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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the author's theory about fiction in Chapter 5?
(a) Order in reality helps us create order in fiction.
(b) Order in fiction helps us create order in reality.
(c) Fiction and reality cannot coexist without order.
(d) Fiction and reality can only coexist without order.

2. Besides context, what else can a name provide for a character?
(a) Beliefs.
(b) Intentions.
(c) Preferences.
(d) Background.

3. What type of reaction will an audience have to a character with opposing characteristics?
(a) Immediate and negative.
(b) Immediate, but not necessarily negative.
(c) Slow, but mostly negative.
(d) They may not respond at all.

4. Which one of the following is not an example of a story where milieu is the prime narrative?
(a) Mystery.
(b) Fantasy.
(c) Western.
(d) Science-fiction.

5. What do the two questions the author poses at the end of Chapter 2 add to a novel?
(a) Dramatic interest for the background of a character.
(b) Practical interest for the characters and events.
(c) Dramatic interest for the characters and events.
(d) Practical interest for the background of a character.

6. Which one of the following is not a powerful resource for finding characters listed by the author?
(a) The writer's self.
(b) The writer's feelings.
(c) The writer's previous works.
(d) The writer's unrelated memories.

7. Which of the following is not an example of a minor character's function?
(a) To offer information.
(b) To define the main theme.
(c) To act as a love interest.
(d) To create suspense.

8. What are three good example of character definition in fiction?
(a) Relatives, habits, and behavior.
(b) Talents, relatives, and behavior.
(c) Talents, habits, and behavior.
(d) Talents, relatives, and habits.

9. What two ideals is the author blending in Chapter 9?
(a) The predictable with the unpredictable.
(b) The intelligent with the unintelligent.
(c) The romantic with the realistic.
(d) The selfish with the unselfish.

10. What word is used to describe the life ideally given to fictional characters?
(a) Colorful.
(b) Vivid.
(c) Interesting.
(d) Eventful.

11. How does the author describe the act of creative writing in the Introduction?
(a) As a collaborative act.
(b) As a solitary act.
(c) As an unlimited act.
(d) As a limited act.

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

13. According to the quote that ends Chapter 3, where does the author believe a writer can find wonderful stories?
(a) Any landscape on earth.
(b) Very few landscapes on earth.
(c) Most landscapes on earth.
(d) No landscapes on earth.

14. What must accompany self-sacrifice in an engaging character?
(a) Mystery.
(b) Reason.
(c) Desperation.
(d) Sympathy.

15. What is the function of a major character?
(a) To be believable, but not necessarily interesting.
(b) To be interesting and believable.
(c) To be interesting, but not necessarily believable.
(d) To be neither interesting nor believable.

Short Answer Questions

1. What can other characters provide for the main character?

2. What is milieu?

3. What type of reputation can a character have?

4. How can emotion be elevated for a character by utilizing the natural world?

5. What is a narrative that is focused on an event trying to make sense of?

(see the answer keys)

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