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Thursday, June 30, 2016

#ThursdayThoughts: Guest Post by Christine Lindsay

Good Morning and Welcome to the last Thursday Thoughts of June 2016!

Our guest today is no stranger to the blog. She was spotlighted in April and shared treasures with us in May. Today she shares some thoughts with us on personalities....


Personalities, Two Sides to the Coin -- by Christine Lindsay

Personality traits have always fascinated me. How does our early life mold our personality? How much of it is inherited? What aspects of personality affect people’s choices of work,exploits or lack of exploits.

Have you ever noticed that there is a good side and a down side to our personality traits?

I love doing tests such as the Myers’ Briggs, and on one test I found myself as a Protagonist under the heading for Diplomats. They describe this personality as:

Everything you do ripples outward and affects everyone. Your posture can shine your heart or transmit anxiety. Your breath can radiate love or muddy the room in depression. Your glance can awaken joy. Your words can inspire freedom. Your every act can open hearts and minds.

My goodness, how very flattering. This all comes in handy when I write and do the occasional speaking. The down side however, is I can also lock myself away for hours on end with my laptop. I tend to be a workaholic, and prefer my solitude a bit too much.

Enough of me.

While developing the characters for Sofi’s Bridge, I wanted to know the good side and the bad side to the personality traits of a doctor. On the site Medoholic I found certain personality traits that are predominant in medical students.

The traits of a doctor who will go beyond himself to save others. But what’s the possible downside? In the Supporter Personality tests doctors and nurses are referred to as “Supporters” with the passion to be saviors.

So, what’s happens when a healthy individual with the personality traits to make a good doctor finds himself in a personal situation that twists his passion for saving others into circumstances that will destroy him?

·         Have you ever stopped in the middle of helping your kids or a friend out of a jam, and thought, “maybe it would be better if they took their lumps and learned from their situation?”

This particular truth inspired my latest historical romance Sofi’s Bridge. The hero and the heroine in this book are both savior personality types, and put aside their own welfare to “fix” the lives of their respective siblings. In Sofi’s Bridge, both Sofi Andersson and Dr. Neil Galloway must learn the same lesson that I had to learn in my life—that we cannot save the ones we love. Only God can do that.

**********

Wow, learn something new every day! Great info Christine, thanks for sharing.

Christine Lindsay is the author of multi-award-winning Christian fiction. Tales of her Irish ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in Colonial India inspired her multi-award-winning series Twilight of the British Raj, Book 1 Shadowed in Silk, Book 2 Captured by Moonlight, and the explosive finale Veiled at Midnight.

Christine’s Irish wit and her use of setting as a character is evident in her contemporary romance Londonderry Dreaming. Her newest release Sofi’s Bridge also features a dashing Irish hero.

Aside from being a busy writer and speaker, Christine and her husband live on the west coast of Canada. Coming August 2016 is the release of Christine’s non-fiction book Finding Sarah—Finding Me: A Birthmother’s Story.

Please drop by Christine’s website www.ChristineLindsay.org or follow her on Amazon on Twitter. Subscribe to her quarterly newsletter, and be her friend on Pinterest , Facebook, and  Goodreads

 Read all the first chapters of Christine Lindsay’s novels for Free on her website, click HERE and go to Christine’s Books.

Hope you enjoyed Christine's thoughts as much as I did. Drop by weekly for more Thursday Thoughts, Saturday Spotlights and Tuesday Treasures.

Until next time...take care and God Bless!
PamT

10 comments:

Patricia Kiyono said...

What an excellent idea for using personality traits to discover your characters' motivations! I'll have to try that.

Christine said...

Thanks Patricia. Yes, I find personality tests very helpful for this. Thanks for dropping by.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

To be realistic, characters do need to demonstrate both positive and negative traits.

Kara O'Neal said...

Hello! What a great way to develop that negative/flawed side of your characters. And isn't it the truth? I appreciate the post. Good luck to you!

Marissa Garner said...

Thought-provoking post. Best of luck with your book. It sounds great.

marilyn leach said...

I hope your latest book does very well. In the British mystery series "Rosemary and Thyme," the writers laid a broad base for the characters and the seasoned actresses got to develop their characters accordingly. It turned out well! They even decided what the characters favorite flavor of crisps (potato chips) were. Fun

Leah St. James said...

Great post. It is a fascinating topic. I've used personality tests to pair heroes and heroines. The concept is very similar, and it's fun! Best of luck with the new book!

Susan Coryell said...

I admire writers of Christian fiction and feel there's a viable market for such literature. Best wishes for all your ventures.

M.J. Schiller, Romance Author said...

First off, love your cover! My daughter puts a lot of stock in those tests. ("That's because he's an IFMP" or whatever the initials are supposed to be.) I feel like those tests pigeon-hole people and we can't be pigeon-holed. We all act out of character at times. They are useful in writing. I took a workshop where we took a personality test and then used the results to determine what are strengths and weaknesses are as writers. It is interesting stuff!

I love how you use your family history to create your stories! Pretty cool! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

Christine said...

Thank you all for such encouraging comments. And isn't personality one of the greatest things God gave us. So complex and we try different ways to get a handle on understanding it.