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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Anne's experience, and the experience of other writer's she knows, how easily does plot structure come?

2. What advice did E. L. Doctorow have about writing?

3. What is a recurring problem that Anne sees in her students?

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

5. What do most of Anne's students assume about why well-respected writers's books turn out beautifully?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Anne warn against writing towards a climax or destination?

2. In Part 2, The Writing Frame of Mind, Section 1, Looking Around, what is writing about, and how do we see the writer?

3. Where does Anne find out something about false starts?

4. In college, Anne found a community in which she might fit in. Why did she felt a sense of community in college?

5. What was Natalie Goldberg's response when asked for the best possible writing advice she had to offer? How true is this advice?

6. How does Anne say perfectionism affects writing?

7. When Anne's students tell her they do not know where to start, she tells them to start with their childhood. How is this helpful?

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

9. How did Anne accomplish a very believable gardener in her novel, when she cannot even keep a houseplant alive?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the moral point of view? Why should you put yourself at the center of your writing? Why should the truth be unfolded layer after layer, instead of like a one-liner on a bumper sticker?

Essay Topic 2

Why is publication so important so some writers? Do you think these people will ever see writing its own reward? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

In Part 4, Publication and Other Reasons to Write, Section 1, Writing a Present, Toni Morrison is quoted as saying, "The function of freedom is to free someone else." How can writing free another person, such as the reader? In what ways does writing affect the writer?

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