Rebel Nation, The Astonishing Maybe, Center of Gravity and Here I Am. She is the original Ninja Writer.