View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is milieu?
(a) The mental, historical, or social context.
(b) The mental, cultural, or social context.
(c) The physical, cultural, or social context.
(d) The physical, historical, or social context.

2. How necessary is it for characters to be more than stereotypes in a narrative where an idea is the primary focus?
(a) Rarely necessary.
(b) The characters are never more than stereotypes in a narrative.
(c) Somewhat necessary.
(d) Very necessary.

3. What kinds of situations can make a character more interesting?
(a) Ones that the character and the reader are expecting.
(b) Ones that the reader is unaccustomed with.
(c) Ones that the character has been in before.
(d) Ones that the character is unaccustomed with.

4. 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 idea, but not milieu.
(c) Relationships with milieu, but not idea.
(d) Relationships with milieu and idea.

5. What do the most engaging characters reveal about themselves?
(a) Fearlessness.
(b) A heroic side.
(c) Unknown flaws.
(d) Unknown fears.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the function of a major character?

2. What type of physical appearance can make a character more engaging?

3. Which of the following is not an example of a minor character's function?

4. What does the author think can also provide ideas for additional characters?

5. Besides emotional, what type of attention from the reader is the goal of Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. As explained in the Introduction, on what are the author's suggestions based?

2. What kind of act is writing and how does it compare to other mediums?

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

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

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

6. What does the author mean when he writes about "raising the emotional stakes"?

7. What are some places that a writer can look to find the inspiration for characters?

8. How and why should a writer vary the names used in their stories?

9. What is a helpful tip about keeping track of character names that the author provides at the end of Chapter 4?

10. What is an event-focused narrative and how much characterization is necessary for it?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 853 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample