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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to the author, what is an engaging narrative never about?
(a) Ordinary people doing ordinary things for ordinary reasons.
(b) Ordinary people doing extraordinary things for extraordinary reasons.
(c) Ordinary people doing ordinary things for extraordinary reasons.
(d) Extraordinary people doing ordinary things for extraordinary reasons.

2. How well do readers want to know characters in a book?
(a) Better than they know people in life.
(b) As well as they know people in life.
(c) As well as they know people in a movie.
(d) Better than they know characters in a movie.

3. On a basic level, which one of the following defines character in a narrative?
(a) Relationships with all forms except for milieu and idea.
(b) Relationships with milieu and idea.
(c) Relationships with idea, but not milieu.
(d) Relationships with milieu, but not idea.

4. What place can writers use as inspiration for their characters?
(a) Observation and memory.
(b) Observation and another person's memory.
(c) Memory, but not observation.
(d) Observation, but not memory.

5. What type of reputation can a character have?
(a) One that is deserved.
(b) A character should not have a reputation.
(c) Deserved or not deserved.
(d) One that is not deserved.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of vocabulary creates a negative response to a character?

2. According to the author, where do characters come from?

3. What does the author think about characters from unrelated ideas?

4. How often are sources of inspiration altered?

5. What does the writer use with words to achieve his/her main goals?

Short Essay Questions

1. What techniques does the author describe in Chapter 3 about characters from unrelated ideas?

2. What are some characteristics that make characters more appealing in general?

3. What are some of the ways a reader can know a character that is well written?

4. How can a negative character become more intriguing?

5. Is it possible to use less characterization in a story?

6. What is the difference between "walk-ons" and minor characters?

7. What is the intent of the author in "Characters and Viewpoint"?

8. What techniques can a writer use to raise the emotional stakes?

9. What is the main point of Chapter 9, "The Hero and the Common Man"?

10. How does character factor into a narrative and why is it often a complex process?

(see the answer keys)

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