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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. What does Anne say can reveal a character better than pages of description?
(a) One line of dialog that rings true.
(b) The antagonist.
(c) Really off the wall dialect.
(d) Pages of dialog with descriptive wording.

2. What was Anne's first poem about that got any attention?
(a) Her father.
(b) Tiny bubbles.
(c) John Glenn.
(d) Sam.

3. What do we want out of important characters, such as a narrator?
(a) For them to manipulate us.
(b) A good plot line.
(c) For them to be reliable.
(d) For them to entertain us every step of the way.

4. Where does plot grow from?
(a) Characters.
(b) A one-inch picture frame.
(c) A good topsoil.
(d) A good outline.

5. How does Anne define clutter?
(a) Something to be swept under the rug.
(b) Wonderfully fertile ground.
(c) Easier to deal with if you put in specific piles.
(d) Makes her hold her breath.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Vonnegut's comment on writing?

2. What is Anne's comment on messes?

3. Anne's editor loved the characters in her book, but what was the problem with the book?

4. What magazine did Anne write food reviews for, before it folded?

5. Where does the image of putting an octopus to bed come from?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does a bad first draft provide a writer, according to Anne?

2. How do you know when you are done, according to Anne?

3. Readers need a sense that an important character, such as a narrator, is reliable. How does Anne suggest that writers accomplish this?

4. Alice Adams suggests the ABDCE formula for writing a short story. How can formulas be a great way to get us started?

5. At some point you may need to design a set for your characters that you know nothing about. What avenues does Anne suggest taking to gain the knowledge you need?

6. How does Anne suggest we can free ourselves from perfectionism?

7. Another of Anne's stories stems from the movie Stripes. The line is "Hey, lighten up Francis." How is this story helpful to her students?

8. With every work there will always be more that you could have done. What does Anne warn us against with this thought?

9. How does Anne suggest writers offer hope to readers?

10. How does Anne compare writing a first draft to watching a Polaroid develop?

(see the answer keys)

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