Alberta Romance Writers' Association

Listing a mere 12 character archetypes when, according to some experts there can be as little as four to as many as sixteen, I decided to list personality types from various resources and articles and list a couple of traits to describe what the type is like (sometimes you can tell just by the title alone).

• One - from The Heroic Myth Index
  1. Innocent – trust optimism
  2. Orphan – interdependence, realism
  3. Warrior – courage, discipline
  4. Caregiver – compassion, generosity
  5. Seeker – autonomy, ambition
  6. Lover – passion, commitment
  7. Destroyer – humility
  8. Creator – individuality, vocation
  9. Ruler – responsibility, control
  10. Magician – personal power
  11. Sage – wisdom, nonattachment
  12. Fool – joy, freedom

  See the book Awakening the Heroes Within by Carol S. Pearson

• Two - Zodiac Sign Types
  1. Aries – motto: I am
  2. Taurus – motto: I have
  3. Gemini – motto: I communicate
  4. Leo – motto: I create
  5. Virgo – motto: I serve
  6. Libra – motto: I weigh
  7. Scorpio – motto: I control
  8. Saggitarius – motto: I philosophize
  9. Capricorn – motto: I master
  10. Aquarius – motto: I universilize
  11. Pisces – motto: I believe

• Three - Enneagram Types
  1. The Perfectionist – tries to avoid mistakes
  2. The Giver – wants to gain approval
  3. The Performer – wants to be loved for achievement
  4. The Romantic – attracted to the hard to get
  5. The Observer – craves privacy and a place to be alone
  6. The Trooper – thinks instead of doing
  7. The Epicure – seeks stimulation
  8. The Boss – concerned with justice
  9. The Mediator – maintains the comfort of neutrality

• Four - Personal Styles of Approaching Change
  1. Leave well enough alone – maintain sameness
  2. The Ostrich – seems fine to me
  3. The Old-timer – go back to good old days
  4. The Turtle – moves in careful steps
  5. The Fixer – likes to troubleshoot
  6. The Cannon – impulsive
  7. The Scrapper – wrestles over change
  8. The Pipe-dreamer – creates ideas, implements very little
  9. The Late Starter – holds back until situation forces change
  10. The Visionary – focuses on better ways to improve things
  11. The People Person – focuses on personal meaning of change
  12. The Boot-strapper – keeps moving despite obstacles

  (Five and Six are very similar)

• Five - Communication Style Types
  1. Emotive – sociable, spontaneous, emotional
  2. Supportive – patient, warm, softhearted
  3. Reflective – scientific, serious, aloof
  4. Directive – determined, bold, aggressive

• Six - from Your Personality Tree by Florence Littauer
  1. Sanguine – promoter, demonstrative, talker, popular
  2. Phlegmatic – peaceful, friendly, listener, permissive
  3. Melancholy – planner, orderly, musical, perfectionist
  4. Choleric – competitive, forceful, outspoken, productive

• Seven - from The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes and Heroines: 16 Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders.
  1. Chief
  2. Bad Boy
  3. Best Friend
  4. Charmer
  5. Lost Soul
  6. Warrior
  7. Swashbuckler
  8. Professor
  9. Boss
  10. Seductress
  11. Nuturer
  12. Free Spirit
  13. Waif
  14. Crusader
  15. Spunky Kid
  16. Librarian

• Eight - 16 Jung (Myers Briggs) Archetypes
  See http://patchworkpoet.com/Jung.htm

  These 16 types include: Introversion, Extroversion, Intuition, Sensing, Thinking, Feeling, Judgment and Perception.

  1. ISTJ – The Duty Fulfiller
  2. ISTP – The Mechanic
  3. ISFJ – The Nurturer
  4. ISFP – The Artist
  5. INFJ – The Protector
  6. INFP – The Idealist
  7. INTJ – The Scientist
  8. INTP – The Thinker
  9. ESTP – The Doer
  10. ESTJ – The Guardian
  11. ESFP – The Performer
  12. ESFJ – The Caregiver
  13. ENFP – The Inspirer
  14. ENFJ – The Giver
  15. ENTP – The Visionary
  16. ENTJ – The Executive

• Nine - first four were from Heroic Alphabet by Alicia Rasley then she said to explore gamma and beyond so I matched four others with Cowden’s 16 master archetypes:
  1. Alpha – the man in charge (chief)
  2. Delta – mad, bad and dangerous to know (bad boy)
  3. Theta – the man in need (lost soul)
  4. Beta – the guy who stays and plays (best friend)
  5. Gamma – the intellectual (professor)
  6. Zeta – the risk-taker (swashbuckler)
  7. Sigma – the charmer
  8. Omega – the protector (warrior)

And that's my off-dozen nine character types!