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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. How are "showing" and "telling" defined?

2. In a comedy, what are the comedic interjections grounded in?

3. Which series of novels by Robert Parker are listed as an example of characters that are influenced to change?

4. What does "controlled disbelief" refer to?

5. Which type of narrative is most often used when writing from a Representation perspective?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the most common tenses used in narration and how does the author describe the risks involved with using different ones?

2. What are some of the limitations and advantages of the first person narrative?

3. What are some of the techniques for interjecting humor?

4. What creates believable characters, according to the author in, "The Serious Character: Make Us Believe"?

5. What is the difference between an omniscient narrator and a viewpoint narrator?

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

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

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

9. What is the value of justification and how does a writer decide the amount to include in a story?

10. How is the illusion of truth created?

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

Comedy contains various elements that work together to provide humor in sometimes unexpected situations.

1) Explain how a comedy is normally based on a form of pain or suffering.

2) Describe the way comedic characters and events are derived from a sense of truth and why.

3) Analyze the different techniques used to interject humor into a story, the way they are used, and at least 3 examples of them.

4) Describe what controlled disbelief is, which characters are the most likely to use it, and why.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the reasons why a character must be believable and how a writer can create them in a way that makes them more believable. Use the book as a reference to provide examples of how major characters and minor characters are developed in fiction.

(see the answer keys)

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