What's My Author Archetype?

You may be familiar with the concept of character archetypes, of which there are many, but many authors may not have considered that there are seven distinct writing archetypes according to Abbie Emmons—a YouTuber I’ve been watching for years. The concept intrigued me. At first, upon watching her video, I thought that I must be The Architect archetype. Until she got to the next type, which the quiz confirmed with this result . . . 

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You are The Scholar!

You are a deeply curious writer who wants to understand your story from the inside out. Research, detail, and authenticity matter to you—not just for accuracy, but because they make the world feel real. You enjoy learning as much as writing, and you bring that depth to everything you create.

At your best, your stories feel rich, immersive, and grounded in truth. Your challenge is knowing when you’ve learned enough to begin, because at some point, the story isn’t waiting for more research—it’s waiting for you to write it.

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Believe me when I tell you this is SPOT on!! So let’s break it down . . . 

My curious nature is definitely what inspired me to investigate the real events that I end up writing about, because I become so passionate about wanting to share what I’ve learned with other people—creating a compendium that someone can then just sit back and digest in an entertaining way. 

Two of my favorite writing quotes happen to be from the same man: 

“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write about it. ” ― Benjamin Disraeli

“When I want to read a novel, I write one.” ― Benjamin Disraeli

So that’s what I did! 

In all honesty, it’s the excitement of the research and being able to share what I know that gives me purpose to write. I’m not so sure I would have become a writer otherwise. Authenticity is the key! It’s my desire to ensure that a reader picking up a book on a given subject is getting the most accurate information I can possibly manage. As much as I work to bring scenes to life, I try not to embellish. With that said, when it comes to two possible scenarios—based on real testimony—my mom’s voice always pops into my head: “Go for the drama!” I am seeking to entertain the reader after all. 

I can’t tell you what it means to hear from one of my readers that they felt like they were an honorary townsperson in my story—like a fly on the wall of history! I know it’s risky writing an omniscient narrative, but I want the reader to feel like they were watching a story play out and unfold as if they were a time-traveling fly, where nowhere was off limits, and then could fly right on back to reality. 

As for the warning about the pitfall of being The Scholar, it’s knowing when you’ve learned enough to begin. How true. With my first book I felt crippled with researching every tiny detail, most of which could not possibly make it into the story—whether for lack of space or it being tangential to the story proper.

I definitely knew better for my second book what NOT to spend time on with researching. So I can definitely vouch for the challenge a Scholar-type faces. Fortunately, my ONE rule during the drafting process of both stories served me very well. And that is: NO GOOGLING WHILE DRAFTING! 

What did I do if I didn’t know something? You may ask. I jotted down a quick note on a notepad to look up during a designated non-writing time. But once I was up and running on Scrivener,  I took advantage of placing brackets around something I was questioning or changing the text color or highlight to remind me to look something up at a later time. I could not allow anything I didn’t know to slow down the writing flow. 

Stay tuned for a future blog post about what writing tools are essential in my author arsenal. 

Watch Abbie Emmons’ Your Author Archetype Will Unlock Your BEST Writing Yet 

Or take the quiz for yourself here.