QUIZ: What Kind of Writer Are You?

When the going gets tough, what kind of writer are you?  Take this unbelievable accurate, scientific quiz to find out!*  Keep track of your answers throughout the quiz, and add up your points below.


1. When wallowing in the I-should-be-writing-but-I'm-just-not-motivated moment, do you:

A. Reach for the Wii remote control to see if you can beat your hula-hoop record of 1,667 swings of the hips.
B. Plan your next IRL get-together with writer friends.
C. Catch up on back Nathan Bransford posts.
D. Pull out that chinese food take-out container.  There must be a forkful of Lo Mein stuck to the bottom!


2. When procrastinating from your epic revision, do you:

A. Check the times of Tina's next The Practice Room to force you to actually unplug for an hour, and then check in with other supportive writers.
B. Take a walk (or run) in the beautiful fall day to get the blood flowing to your brain.
C. Hunt high and low for your emergency stash of Snickers.  Drat, did one of the kids/the dog/your sig. other discover your hiding place?
D. Peruse your blog's sidebar to see if you had possibly missed an interesting post.  Heck, you could comment twice at Tahereh's blog--she'll think you're twice as witty!


3. When your energy is just too low to plug in the laptop to write, do you:

A. Slug out to the store for a coke and a twizzler.  Clearly all you need is a little sugar high to get the juices flowing.
B. Spend four hours crafting that next blog post.  Include links, that picture of you sporting mall hair in the 80s, and a dance-off vlog.
C. Text your writing friend at work.  He's a captive audience, and gives you the what-for when you're all woe-is-me.
D. Hop out of the house to hit the swings with the kids.  Fresh air invigorates the writer's mind.


4. When you want to give up on the long-going project because of that Shiny New Idea, do you:

A. Set the timer, and let yourself draft on that new idea for a while, and then get back to the old project.
B. Run with the new idea and write away, ignoring all other distractions.  Cold cereal is perfect for the kids for dinner.
C. Check out what The Rejectionist says about the themes of your SNI.  She has her talons on the pulse of the publishing industry--you wouldn't dare start any new project unless she said it was HOT.
D. Bake a cake. Cake makes everything better.  And it makes house smells so nice. Mmm. Cake.


5. When your deadline has come and gone, and you're still struggling with the same plot point, do you:

A. Sign up for NANO, even though it is 4 months away**.  It's never to early to start planning your next NaNo novel.
B. Send your chapter to an old trusted crit partner, or a new beta.  Different and fresh eyes may help you gain perspective.
C. Open the Keurig and throw in a fresh K-cup.  Pumpkin Spice is back in season, baby!
D. Read the new batch of queries trashed by The QueryShark.  Distraction is the best thing to get your mind back on track.


6. When you've stared at the blank screen long enough that the blinking black line is burned into your brain, do you:

A. Pour a glass of chardonnay.  Writing flows better when your brain is a little looser.
B. Dance to Karsten's latest vlog.  Man, that dude has moves.
C. Search the internet high and low for Jon.  No, not as a part of the awesome game Where In the Blogosphere is Jon, but really, where is that guy?
D. Log back into the forums at WriteOnCon to read the current feedback to your first five pages.


Scoring:

1. A=3, B=2, C=1, D=4
2. A=2, B=3, C=4, D=1
3. A=4, B=1, C=2, D=3
4. A=2, B=3, C=1, D=4
5. A=3, B=2, C=4, D=1
6. A=4, B=3, C=1, D=2

Tally up your points to see what kind of writer you are:

20-24 points--Writing food junkie.  You're finding yourself more and more often solving problems with your characters by giving them a cupcake.  You know, write what you know.  It would be best for your writing (and your writer's butt) to put down the donut, and back away.  Far away.

16-19 points--Obsessed.  You might be crazy about exercise or writing or food, or all of the above.  But hey, obsession really never hurt any writer, right?  Doesn't every writer need a bit of the crazy to get that novel finished?

10-15--Balanced.  You're a well connected, well supported writer who knows how to set a routine, and lean on writing friends.  It's still a tough road, but you have a system in place to get to the finish line.
Or, you actually oscillate between being an internet junkie, and obsessive, so that you get this balanced score.  The system's not perfect, people.

6-9--Internet Junkie.  You breathe, sleep and eat the internet.  Maybe you should change your title to professional blog writer.  Clearly, the internet is Where You Want To Be.  The upside is that once you finally do finish your book, you will be internet marketing SAVVY!


*Actually, I just made this all up.  EditedToWithinAnInchOfMyLife claims no responsibility for any euphoria or dips in focus that the act of taking this quiz might procure.  Take quiz at own risk. Sole use for purposes of fun only.

**NaNo is not actually 4 months away.  We only have TWO MONTHS to get ready.  Who's with me? Get brainstorming, snowflaking, outlining--whatever is your poison of prep!!