writers_loft | Fun Writer's Quiz (Reply)

Well I thought I'd contribute something other than my own work ;-) I found this really interesting quiz for writers written by another author on your suitability to be a writer. Even if you don't want to be a published author, which I know a lot of us are shooting for, the quiz is pretty entertaining and revealing about your habits and such. And more than anything the questions cracked me up and I thought fellow writers would love them too.

She also has on her website a discussion on the answers and what they mean plus lots of other advice and exercises and stuff.

So I posted the quiz and my answers under the cut, thought it'd be fun to share answers especially if people add explanations as to why (which will make sense despite it being multiple choice when you see the questions) and a link to where it was posted on her website with the discussion she wrote about the various answers and what they mean. If this kind of thing isn't ok I humbly apologize and please delete.

Question 1:

You've turned off the t.v., the stereo, and every other possible entertainment device, you have removed all books, and you are sitting in a dimly-lit room doing absolutely nothing. So. . . how long can you sit without going crazy?

A. 5 seconds. I get cold sweats just thinking about power outages.
B. 15 minutes -- but only if I have a bag of potato chips.
C. 1 hour -- I can always replay my last argument and come up with wittier things I could have said.
D. Man! I lost track of the time. I started watching people in my imagination doing interesting things, and the next thing I knew, it was nighttime and I'd missed supper.

Question 2:

You're writing and the phone rings. You:

A. Answer it.
B. Finish your sentence, then answer it.
C. Let the answering machine get it.
C. Have no phone access in the room where you work.

Question 3:

The person calling is one of your dearest friends, who wants to get together for brunch and a good long chat about his/her ex. Unfortunately, this juicy brunch will take place during your peak writing time. You:

A. Decide to go. You haven't heard the latest dirt on the evil ex in ages.
B. Reschedule for a later hour.

C. Reschedule for a non-writing day.
D. Pass.

Question 4:

You're out at the restaurant with your friend when you have a fantastic idea for a novel. You:

A. Have to hope you'll remember it -- you have nothing to write with and nothing to write on.
B. Will manage. You always have a pen, and there are napkins in restaurants.
C. Carry a special notebook, an organizer, or even a laptop with you everywhere -- you're completely prepared.
D. Aren't at the restaurant; that would cut unacceptably into your 14-hour writing workday.

Question 5:

When you see yourself as a successful writer, what is the image that is clearest in your mind:

A. The rounds of publishers' parties, autographings, and talk shows where you are lionized for your work of immortal literary genius?
B. Your name on the spines of a shelf full of beautiful books?
C. A vision of sending off a completed manuscript to a waiting editor or agent?
D. Your butt in your chair, your fingers on your keyboard, and your eyes on your monitor (or whatever tools you use to produce your stories or novels.)

Question 6:

You anticipate being able to quit your day job to write full time:

A. immediately -- you have a great idea for a book you know will be a bestseller;
B. as soon as the first book sells;
C. when you have three or four on the shelf;
D. when you're making as much from writing as you make at your day job . . . and have for a couple of years.

Question 7:

Do you have. . .

A. an idea for the Great American Novel -- a certain best-seller;
B. a few ideas for different stories;
C. background and development for a number of related books, a timeline, and a whole handful of novel ideas;
D. half a dozen fully developed worlds, including maps, costume worksheets, fully developed languages, cultures, flora, fauna, religions, sciences, and much more, plus enough story ideas to get you through this lifetime, and the next one.

Question 8:

You figure the biggest benefit of becoming a writer is:

A. Money & fame;
B. Flexible hours;
C. Creative control and being your own boss;
D. The writing.

Question 9:

You read:

A. The occasional newspaper, magazines, and remember having read books . . . but not recently;
B. You read in your free time if you don't have something better to do;
C. You invented the term multi-tasking because reading IS your "something better to do -- you usually have a book in hand no matter what else you're doing at the time;
D. Your house doesn't need insulation; the triple-stacked shelves of all your books will serve quite nicely, thank you.

Question 1O:

Where is the weirdest place you have ever written?

A. Your desk . . . _maybe_, in a crunch, at the kitchen table;
B. In bed. (An extra 1O points for this one if you were on your honeymoon at the time);
C. On the toilet;
D. Don't ask.

My Answers:

I am totally D, I can sit without entertainment forever, all I need is my brain and I’m content, drives my more hyper friends crazy.
C but to be fair, I just don’t answer my phone a whole lot. I’m a big fan of letting my voicemail get it and then deciding if I want to call them back so its not necessarily because I’m writing. Also I do most of my writing at work where I’m in a call center so I have to answer the phones…so this might be more accurate as B…hmmm
A. I go, I love to write but you need to live too and I’m bad as it is at getting out of the house to have fun and not just work. Also, you never know when that conversation might be great material for a scene you’ve been struggling with!
Totally B, lol, I’ve even written stuff down with a lipliner on a napkin before because I was desperate to get the scene down. Now I try to carry a notebook but I’m also trying to shrink the size of my purse (which is HUGE) so no go there. I do always have a pen now though! No more lipliner emergencies :-D
C because the very idea of knowing that I finished something and am confident enough to send it off and it was liked enough to ask for the whole thing gives me chills of delight.
D, for the most part, I love to write and I would love it if I got to it and only it for a living but in this day and age its pretty rare to make it as a fulltime author so I’m certainly not expecting it or counting on it. Hence why I’m a decently paid (relatively speaking) insurance slave with no plans on quitting as much as I might wish too.
C with a bit of B thrown in, I have several well developed book ideas with timelines and in related worlds and a few much more loose ideas, and ironically enough the book that I have a little over half way done came from a loose idea versus one of my more developed ones so go figure, although there are sequels and such planned.
D C with a bit of B thrown in, I have several well developed book ideas with timelines and in related worlds and a few much more loose ideas, and ironically enough the book that I have a little over half way done came from a loose idea versus one of my more developed ones so go figure.
D Yeah that’s pretty much me although I do most of my reading these days with books downloaded on the computer I still have boxes and boxes of actual books as well. I read 9 books just this last weekend, although you can throw in C as well since I can’t think of the last time I watched TV without reading at the same time, drove my ex nuts.
D Heh, all of the above, remember the lipliner on napkin at a restaurant? Yeah also on the bus (very bumpy) even while walking which takes talent, woken up in the middle of the night, and other less appropriate answers

Scoring the Quiz

Give yourself 1 point for each A answer you gave, 3 points for each B answer, 6 points for each C answer, and 10 points for each D answer. Add up your answers, then check out the short key below before going on to the discussion.

10 - 29 points -- You have some seriously romanticized ideas of what writing for a living is like. You're going to be badly disappointed by the reality.

30 - 49 points -- There's hope; you suspect some of the darker truths about the profession, and have an idea of what some of the rewards are. If you really want to do this, you'll face some disillusionment, but also stand a good chance of finding the real joys of the profession.

50 - 79 points -- If you can write, you're in there.

80 - 103 points -- You'll probably make a great writer. You should think very carefully before getting married, having children, or buying a pet, however. Walking into your livingroom and discovering the dust-covered skeleton that was your cat -- or your spouse -- can be really bad for morale.

My Results:

No dead cat skeletons for me! I'm somewhere between 60 and 72 depending on those B versus C answers.

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Link to Quiz on Author's website Here

Fun Writer's Quiz