The Enneagram


Where did the Enneagram come from?
The name in Greek literally means "the nine diagram." The system is based on the fact that all human personalities can be deduced to nine basic types. No one is sure of the origin of the Enneagram, but it has been developed by professional psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists over the centuries into an astoundingly accurate tool.

How does it work?
The Enneagram divides human beings into nine basic categories or types. But it's not that simple. For each type there are two sub-types. And when you factor in a sliding scale of healthiness, you're left with an infinite number of character types. The system is difficult to manage on its own.

How does the Character Tool use the Enneagram?
Typing Chimp Character takes the basic concepts of the Enneagram and incorporates them into a system developed by a professional writer to create realistic character spines. All the difficult connections and building of the character spine is done by the program. You simply fill in basic information, click a couple of buttons and a unique character spine is automatically generated for you.

It's important to point out that Character Writer is not an "Enneagram" program; it is a character-development program. The software developer studied the basic concepts of the Enneagram system and modified them to better lend themselves to professional character development, specifically, the creation of a character spine.

Learn more...
Those interested in the Enneagram in its pure form should seek out some of the books and Web sites on the subject. The Enneagram has inspired a vast body of ideas and philosophies. And a vast number of voices. Judith Searle offers wonderful seminars and articles on using the Enneagram to create characters. Her latest book is titled "The Literary Enneagram" and we highly recommend picking it up.