For years, I’ve been obsessed with finding an answer to these questions: Why do writers get stuck and discouraged? Why do we lose inspiration? Why are we averse to putting ourselves out there and promoting our work?
Over the past five months, I’ve been developing something that has been swirling around in my mind since I started the Write Catalyst Mastermind—the writer archetype model.
The Journey to the Writer Archetype Model
I’ve always been fascinated with astrology, other realms of existence, and the occult, and have practiced reading rune stones since I was a teenager. As an adult, meditation has become the foundation of my life, along with accessing different brain states.
Early this year, I had the mind-blowing experience of attending the Maha Kumbh Mela in India, the largest spiritual gathering in the world, where I studied yoga and meditation with my Vedic meditation teacher, Jeff Kober, and master yogi, Sri M.
In tandem with my esoteric experimentation was a constant absorption of psychology and personal development content. In my day job as a digital marketer, I’ve worked for some of the top self improvement podcasters. Through this education, I began to realize that certain parts of me that needed to evolve if I was to ever enjoy a happy life, have fulfilling relationships, and live to my full creative potential.
An extreme crisis eventually forced me to seek therapy. During this dark time, I also increased my studies on psychology, mindset, and shadow work.
It wasn’t a hobby. It was survival, and it helped me to summon the strength to step out from the wreckage and start over in life. I found myself at a crossroads, where it was riskier to stay on my old path than to take a leap and invest in a passion project that had been put on the back burner for far too long.
All the stars aligned, so to speak. The tools and resources I needed to build this dream suddenly converged. And so here we are.
What I created is a system that combines what I’ve learned about psychology, consciousness, and the creative process into something practical for every fiction writer.
The Writer Archetype Model
I based the Writer Archetype model loosely on Jung’s classic archetypes. In working closely with members of the Write Catalyst Mastermind (our virtual online writing group) I’ve become familiar with the gifts and blind spots each type of writer has.
As I worked to apply these personality types specifically to writing fiction, they seemed to unfurl on their own. They have shaped themselves so recognizably, a writer’s archetype can be determined just by reading their work. With some people, their archetype is revealed just by talking to them.
How Do You Find Your Writer Archetype?
I have created an introductory quiz to assess which type of writer archetype you are. It is a short quiz, but it’s tough if you overthink it. The best approach is to go with the first answer that grabs you, before your logical brain steers you into the answer you think you should pick instead of your innermost desire.
The 12 Writer Archetypes Are
- Mystic
- Rebel
- Healer
- Warrior
- Sage
- Lover
- Creator
- Explorer
- Dreamer
- Everyman
- Jester
- Guardian
I’m a Mystic Writer
I’m a Mystic Writer—and once I understood my writer archetype, everything about my fiction career suddenly made sense.
Mystic Writer Traits
- Mission: Conduit for otherworldly wisdom, weaving magic into words
- Motto: “I channel divine wisdom through sacred stories”
- Core Desire: To serve as a bridge between the spiritual and material worlds, translating cosmic revelations into accessible stories
- Goal: To create transformative fiction that awakens readers to higher consciousness and universal truths
- Greatest Fear: Losing connection to intuition; being dismissed as “too woo-woo”; spiritual transformation that bypasses authentic human experience
- Strategy: Channels inspiration through meditation, dreams, and intuitive practices; weaves metaphysical and abstract ideas into compelling narratives
- Weakness: May struggle with practical story structure; tendency to prioritize message over plot; can become ungrounded in ethereal concepts
- Talent: Exceptional ability to access non-ordinary states of consciousness; writes with prophetic insight; creates atmosphere that feels truly otherworldly, yet familiar
If you’ve read my work (like Sick, Popsicle, and The Sculptor books), you might think the Mystic archetype doesn’t add up. I’m known for dark, provocative, disturbing fiction, not wispy tales of spiritual awakenings.
But if you revisit the beginning of this article, it’s no surprise I’m a Mystic writer. The intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and the divine nature of consciousness is my greatest interest. Between the lines of my stories are my characters’ quests to evolve into their best selves, and through painful transformation, live in their truths. They are full of psychological breakthroughs, spiritual revelations, and self-actualization.
Now that I know the deeper purpose of my fiction, I can use my Writer Archetype as a reference. Am I getting influenced by what I think I should be writing? What’s missing from my current WIP? Why don’t I feel good about promoting my new release?
Here’s what knowing your archetype can do for you:
- Stop comparing yourself to writers with different archetypes (their process won’t work for you)
- Identify your blind spots before they sabotage your work
- Market authentically instead of using strategies that feel icky
- Write with more confidence because you understand your unique creative voice
- Choose projects that align with your deepest values
Ready to discover your Writer Archetype?
Take the Writer Archetype Intro Quiz (3 minutes).
You’ll receive:
A 5-part email series on writing at your highest level
Your unique Writer Archetype
Your archetype’s symbol
Your creative strengths and blind spots
The Writer Archetype Model
I based the Writer Archetype model loosely on Jung’s classic archetypes. In working closely with members of the Write Catalyst Mastermind (our virtual online writing group) I’ve become familiar with the gifts and blind spots each type of writer has.
As I worked to apply these personality types specifically to writing fiction, they seemed to unfurl on their own. They have shaped themselves so recognizably, a writer’s archetype can be determined just by reading their work. With some people, their archetype is revealed just by talking to them.
How Do You Find Your Writer Archetype?
I have created an introductory quiz to assess which type of writer archetype you are. It is a short quiz, but it’s tough if you overthink it. The best approach is to go with the first answer that grabs you, before your logical brain steers you into the answer you think you should pick instead of your innermost desire.
The 12 Writer Archetypes Are
- Mystic
- Rebel
- Healer
- Warrior
- Sage
- Lover
- Creator
- Explorer
- Dreamer
- Everyman
- Jester
- Guardian
I’m a Mystic Writer
I’m a Mystic Writer—and once I understood my writer archetype, everything about my fiction career suddenly made sense.
Mystic Writer Traits
- Mission: Conduit for otherworldly wisdom, weaving magic into words
- Motto: “I channel divine wisdom through sacred stories”
- Core Desire: To serve as a bridge between the spiritual and material worlds, translating cosmic revelations into accessible stories
- Goal: To create transformative fiction that awakens readers to higher consciousness and universal truths
- Greatest Fear: Losing connection to intuition; being dismissed as “too woo-woo”; spiritual transformation that bypasses authentic human experience
- Strategy: Channels inspiration through meditation, dreams, and intuitive practices; weaves metaphysical and abstract ideas into compelling narratives
- Weakness: May struggle with practical story structure; tendency to prioritize message over plot; can become ungrounded in ethereal concepts
- Talent: Exceptional ability to access non-ordinary states of consciousness; writes with prophetic insight; creates atmosphere that feels truly otherworldly, yet familiar
If you’ve read my work (like Sick, Popsicle, and The Sculptor books), you might think the Mystic archetype doesn’t add up. I’m known for dark, provocative, disturbing fiction, not wispy tales of spiritual awakenings.
But if you revisit the beginning of this article, it’s no surprise I’m a Mystic writer. The intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and the divine nature of consciousness is my greatest interest. Between the lines of my stories are my characters’ quests to evolve into their best selves, and through painful transformation, live in their truths. They are full of psychological breakthroughs, spiritual revelations, and self-actualization.
Now that I know the deeper purpose of my fiction, I can use my Writer Archetype as a reference. Am I getting influenced by what I think I should be writing? What’s missing from my current WIP? Why don’t I feel good about promoting my new release?
Here’s what knowing your archetype can do for you:
- Stop comparing yourself to writers with different archetypes (their process won’t work for you)
- Identify your blind spots before they sabotage your work
- Market authentically instead of using strategies that feel icky
- Write with more confidence because you understand your unique creative voice
- Choose projects that align with your deepest values
Ready to discover your Writer Archetype?
Take the Writer Archetype Intro Quiz (3 minutes).
You’ll receive:
- Your unique Writer Archetype
- Your archetype’s symbol
- Your creative strengths and blind spots
- A 5-part email series on writing at your highest level