Comedic Enneagram: Character Relationships in Sitcoms

Comedy is like a caricature of real life. The characters and situations are often extreme, but we still relate. That's what makes them funny. When using the Enneagram to type characters for comedy, look at the extremes of the spectrum of each type. Especially look at the flaws. We like nothing better than to watch …

The Central Conflict: Plot & Character Intersect

Character structure, in my opinion, is a definite prerequisite to story structure. Story structure without character structure will only be able to map out a superficial plot without any way to explore and relate to the conflict. The protagonist needs to traverse some sort of journey of internal conflict to bring this deeper meaning to …

Character Dynamics: Relationships & Conflict Explored Through the Enneagram

The Enneagram offers insights as to how these types may interact with each other with potential compatibility and conflict. (The Path Between Us is great for such examples, though only covering the range of conflict and emotion that would occur in everyday interactions). The Enneagram Institute also has pages exploring relationships between the various types. …

Choosing an Enneatype for Your Protagonist

If you've been reading about the types and just can't decide which one is right, or even if you've never given the Enneagram a thought, these starting points might help you narrow in on what's most important in your story and what type protagonist would be best to explore it. Every story needs a strong …

Ultimate Story & Character Development with the Enneagram

When I first encountered the Enneagram, I immediately thought of character development. At the time I had been slightly disappointed with the characters I was developing with other inner conflict diagrams and character sketch methods (including my own) and I realized it was because not all the parts of my characters always matched. They needed …

Developing The Protagonist-Antagonist Relationship

Every story's plot comes down to the relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist. These two characters make the story, so whatever is tying them together in conflict has to be strong for both of them. The two must be marked by each other in some way. Even before the protagonist takes any action against …

Crafting Your Protagonist’s Internal Conflict

Internal conflict is the most important part of any story and it is often the most easily overlooked by beginning writers. External conflict is easy to brainstorm, easy to see and most premises (except for literary fiction) revolve around the external conflict rather than the internal conflict. When you hear the advice, "story is all …