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Quiz about Writers Block
Quiz about Writers Block

Writer's Block Trivia Quiz


Every writer gets stuck. Ten authors in this quiz, however, have surefire ways to break free of writer's block. See if you can identify them from their methods. Good luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by kyleisalive. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
kyleisalive
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
391,078
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
477
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 173 (7/10), Guest 120 (6/10), ankitankurddit (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. "Put it aside for a few days, or longer, do other things, try not to think about it. Then sit down and read it as if you've never seen it before."

What author, whose magic realist works have been considered must-read postmodern fantasy, has actually claimed that writer's block doesn't exist?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."

What American writer, commemorated by a prize for American Humor, seemed to defeat writer's block via this advice?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. "I have gravity boots. I hang upside down everyday. I realize it sounds strange, but it's not all that strange. It oxygenates your brain. It helps you see the world in a different perspective."

While gravity boots don't feature in the intriguing adventures of Robert Langdon, it's possible that this author has cracked the code to writer's block. Who's the writer?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. "The scariest moment is always just before you start [writing]. After that, things can only get better."

What Bangor, Maine resident and winner of the U.S. National Medal of Arts would certainly know a thing or two about 'scary' writing?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. "The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day ... you will never be stuck. [...] That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start."

What Modernist American author, known for his minimal prose likely left out a lot of his extra subconscious work to support his Iceberg Theory of writing?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. "If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word."

Short and sweet, these words of wisdom came from which Governor General's Award-winning Canadian author known for her dystopian and speculative works?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. "There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write."

Certainly a humorous writer, who of these choices, known for his long-running fantasy series, passed away in 2015?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "I don't sit around waiting for passion to strike me. I keep working steadily, because I believe it is our privilege as humans to keep making things. Most of all, I keep working because I trust that creativity is always trying to find me, even when I have lost sight of it."

She ate and prayed and loved, but she also made some 'big magic' with creative instruction with a self-help book in 2015. Who's the author of the above quote?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. "Writer's block is never solved by forcing oneself to "write through it," because you haven't solved the problem that caused your unconscious mind to rebel against the story, so it still won't work - for you or for the reader."

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for his first two novels, what author wrote the above?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. "Writer's block...a lot of howling nonsense would be avoided if, in every sentence containing the word WRITER, that word was taken out and the word PLUMBER substituted; and the result examined for the sense it makes."

Recipient of the Carnegie Medal in 1995, what English author stated the above and claims that the way to beat it is to push through?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. "Put it aside for a few days, or longer, do other things, try not to think about it. Then sit down and read it as if you've never seen it before." What author, whose magic realist works have been considered must-read postmodern fantasy, has actually claimed that writer's block doesn't exist?

Answer: Neil Gaiman

Gaiman has claimed that smart people invented writer's block almost as an excuse for getting stuck. There is a solution, however, as he suggests writing something else in the meantime. That said, Gaiman has taken anywhere between two months (for "The House at the End of the Lane") and twenty-three years (for "The Graveyard Book") to write his works.

Some in between have been considered some of his bests-- books like "American Gods", "Coraline", and his "Sandman" comic series. By the mid-2010s, he'd written ten novels.
2. "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." What American writer, commemorated by a prize for American Humor, seemed to defeat writer's block via this advice?

Answer: Mark Twain

Writing never seemed to be much of an issue for this famous American novelist; he ended up creating countless works, most of which were short story collections and novels, in his later years (he really only started hitting his stride in his forties!).

It was, perhaps, breaking down his overwhelming tasks that allowed him to write nine books in the "Tom Sawyer" series and classics like "The Prince and the Pauper" and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Samuel Langhorne Clemens died in 1910 and was later called the greatest humorist America had ever had.
3. "I have gravity boots. I hang upside down everyday. I realize it sounds strange, but it's not all that strange. It oxygenates your brain. It helps you see the world in a different perspective." While gravity boots don't feature in the intriguing adventures of Robert Langdon, it's possible that this author has cracked the code to writer's block. Who's the writer?

Answer: Dan Brown

Though many critics have derided Dan Brown's extremely popular novels as poorly written (we're not going to get into it), it's hard to deny the author's tendency to write best-sellers. Since the release of "The Da Vinci Code", Brown has gone on to write several books in his series featuring Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbology professor. Brown's methods of defeating writer's block seem a bit unconventional to say the least, but it may be because of the blood rushing to his head that some of his outlandish plots have come to fruition. Who knows?
4. "The scariest moment is always just before you start [writing]. After that, things can only get better." What Bangor, Maine resident and winner of the U.S. National Medal of Arts would certainly know a thing or two about 'scary' writing?

Answer: Stephen King

King has, of course, written dozens upon dozens of novels and short story collections to make him one of the most celebrated popular authors of the twentieth and twenty-first century. King, who started writing in the 1970s, has become somewhat of a leader in the horror community and much of his process was outlined in his non-fiction release "On Writing".

As someone who has claimed to write four to six hours per day (while reading an equivalent amount), King's process is likely to daunt some, but his tendency to write works that many claim to encapsulate a true, American way of life or voice (despite the horrors within) seems to indicate his idea works.
5. "The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day ... you will never be stuck. [...] That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start." What Modernist American author, known for his minimal prose likely left out a lot of his extra subconscious work to support his Iceberg Theory of writing?

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway, known for classics like "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" moved from journalism to fiction writing in his life. Taking part in both World Wars, he ended up moving to Cuba later in his days and wrote his novels full-time, becoming one of the most famous American authors of the day.

His distinct style, however, is what sets him apart; his Iceberg Theory creates characters whose motivations and histories are fairly surface-level to the reader, allowing for omissions to fill in the gaps and create cleaner prose, not unlike a short newspaper article.

After decades living in Florida and Cuba, he committed suicide in Idaho in the early 1960s. He wrote nine novels and numerous short story collections.
6. "If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word." Short and sweet, these words of wisdom came from which Governor General's Award-winning Canadian author known for her dystopian and speculative works?

Answer: Margaret Atwood

A member of the Order of Canada, Margaret Atwood's more-than-half-century career has produced numerous award-winning works, many of which touch on themes like gender roles in society, identity, natural environments, and our potential futures. Novels like "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Oryx and Crake" allowed her to create almost-prescient social commentary enough so that she's earned countless honorary degrees and international prizes.

She's put numerous writing tips out there, but notably, she said "Don't sit down in the middle of the woods. If you're lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong.

Then take the other road. And/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page." Wise words, in my opinion.
7. "There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write." Certainly a humorous writer, who of these choices, known for his long-running fantasy series, passed away in 2015?

Answer: Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett was beloved by many in the fantasy literature community for his "Discworld" series which, over more than forty books, fleshed out an often-hilarious world featuring many recurring characters. It's because of this series that he was one of the top-selling authors in the UK at the turn of the century.

He passed away in 2015, but not before an award for debut novels was established in his name. As he once said: "What changed history were the smaller things. Often a few strokes of the pen would go the trick." He certainly left his mark.
8. "I don't sit around waiting for passion to strike me. I keep working steadily, because I believe it is our privilege as humans to keep making things. Most of all, I keep working because I trust that creativity is always trying to find me, even when I have lost sight of it." She ate and prayed and loved, but she also made some 'big magic' with creative instruction with a self-help book in 2015. Who's the author of the above quote?

Answer: Elizabeth Gilbert

Although there have been many books published encouraging creativity over the years, many fell by the wayside unlike "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic", which attempted to tune people into the idea of living wholly creative lifestyles with abandon.

The quote in the question is indicative of her style which accepts imperfection and urges not dwelling on negative self-expectation to overcome blocks. Besides her non-fiction account of her trips to India, Italy, and Indonesia in the massively-popular "Eat, Pray Love", she also wrote a few fictional novels to positive reception. "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear" was a "New York Times" Bestseller.
9. "Writer's block is never solved by forcing oneself to "write through it," because you haven't solved the problem that caused your unconscious mind to rebel against the story, so it still won't work - for you or for the reader." Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for his first two novels, what author wrote the above?

Answer: Orson Scott Card

Although Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" series has become one of the most famous science fiction series of all time, Card's political and religious views went to the forefront in the 2010s, but one can't discount the popularity of his works which, considering his words on writer's block, are a bit intense. Card, for many years, released a new sci-fi novel annually; it indicates that his series had a bit of a specific vision before hitting the page. Card also wrote a handful of books about writing and creative process in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
10. "Writer's block...a lot of howling nonsense would be avoided if, in every sentence containing the word WRITER, that word was taken out and the word PLUMBER substituted; and the result examined for the sense it makes." Recipient of the Carnegie Medal in 1995, what English author stated the above and claims that the way to beat it is to push through?

Answer: Philip Pullman

Following up this quote, Pullman stated: "What you do then is MAKE IT UP. I like the reply of the composer Shostakovich to a student who complained that he couldn't find a theme for his second movement. 'Never mind the theme! Just write the movement!' he said."

Pullman, aside from writing the "His Dark Materials" trilogy including "The Golden Compass", started writing in the 1970s and became one of the most celebrated contemporary British authors. An Oxford graduate, he is also known for his work in the literary community and his awards for children's literature.
Source: Author kyleisalive

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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