Fighting with the Hero

I’m battling with the hero of my second book. I never wanted him to be the hero. Before I started the first book, I had five characters in mind: three women who had been almost life-long best friends and the ex-husband and the brother of one of the women. I knew that woman #1 would be paired with her ex and that woman #3 would be paired with her friend’s brother, but I didn’t have a hero for woman #2. As I was writing Book 1, I decided a secondary character (a good-looking, successful doctor) would make an ideal hero for woman #2.

There was another secondary character, one whom I saw as the bad boy of my story and a foil for my beta hero. Bad Boy was a bit of a jerk—smart-mouthed, full of himself, and an irritant to the hero. I didn’t like Bad Boy much, but I wanted to know why he was such a pain. I discovered he had a secret, and discovering his secret made him a jerk who deserved a little sympathy rather than an unmitigated jerk. About the time of this change, I wrote a scene that just seemed a gift from my muse. You need to understand that my muse has ADD, and her help is sporadic at best. But this day she was generous and focused, and she gave me a lovely little scene in which the jerk baited woman #2 before he gave her a message for the book’s heroine.

Meanwhile, it was becoming clear that the doctor wouldn’t work for woman #2. She was avoiding his calls and yawning in his face. And she kept eyeing Bad Boy, who kept inserting himself into scenes where I was sure he didn’t belong. I kept cutting these scenes, but he was persistent. Finally I gave in. He became the match for woman #2. I have been fighting with him ever since, and I hate fights.

In an effort to better understand him, I gave him a personality test, sort of Myers Briggs lite. He turned out to be an INTJ (Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Judging). Such types are variously known as Masterminds or Strategists. They are stubborn and critical of the status quo, have little interest in other people's thoughts or feelings, are quick to express judgments, have a vision of the future, like to be in control, and often come across as arrogant. That’s an impressively accurate description of Bad Boy.

I, on the other hand, am an INFP (Introverted-Intuitive-Feeling-Perceiving), as is woman #2. INFPs are termed Healers or Dreamers. They are sensitive and caring, make choices based on personal values, are uncomfortable with hard facts and logic, have a great need for harmony and strive to avoid conflict, and often are perceived as ignorant of reality.
Small wonder Bad Boy won’t behave as I, and the heroine, want him to. But at least now I understand him better, and my head is filled with possibilities for new conflicts between him and his heroine.

How much credence do you place in personality tests? Do you know your MB type? Have you ever thought about typing fictional characters, either those you have created or those you encounter in your reading.