4. Writing Personality Types - Why Writers Struggle Differently (and How to Work With It)

Writing Personality Types: Why Writers Struggle Differently (and How to Work With It)

Have you ever followed writing advice that everyone swears by — only to find it didn’t work for you?

That doesn’t mean you lack discipline, motivation, or talent.
It means the advice wasn’t designed for how you’re wired.

In this episode of Write the Darn Book, Maddison explores the four writing personality types and explains why different writers experience writer’s block, procrastination, and self-doubt in very different ways.

You’ll learn how personality influences the way you write, how you respond under pressure, and what actually supports your creative flow — so you can stop forcing yourself into systems that don’t fit, and start writing with more ease and self-trust.

While this episode is shared through a writer’s lens, these insights apply far beyond the page — into your work, your creativity, your relationships, and the way you understand the characters you bring to life on the page.

 

✍️ What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why writing advice doesn’t work for everyone
• How personality shapes the way writers experience blocks and resistance
• The four writing personality types (Dove, Owl, Peacock, Eagle)
• How each personality type tends to struggle — and why those struggles make sense
• How to work with your dominant personality instead of fighting it
• A simple, practical way to support your writing this week
• Why understanding yourself leads to more confidence and consistency

 

🐦 The Four Writing Personality Types (DOPE Framework)

In this episode, Maddison introduces the Bird Personality framework, remembered using the acronym DOPE:

• Dove — the heart-led, connection-driven writer
• Owl — the analytical, detail-focused writer
• Peacock — the expressive, energy-driven writer
• Eagle — the driven, results-focused writer

Each personality brings unique strengths to writing — and unique challenges when under pressure.

Understanding your dominant type helps you respond to resistance with clarity and compassion, rather than self-criticism.

 

🌿 Episode Integration: How to Use This in Your Writing

Most writers have one dominant writing personality — the one that shows up most consistently across their writing life.

In this episode, Maddison invites you to:

• identify your dominant personality
• support your writing through that lens this week
• stay flexible if a different personality energy feels more present on a given day

This gentle, personality-led approach helps reduce overwhelm, quiet self-doubt, and restore creative trust.

 

📝 Take the Free Writing Personality Quiz

If you’d like to discover which writing personality you lean toward most, Maddison has created a free Bird Personality Quiz.

👉 Take the quiz here:
maddisonmichaels.com/quiz

It’s a powerful starting point for understanding how you’re wired to write — and how to support your creativity with more ease and confidence.

 

🌱 Coming Up Next

In the next episode, Maddison explores a topic that impacts every writer — social media — and shares a gentle social media detox designed to help you reclaim your attention, energy, and creative flow.

 

💛 Want Deeper Support?

If this episode resonated and you’re ready for deeper support to break through your blocks and finally write the book you’re meant to write, Maddison currently has a few spots available for 1:1 coaching.

👉 Learn more at:
maddisonmichaels.com/coaching