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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does King consider to be the best tool in making a writer?
(a) Practice writing.
(b) Reading.
(c) Taking writing courses in different genres.
(d) Going to writers' retreats.

2. What is a common characteristic of adverbs?
(a) Frequently adverbs end in -ness.
(b) Many adverbs end in -ly.
(c) Most adverbs end in -ed.
(d) Oftentimes adverbs end with -ier.

3. In addition to his injunction, King wants writers to leave something behind when they write. What should writers leave behind?
(a) Cleverness.
(b) Their desires.
(c) Fear.
(d) Honesty.

4. What does King feel he will accomplish with his technique regarding description?
(a) He doesn not want the reader to become an active participant in the creative process.
(b) He believes that a reader is unimpressed by description.
(c) He urges the writer to work more on his dialogues.
(d) He is leaving some things to the reader's imagination.

5. What does King help his uncle fix as a child?
(a) The driveway.
(b) A window screen.
(c) A leaky faucet in the bathroom.
(d) The kitchen sink.

6. According to King, what three things are the bases of all stories?
(a) Narration, dialogue, and characterization.
(b) Characterization, dialogue and theme.
(c) Dialogue, theme, and description.
(d) Narration, dialogue, and description.

7. Why does King feel that plotting out a novel is not wise?
(a) He wants his characters to be free to act.
(b) He believes it would be dishonest to the characters.
(c) He likes for his story to develop, and then he tries to mold the plot when necessary.
(d) He feels that the story creates the plot.

8. What equipment does a writer need according to King?
(a) A computer, or a pad of paper, and perhaps some music.
(b) A telephone, a desk, and a computer.
(c) A telephone, a computer, and some music.
(d) A desk and a chair with a typewriter.

9. What is King's most important injunction to writers?
(a) Writers need to have their own space.
(b) Writers must be original.
(c) Writers must work every day.
(d) Writers should be honest.

10. From whom does King's uncle inherit something?
(a) From his grandfather.
(b) From his mother.
(c) From his father, King's grandfather.
(d) From his brother.

11. What does King's uncle use from the toolbox?
(a) Several tools.
(b) A hammer and some nails.
(c) Only a screwdriver.
(d) A screwdriver and a hammer.

12. How does King use theme in his novels?
(a) To guide the plot along.
(b) To help him stay on course.
(c) To illustrate otherwise obscure points.
(d) To create a moral in his work.

13. What does King believe about writers who are too busy to read?
(a) They will lose a good source of ideas.
(b) They are hobbyists, not passionate writers.
(c) They are too busy to write.
(d) They will be a successful writer.

14. In order to ignore a grammar rule, what does King believe must be observed?
(a) An explanation must be given to the reader.
(b) It must be done properly.
(c) A new rule must be created.
(d) Nothing.

15. Which genre does King feel Misery will belong to when he begins to write the story?
(a) A screenplay.
(b) A short story.
(c) A novella.
(d) A novel.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of material should a writer read in order to learn the most from his reading?

2. What book does King recommend for grammar study?

3. With respect to vocabulary, King states that __________ does not matter:

4. King also suggests limiting speaker attributes. What are speaker attributes?

5. King's comparison of a handyman's toolbox with a writer's tool box is which figure of speech?

(see the answer keys)

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