Below, you’ll find the transcript of our discussion in which Dani covers Enneagram Types 1-3.
Enneagram Types 4-9 will be covered in later posts but, if you can’t wait that long and want to find out about all the different types of Enneagram now, head over to YouTube to watch our whole conversation.
About Dani Abernathy
Dani is an Enneagram teacher but she’s also an Author Accelerator Book Coach, who helps novelists write the stories they need to tell, so their readers can feel seen and can see others. She specialises in fantasy, soft sci-fi and Young Adult, and Dani merges how story works but also with how people work and this helps to create books that help readers have more empathy for themselves and also for others.
Through her Rooted Writers Mentorship, Dani helps novelists embrace, plan and write the books they are proud of. Dani is a Capricorn, Manifesting Generator, INFJ and Enneagram Type 4.
What I love about what Dani does is she really, really believes stories can change the world one reader at a time.
Today, we’re talking about the Enneagram, how it can influence a writer and how it can help a writer.
The transcript below is taken from our YouTube interview.
What is an Enneagram and where did it originate?
Emma Dhesi: I suspect how we respond as writers may be impacted by the Enneagram type we are. I’m intrigued to know a little bit more about that but, just before we do, for those who don’t know about it or haven’t heard of it, could you give us a flavour of what it is? Do you know where it originates from? Where it came from?
Dani Abernathy: The Enneagram is a symbol, it’s a circle with a bunch of lines, and the Enneagram is a psycho-spiritual personality system that helps you understand why people do what they do.
Each type is a number, so Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, all the way to 9. There’s not a progression from worst to best, each type is valid. We actually have all 9 types within us but we have one dominant type and so that type is the type that holds the motivations, the desires and the fears of that type.
The Enneagram is less about behaviour like you’re an extrovert or you do this thing, but it’s more about why do you do that thing? Lots of different types can have the same behaviour but the reason they do it is different.
The Enneagram symbol
This symbol has been around a long time and there’s lots of math in it and stuff. It’s been around for centuries but the modern version of the Enneagram started in the 60s in Chile with a guy named Oscar Ichazo, then it migrated to the United States with a guy named Claudio Naranjo and it became popular in the 70s and the 80s.
Since then it’s been picked up by cushion groups who have used it for growth and then also it’s become popular just as a psychological tool.
ED: You did say one thing there which I love and I think absolutely resonates with what we do as coaches is that the Enneagram helps you understand why you did something, not what you did.
That’s a question we’re often asking our clients, ‘Why has your character done this? Why has your character done that?’ and so we get to apply that to ourselves.
DA: I use the Enneagram in my coaching both to help writers understand themselves and to build their characters. It’s such a powerful tool because it’s like you get a fast-track into what’s really motivating your characters, which is so important for writing an impactful story.
Enneagram Type 1 – The Perfectionist
DA: Type 1 is called the Perfectionist but they don’t identify with that word because the 1 isn’t about nitpicking their life. They want to be perfect on the inside. They want to be morally good, so they fear they are not good, that they’re actually evil or corrupt deep down inside.
They do their best to be good, so they are their own harshest critic, they have very high standards for themselves and that can turn into high standards for other people. They always know the right thing to do and they are very responsible people. They’re always going to do the right thing because they demand it of themselves.
As a client, as a writer, the 1 wants a system. They want to know the right way to do things, they’re the type who’s most likely to – maybe not the only type – but they want their book to be perfect, to be the best it can be, so they’re going to put in all this time and energy, to follow the system, to revise until it is perfect. 1 often struggles to say, ‘Okay, this is good enough. I’m done.’
Enneagram Type 2 – The Helper
The 2 is the Helper. Type 2s, 3s and 4s are part of the heart centre and all of these types need other people to reflect back who they are. The 2 really hates to admit this but they give love, they’re so good at loving, and they give love in order to get love in return.
They think, ‘If I love you and care for you then you’re going to love me and care for me back.’ But the 2 doesn’t express their needs, they think it’s not okay for them to have needs and so they have all these unspoken expectations of people, of how people should be caring for them and so that can cause some conflict.
The 2 is really warm and friendly and charming and they are the type that makes you feel the best about yourself. They know how to help you and make you feel good. They’re called the Helper but they don’t necessarily want to help you move to a new house, they want to help you emotionally.
I haven’t worked with a lot of 2s in my coaching but those that I have, sometimes 2s struggle to acknowledge the darker parts of themselves, the negative emotions, the sadness. That can be challenging for the 2, to go to those places in their book because they think it’s not okay to be sad. That can be a challenge for the 2.
ED: We need to go there in our writing and I’m thinking particularly of memoir writers and I’m thinking of one in particular who just wants to tell the story but we know that story’s going to be so much more powerful and help other people more if they get messy and sticky and dark.
Enneagram Type 3 – The Achiever
DA: The 3 is called the Achiever. They think they are not worthy of love and so, in place of love, they want to get respect and admiration. They think, ‘If I can be the best, then people will at least admire me and respect me.’
They pick an area of their life where they’re going to excel and they excel in that area, so a lot of time 3s are pro athletes or doctors or attorneys or really successful business leaders. Whatever their field is, they excel in that.
Jennie Nash is a 3, she runs Author Accelerator. Dallas Travers is my business coach, she is also a 3. They’re really smart. They are great leaders and in writing, 3s value efficiency and they don’t want to get stuck doing something that doesn’t work because it threatens their achievement, their success.
If they’re doing something that doesn’t work, they want to move on from it and so it can be challenging for a 3 to do the long process of writing a book because it’s not always linear, it’s quite iterative and it’s a lot of rethinking and struggling in a lot of ways, especially if they’re trying to write something that’s personal to them.
That can be challenging for the 3 and 3s often want to just move through the list and check things off and get things done when they need to go a little deeper and sit in that discomfort more.
Also, 3s really want their book to be successful. They want to have a bestseller, they want to be thought of as a good writer and all that stuff.
Using the Enneagram Personality System to Develop Unforgettable Characters
DA: The wonderful thing about the Enneagram in your characters is that it gives you a shortcut to who they really are deep down inside. A lot of character tools are like, ‘What time of day do they get up? Do they like cats or dogs? What’s their pet peeve?’ and those things don’t really matter that much.
What really matters is who they are deep down inside, what they want, what they fear. When you know that, it changes the way you write them. It changes the way you think about their character arcs, how they interact.
It’s also a great tool because you can differentiate your characters. You can make them each distinct and individual. When you know their type, you know how they’re more likely to communicate or respond in a situation. Your characters are much less likely to conform to whatever the plot needs and really be consistent within themselves.
Live Enneagram workshop
DA: In this workshop, I’m going to tell you all about the Enneagram and I’m going to tell you about the types in even more detail than I did here. I’m going to give you some examples but I’m also going to give you tools to think about based on what you’re writing or who these characters are, how you can find their Enneagram types and use them to deepen your story, to write a more impactful story.
Workshop details:
The Personality of Fiction: Using the Enneagram Personality System to Develop Unforgettable Characters
When: Thursday, July 25, 2024
Where: Live on Zoom
Time: 11am Central Time, 5pm UK time, 2am Australian time (a replay will be available).
How to register: https://emmadhesi.thrivecart.com/enneagram/
If you love personality stuff and you’re the person who takes all of the personality tests, come to the workshop, you’re going to love it and it’s going to give you some new tools and also some new insights into yourself.
This workshop is going to revolutionise the way you’re writing, so sign up here: https://emmadhesi.thrivecart.com/enneagram/
Find out more about Dani Abernathy at www.daniabernathy.com.
If you want to find out about Enneagram Type 4-9, the next in this series will be published next week or you can watch the whole of our conversation over at YouTube now.
Emma Dhesi
Emma Dhesi is a Certified Author Accelerator Book Coach and bestselling author who helps writers let go of perfectionism, self-doubt and writer's block through her signature programme, Unlock Your Creative Block.
She is the host of the YouTube Channel, Emma Dhesi, where she interviews debut and experienced authors alike.
Through her 1:1 coaching programme, Emma helps new authors start and finish their first novel.
Emma provides personal written feedback on their pages and guides them through the emotional rollercoaster that is writing a novel!
