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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of job does King believe writing to be?

2. In the chapter, C.V., King makes a discovery about writing. What is this discovery?

3. How does King obtain money from his classmates?

4. Where does King get a job to help pay for college?

5. Why does King miss his first year of school?

Short Essay Questions

1. Can you explain how King created the character of Carrie and why he disliked her so?

2. What facts or ideas show the beginnings of King's career as a master of horror?

3. In what way is the chapter, What Writing Is, different from the usual book on writing?

4. In what ways is the rabbit on the table of symbol of King's belief in magic and telepathy? Explain in your own words.

5. How did King learn to edit his work? Why was this important to the young writer?

6. What are some of the aspects of writing that King is not going to emphasize in the chapter, What Writing Is?

7. One of King's babysitters was particularly cruel. How might she have affected his later writings?

8. Why does King want his readers to put his book down if they are unable to accept that writing is magic?

9. When King asks the writer to accept 'the magic of writing, but to take it seriously', what is he saying?

10. What conclusions can you draw from King's comparison of writing as a career versus writing as a passion? Explain in your own words.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What conclusions can you draw from King's statements about a writer having his own space in which to work? What alternatives are there for those people who want to write but find it impossible to obtain a space in their living quarters?

Essay Topic 2

King claims all writers need a 'toolbox'. Why is a toolbox important for a writer? What should the toolbox contain? How can a writer improve his toolbox according to King? Use specific answers from the book to explain your answer.

Essay Topic 3

King is a prolific writer yet he mentions writer's block in several places in the book, On Writing. Do you think this has been a hindrance in King's writing? What judgment would you make about King's frustration with writer's block? Explain your answer.

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