Know Thy Thread
The AuthorKind Archetype Self-Test
Discover the story thread you carry.
Downloadable version —>AuthorKind Archetype Self-Test
Instructions
❖ Answer each question honestly, following your first instinct.
❖ Select the letter (A–G) that feels most aligned with your response.
❖ Tally the number of times you chose each letter. Your most frequent choice(s) will reveal your dominant archetype.
❖ At the end, you’ll find a guide to interpreting your results.
Scored closely between two types?
Read both descriptions — you may carry multiple threads.
Begin Test Here
✍️ Question 1:
When you sit down to write, what do you most crave?
A. A moment of paradox or stillness to unpack
B. Emotional connection and quiet healing
C. A thread that links past to present
D. A puzzle to solve or a new lens to examine the world
E. A spark of truth that challenges injustice
F. A slow unraveling of memory, time, or transformation
G. The freedom to reshape form and bend the rules
✍️ Question 2:
Which environment most nourishes your creativity?
A. A quiet room where ideas can echo inward
B. A cozy nook filled with soft light and handwritten letters
C. A library filled with myth, memory, and ancestral stories
D. A space filled with charts, notes, and speculative wonder
E. A gathering place where voices rise and truth is spoken
F. A windswept bench beneath an old tree, heavy with time
G. A café with ink-stained napkins and shifting music, where nothing stays still for long
✍️ Question 3:
Why do you return to the page, again and again?
A. To reflect and explore deeper truths
B. To offer comfort, connection, and care
C. To preserve what might be forgotten
D. To ask questions and challenge assumptions
E. To reveal what must be confronted
F. To witness the unfolding of change
G. To create something that’s never existed before
✍️ Question 4:
Your writing process feels most alive when...
A. You let a single idea spiral inward, layer by layer
B. The emotions flow gently and the world feels safe
C. You’re honoring a voice or legacy larger than yourself
D. The structure clicks into place like a clever design
E. You’re writing with urgency—every word a strike of purpose
F. The story evolves through echoes and reflection
G. The form breaks open and something surprising emerges
✍️ Question 5:
What do you most hope your readers take away from your stories?
A. A deeper question they’ll carry long after reading
B. A feeling of being seen, soothed, or gently understood
C. A sense of continuity—between self, culture, and memory
D. A new framework for understanding the world
E. A bold clarity about something they can no longer ignore
F. A quiet resonance—something soft, slow, and lasting
G. A jolt of wonder, disorientation, or transformation
✍️ Question 6:
Which statement feels most true of your relationship with story?
A. I write to unravel truths I don’t yet understand
B. I write to connect—to offer space for healing or hope
C. I write to remember, restore, and pass down meaning
D. I write to reframe systems and explore what-if
E. I write to challenge, reveal, and ignite action
F. I write to reflect and record what would otherwise slip away
G. I write to push boundaries and reimagine what story can be
✍️ Question 7:
How do characters usually appear to you?
A. As voices asking questions or holding contradictions
B. As souls who ache, grow, and love deeply
C. As links in a chain—tied to history or legacy
D. As conduits for intellectual or philosophical ideas
E. As agents of disruption or justice
F. As echoes of time, loss, and transformation
G. As fractured, strange, or symbolic figures
✍️ Question 8:
Which metaphor best describes your creative energy?
A. A spiral staircase leading deeper inward
B. A candle flickering beside a handwritten letter
C. A woven tapestry of ancestors and memory
D. A glass orb filled with swirling formulas
E. A lit match in a dark room
F. A tide pool filled with lost shells and mirrored skies
G. A kaleidoscope thrown into flight
✍️ Question 9:
When you read something that stays with you, it’s usually because...
A. It left a quiet question inside you
B. It wrapped around your heart and didn’t let go
C. It honored something sacred, lost, or overlooked
D. It opened your mind to a concept you’d never seen that way
E. It stirred your conscience and made you want to act
F. It moved like memory—soft, layered, reflective
G. It broke the rules and still made you feel everything
✍️ Question 10:
If your writing left one lasting thread behind, what would it be?
A. Wonder in the unknown
B. Comfort and connection
C. Wisdom that endures
D. Curiosity with clarity
E. Courage through truth
F. Reflection through time
G. Freedom in form
Tally Your Results
Count how many times you selected each letter and record the number of each letter you selected. For instance how many A’s, how many B’, etc.
Your Archetype Revealed
The letter you chose most often reflects your dominant AuthorKind Archetype.
If you had a tie, you may carry more than one thread—and that’s beautifully human.
Descriptions for each archetype follow:
✦ A – The Echo Mind
You write to reflect and reveal. A seeker of paradox and nuance, your stories spiral inward to find truth in silence and contradiction.
✦ B – The Quiet Bloom
You write with tenderness and intention. Offering sanctuary through your work, you believe gentleness is a quiet revolution.
✦ C – The Thread Keeper
You are a guardian of memory and voice. Your writing honors the past and reclaims what’s been silenced—through myth, history, and reverence.
✦ D – The Clockwork Seer
You write to ask what if. Your stories are thought experiments in disguise—structured, intricate, and speculative at heart.
→ Read the Clockwork Seer Post
✦ E – The Flame Warden
You write to illuminate and challenge. Unafraid to confront injustice, your words burn clear and purposeful, lighting the way for others.
✦ F – The Drift Scribe
You write with time’s breath. Your stories move gently through memory, grief, and quiet transformation—never rushing the truth.
✦ G – The Formbreaker
You write beyond structure. Your creativity thrives in fragmentation, reimagining what story can be and where emotion can lead.
P.S.
This AuthorKind Archetype Self-Test is intended for personal use and reflection.
If you share it with a friend, please be sure to credit Wander Words by JL Tooker © 2025. This work is not authorized for reproduction, resale, or professional distribution.
Thank you for helping keep the spirit of AuthorKind true.
To explore all the archetypes in depth,
visit the full series on Substack:
