Unit 2 Quiz: Character Development

Instructions: Answer all questions below. For multiple choice, select the best answer. For short answer questions, write at least 3–4 complete sentences for each response.

Question 1

What distinguishes a "round" character from a "flat" character?

They have complexity and contradiction

Whether they're the protagonist

The length of description

Whether they change in the story

Question 2

In the "Wound and Want" framework, what creates a character's deep want?

The plot

The wound/formative experience

The author's outline

The antagonist

Question 3

Which is the best example of "showing" rather than "telling" backstory?

Maria was afraid of storms because of a childhood trauma.

Maria had a difficult childhood.

Every time thunder cracked, Maria's hand moved to the scar on her left arm and she went silent.

Maria's backstory involved storms and fear.

Question 4

What is an archetype in storytelling?

A character who appears in only one culture's stories

A recurring character pattern found across many traditions

The main character of any story

A character with no flaws

Question 5

When a writer "subverts" an archetype, they are:

Copying it exactly

Deliberately breaking or reversing the expected pattern

Removing it from the story

Making the character flat

Question 6

What is the relationship between a character's "surface goal" and "deep goal"?

They are always the same

The surface goal drives the plot while the deep goal drives the character

Only villains have deep goals

Surface goals matter more in good writing

Question 7

Why are character flaws important in fiction?

They make characters unlikeable

They create internal conflict that drives growth and story

They only matter in tragedies

Publishers require them

Question 8

What are the essential building blocks of a compelling character?

Whatever the dice determine

Backstory, motivation, personality traits, flaws, and goals

A name and a physical description

High ability scores and powerful equipment

Question 9

What makes a character's motivation compelling?

When the DM tells you what your motivation should be

When it connects to relatable human desires like love, belonging, justice, or survival

When it's as dramatic as possible

Flaws make characters weaker in combat

Question 10

Choose a character from a book, show, film, or game. Identify their primary archetype and explain whether the author plays it straight or subverts it. Use at least one specific example from the text.

Write at least 3–4 complete sentences.

Question 11

Explain the "Wound and Want" framework. Then, using a character you know (from fiction or your own creation), identify their wound and want and explain how the wound creates the want.

Write at least 3–4 complete sentences.

Question 12

Compare how two different cultural storytelling traditions approach character flaws or character growth differently. What does each approach reveal about what that culture values?

Write at least 3–4 complete sentences.

Unit 2 Quiz: Character Development Quiz