Overview.
Overall, these shapes not only help your character as an individual but in finding their core shape and picking out certain personality features, distinguishing them as such also help them see where they fit in with others:
- A Block is somebody who feels most comfortable with a stable environment and clear directions on what to do. He is conservative and likes things that are regular and orderly. If given a task, he will work on it until it is finished, even if it is repetitious, cumbersome and lonely.
- A Triangle is goal-oriented. He enjoys planning something out and then doing it. He gets motivated by the accomplishment. He will tend to look at big long-term issues, but might forget the details. When given a task he will set a goal and work on a plan for it.
- A Circle is social and communicative. No hard edges. He handles things by talking about them and smoothing things out with everybody. Communication is the first priority, and making sure there is harmony. When given a task, he will talk about it.
- A Star is usually off-the-wall and quite creative. He feels best doing new and different things most of the time and gets bored with regularity. When given a task, he will come up with bright ideas about it.
| TIP! |
The Block and Triangle are both convergent, capable of working towards something specific and finite, and they do it in a logical and systematic way. But they might be lacking in personal creativity. The Circle and Star are both divergent. They are creative, extroverted, and intuitive; and will reach out around them into new areas and to others; but, they aren't particularly systematic or dependable. Blocks and Triangles may become frustrated with Circles and Stars due to the fact that the divergent personalities seem incapable of finishing what they are "supposed" to be doing but will do all kinds of other things and not care about deadlines. The Circles and Stars might find the Blocks and Triangles cold and narrow-minded when they do not take outside factors and new possibilities into consideration. |
If in need of ways to reach out and communicate with a certain personality shape, here are some ways to try and approach that character:
- A Block will need fairly specific explanations, examples, and instructions. They will not be happy just floating around, not knowing where the request or task is going. A Block will feel good about being presented with a procedure and carrying it through until it is done. It doesn't matter much if it is repetitious, regularity is a source of comfort. For a Block it is a good idea to have more of a formal routine, certain rituals that are repeated.
- A Triangle needs to see a goal and needs to see some accomplishments. They will be most interested in the big picture and in the end result. They will always need to know WHY. If it is a task the pack needs to do, they might appreciate specific targets and milestones, and will take great pleasure in checking off each one that gets done. It should always be clear what the underlying intention is with what they do. If the general direction is agreed upon, the Triangle can be quite flexible in how the pack gets there to achieve its goal(s).
- A Circle doesn't need a plan or a system and might be turned off by such matters. They need to talk about whatever is at hand. Getting to an overall harmonious situation is more important than getting specific procedures or targets done right. A Circle will not just sit and listen to their companion's version of the plan, they would want to add their part and see the matter from different angles so that they can get a sense of the whole thing. To deal with a circle one has to be flexible and willing to discuss any aspect of the matter.
- A Star must be presented with new and different things. Always. Unexpected angles is what will motivate them. They are not particularly interested in staying with the subject, but will often contrast it with drastically different ideas. They like to explore many possibilities at the same time, and there must always be multiple choices available. If something needs to be done, it is perfectly fine if no kind of procedure or structure is recognized and every day is different. To deal well with a Star, one must be flexible enough to jump around quite a bit and avoid preconceived ideas about where they will end up.
These wolves and characters, like humans (the people who play them!), are different from one another. If one isn't able to adjust to different personality types, then a character will probably mainly attract the ones that are similar to them, and others just won't appreciate what they do or say. If they do recognize the different types of personalities and if they approximate their way of relating to reality, then there is no limit to who they can deal with and network with successfully.
If it isn't apparent already, there is no value judgment connected with which category these personalities fall into. None of them are better than the other ones, and each one is a somewhat fragmented package. It has qualities that are good for certain purposes and it has qualities that aren't so good for other purposes.
The best way of testing these is probably to evaluate your wolf and mentally envisioning or asking them to pick a shape that they like the most and then the shape that they like the second most. That will give you, the writer, a more composite picture; only then will the qualities possibly blend or even balance one another to some degree.
(This post was last modified: Jul 13, 2013, 10:33 PM by Mapplethorpe.)
Character Shapes
