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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The school lunches writing assignment combines which two pieces of writing advice from Anne?
(a) Get started and consult a hypnotist.
(b) Read poetry and drink wine.
(c) Eat chocolate and take plenty of naps.
(d) Short assignments and bad first drafts.

2. In Part 1, Section 6, Polaroids, what was Anne's finished article about?
(a) The runners.
(b) The girl on crutches.
(c) Tragedy transfromed to joy and sheer effort.
(d) The "cool man" game.

3. What is the question Anne's students always ask?
(a) How can I write like Dr. Suess?
(b) How do you know when you are done?
(c) What happens when a character changes?
(d) How can you put an octopus to bed?

4. When a character takes on a characteristic that you have no good experience in, what should you do?
(a) Look at your plot, it will tell you what to write.
(b) Contact someone who has this life experience.
(c) Google the characteristic, everything online is true.
(d) Wing it, the readers will not know.

5. What do readers want to know about characters besides their superficial values?
(a) How they smell.
(b) Their essence.
(c) What they eat.
(d) Their hair color.

Short Answer Questions

1. When you start think there is one more thing you could do, what should you remind yourself?

2. What is Anne's response when her students ask her for the best writing advice?

3. After a half hour of writing, how much material was generated from the school lunch assignment?

4. What does Anne say that there is ecstasy in?

5. Anne's editor loved the characters in her book, but what was the problem with the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Anne suggest we can free ourselves from perfectionism?

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

3. Readers need a sense that an important character, such as a narrator, is reliable. How does Anne suggest that writers accomplish this?

4. How does Anne suggest writers offer hope to readers?

5. Another of Anne's stories stems from the movie Stripes. The line is "Hey, lighten up Francis." How is this story helpful to her students?

6. How did Anne's article on the Special Olympics start off? How did it turn out?

7. In Part 1, Section 12, Plot Treatment, Anne had been working on a book for over two years that still was not acceptable to her editor. How does she describe the plot treatment she wrote, which was accepted by her editor, and gained her the last of her advance?

8. At some point you may need to design a set for your characters that you know nothing about. What avenues does Anne suggest taking to gain the knowledge you need?

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

10. When Anne was writing food reviews, how did allowing herself to write bad first drafts help her?

(see the answer keys)

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