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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. Which tenses are the most commonly used?

2. What type of influences might cause a character to change?

3. In comedy, how should a transformation be presented?

4. In order to help make a character more believable, how should the details be presented?

5. What should the writer avoid when defining the voice of a narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do "showing" and "telling" affect the story?

2. What is comedy usually the result of, and what is humor based on?

3. What happens when a reader interprets a change in a character that was not intended?

4. What is the author's theory of how people experience transformations in life?

5. How can a random transformation be written if it seems to occur for no reason?

6. How is the illusion of truth created?

7. What are some of the different voices a person uses based on the situation?

8. What are the three levels in which a writer can penetrate the mind or experience of a viewpoint character?

9. How does the importance of a character affect the change undergone, and what effect does it have on the writing of the narrative?

10. What are some of the consequences that are beyond a character's control and provoke a transformation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Transformations are a key part to the emotional connection between a reader and a fictional story.

1) Explain how transformations can be misunderstood or feared, and why fiction is a way for people to feel less uncomfortable.

2) Describe the way a character can be transformed in fiction based on external events and characters or events that they have no control over.

3) Describe how characters can transform themselves, the reasons for this type of change, and which stories feature it the most.

4) Describe why it is possible for a character to go through a random transformation, the difficulties in writing it, and how they can be overcome.

5) Analyze the different techniques available to writers when developing a transformation in characters.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the main purpose of writing by answering the following:

1) What is the purpose of fiction and characters that are written effectively?

2) What is the expectations that a reader has of a fictional story and why?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role of truth in fiction by comparing the illusion of truth with the actual depiction of it. Include which one is present in fiction, how the writer adds it, and the way it affects the characters and events. Use the book to also provide examples that support your analysis.

(see the answer keys)

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