Eeyore at the Union Warehouse

This is one of many historical buildings I found during my trip to Denver, Colorado in 2010. This victorian style building is the Union Warehouse, now called the Hotel Barth. It was built in 1882 and added to the National Register of Historic Places one hundred years later on June 3, 1982.

This post was originally posted on The Fangirl Project: http://thefangirlproject.com/?p=1101

In which I take a look at Nik (Strokes)

I took a Myers-Brigs-type test as though I were one of my characters for a swap I did on swap-bot and thought maybe you'd enjoy reading the result. I did it for Nik of my Strokes universe...

For this swap, I decided to choose a character I’ve been writing for many years… but I avoid writing stories with him at the forefront because I have problems understanding him. So I usually just have him on the periphery of a story. I feel like it’s hard for me to relate to him because he and I are so different. But this swap is definitely helping me understand him better. I am an ISTJ (or an ISFJ… I am still unable to tell for sure; I think I’m an ISTJ who desperately wishes she were an ISFJ so the test always comes out ISFJ for me) and always thought Nik and I were complete opposites (turns out we ARE complete opposites in type!). But as I filled it out for Nik, I realized one big way we are similar: we both dearly love the people in our lives and would do anything for them. I feel like that’s great common ground to start with.


Step 1 (paragraph describing the character):
If you look the word “promiscuous” up in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Nik. And that picture will be of an attractive, lanky Norwegian God of a man with light blond hair and eyes that change color based on what contacts he’s wearing today. Speaking of clothes, he always wears the flashiest/tightest versions of the latest fashions. Nik isn’t his real name; it’s a name he chose for himself to honor his best friend, Dominik, after the two went through a traumatic, life-changing experience together and left their oppressive, traditional families in the dust. The two friends run a gay nightclub together in southern Maryland in an ongoing series I’ve written since 2001. Nik handles the personnel and Sweetie (Dom’s name; Nik chose it for him) handles all the “boring” stuff like the finances and taxes. Nik is definitely a people person and a flirt. He always has something going on (and it usually isn’t work, though he does like the attention he gets from being the guy in charge). He would do anything for his friends, including offering them permanent, rent-free rooms in his home. In fact, he and Sweetie bought a big home with the intention of taking in the needy in their community. He has a big wardrobe, a big social life, a big sex drive, a big house, a big club, a big hatred of tradition, and a big heart.


Step 2 (take the test):
Nik got: ENFP
Extravert(89%) iNtuitive(12%) Feeling(75%) Perceiving(33%)
You have strong preference of Extraversion over Introversion (89%)
You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (12%)
You have distinct preference of Feeling over Thinking (75%)
You have moderate preference of Perceiving over Judging (33%)


Step 3 (read about the result):
ENFP: Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.

Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENFP
ENFPs are outgoing, creative, and often silly individuals with keen devotion to their ideals and a strong drive to help others. Less developed are their organization, patience for routine tasks, and projection of a serious, committed image. Keirsey referred to ENFPs as Champions, one of the four types belonging to the temperament he called the Idealists. ENFPs account for about 2–8% of the population, including Bill Clinton, Dr. Seuss, and Shannon Oliver-O'Neil.


Step 4 (is this accurate?):
Wow, Bill Clinton? Hmmm. Okay, I can see that. But Nik definitely has the better wardrobe. LOL Actually, this really does seem to fit Nik.
* Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative? Check! The nightclub was definitely his idea and he loves making it a place everyone can have fun. He gets excited at the drop of a hat (especially if that hat is expensive).
* Make connections between events and information quickly? Hmm, I don’t know for sure one way or another.
* Confidently proceed based on patterns? Check! He relies on his personal experiences and “confidence” is his middle name.
* Want a lot of affirmation from others? Check!!! He has strong, core values but needs validation from everyone in his house, even if he has his mind made up. He must hear from everyone that he looks better in the purple top than in the gold one.
* Readily gives appreciation and support? Check! He has his flaws (like driving; he is not allowed behind the wheel ever again), but he gives his support readily; it’s usually up to Sweetie to pull him back to safety sometimes.
* Spontaneous? Hmm, I guess he is.
* Flexible? CHECK! LOL
* Often relies on his ability to improvise and his verbal fluency? He definitely adapts quickly to situations, so, yes, I guess that’s a kind of improvising. And, he lisps, but he can be quite talkative when it’s something he’s passionate about—and he surrounds himself with people and things he’s passionate about. So… Check!
* Outgoing? CHECK!!!!
* Creative? Check!
* Often silly? Check (seriously, his wardrobe alone…)!
* Keen devotion to his ideals and strong drive to help others? Check and check!
* Less developed organization, patience for routine tasks, and projection of a serious image? SO MANY CHECKS!

I had never thought explicitly about Nik’s decision-making process or if he is detail-oriented or big picture-oriented before. I just haven’t written him into enough situations to know if he sits and contemplates humanity or not. But I feel like I know him a lot better now that I’ve taken the time to realize he can be spontaneous and flexible. I will definitely take the knowledge about his type to heart when I’m writing him in the future to make him a little more silly and getting him to improvise. I will also think about the parts I was unsure about above. So much of the rest of the description fits Nik so perfectly that I like the idea of him making connections between events and info quickly and problem-solving in that way. It’s great to be able to apply that to this under-developed part of his character. I hope to make him more playful and more understanding as time goes on. Good luck keeping up with him, other characters!

I hope you enjoyed learning a little about this character of mine. Now I feel bad for avoiding writing him so often over the past 13 years! Sorry, Nik! I realize now you need the attention! I will try not to neglect you so much in the future!