What Type of Author Personality Are You?

There are three basic types of author personalities. They each have different strengths, weaknesses, and tastes. Each type of author has a unique approach to writing a story that works best for them. The question is, which type are you?

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Your favorite part of writing a story is:

Coming up with a fantastic plot

Perfecting the first page

Finding out what happens next

1 / 10

When you read a new novel, what is the first thing that stands out to you?

The writing style and voice of the author

The strength (or weakness) of the opening scenes

The personality of the main character

2 / 10

Your speed as a writer is usually:

Unhurried and a little messy

Consistent and rapid, with very few setbacks

Lightning fast at times, but sometimes sluggishly slow

3 / 10

The most difficult part of your story to write is:

The middle

The ending

All of it is about the same

4 / 10

When planning your novel:

You get fired up about the story and can't wait to start writing

You delight in plotting out scenes that mesh flawlessly together

You love jotting notes as thoughts come to you and keep a messy notebook with all your ideas

5 / 10

When writing the end of a scene, you feel:

An acute sense of accomplishment, much like crossing out another item in a to-do list

Relieved that the story is still basically on track

Happily surprised at the unexpected way it turned out

6 / 10

Your stories are:

Basically the same exact length every time

Quite varied in length, depending on the story

You haven't the slightest idea and had to check just now

7 / 10

When asked what your story is about, you usually answer:

By describing your main character's personality

By expressing the main idea or premise, often starting with the genre

By saying, "Oh, you'll have to read it to find out," with a wink

8 / 10

If you dislike a movie, it's MOST OFTEN because:

The main theme/idea of the movie was distasteful or weak

The characters were wooden, fake or unlikable

The plot was predictable or poorly structured

9 / 10

Your favorite book is dear to you because:

It gets you glued to the pages until the very end

It impacts you emotionally and captured your imagination

You LOVE the main character; he or she was so funny/relatable/interesting

10 / 10

You are a Planner!

You love a good story for what it is. Your favorite stories are usually ones that involve some kind of mystery or intrigue, with loads of suspense and action.

Before you write your story, you take the time to plan out all of the scenes in advance, knowing that the outline will help you write the story faster, clearer, and better. You find great satisfaction in filling out character sheets, plot charts, and scribbling out all the scenes on index cards. Or you just sit down and develop a synopsis of the whole story on a few sheets of paper, outlining it point by point.

You don't often get writer's block, but when you do, a stunning plot twist usually gets you out of it. The ending of your stories probably never turn out the way you planned and they are harder to write than you expected, but it doesn't matter because the ending's your favorite part anyway. Your stories usually have solid structure and a labyrinth of fantastic twists and compelling hooks, and your dream is to become a bestselling mystery or action novelist!

You are a Pantser! (Flying by the seat of your pants)

You probably have two sides to your personality: you are friendly and caring, but you also have a wild side! Forget outlining ... you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants.

Your favorite kind of book is one that has believable characters that you would love to be friends with. When you write, you dive right into the characters and flesh them out as if they are real people.

Your philosophy is "Write to find out." You don't waste time outlining your book because you much prefer being surprised by your own story as it unfolds. Instead of an outline, you scratch down ideas, snippets of dialogue and excerpts in a messy notebook, and this serves as your inspiration whenever you hit writer's block (which is often).

Your first draft may be a little sloppy and disheveled but by the third or fourth draft and lots of cleanup, you've produced a heartfelt masterpiece with such a likable, believable main character that your readers will want to meet them in person!

You are a Hybrid!

You can relate to both Planners and Pantsers (Fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pantsers), but you don't really fit either category. You value the outlining process and always plan out some key scenes before you start writing, but pretty soon you just have to get writing and see what happens.

You avoid most of the pitfalls that Pantsers have to face, because you know where the story is going and have several upcoming scenes already plotted out. But you don't like to plan out every scene; sometimes it's too much fun to surprise yourself!

The one thing that keeps your story on track is the main idea: the spark that inspired you to write the story in the first place. This pushes you through the blank spots in your outline that you didn't fill in.

Your stories often have a distinctly original premise, an imaginative plot, and sometimes fantasy or science fiction elements. The most memorable parts of your stories are the impactful themes and fascinating fictional worlds that readers will want to leap into again and again!