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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Dillard is watching symbols move on her monitor, which sends back numbers to her, what is it her job to do?
(a) Go for a drive.
(b) Hold her breath.
(c) Translate the numbers.
(d) Stop immediately.

2. What do experienced writers urge young men and women to learn, according to Chapter 1?
(a) A useful trade.
(b) Word definitions.
(c) How to spell.
(d) Shakesperian plays.

3. Who once said, "Which is the work in which he hasn't surrendered, under dire difficulty, the best thing he meant to have kept"?
(a) William Faulkner.
(b) Annie Dillard.
(c) Henry James.
(d) William Shakespeare.

4. What happened in Bridgeport, Connecticut one morning in April, 1987?
(a) A Rabbi went to prayers.
(b) The author sustained a hairline fracture.
(c) A building collapsed.
(d) A writer was killed.

5. What does Dillard say that she feels a writer must do about feeling one's work in progress is either magnificent or abominable?
(a) Ask for help from readers.
(b) Ignore it and not indulge in the feeling.
(c) Get the work critiqued.
(d) Celebrate or cry.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who said a long poem takes between five and ten years to write?

2. How did Washington writer, Charlie Butts, write fiction in order to gain momentum?

3. How long does it generally take to write a book?

4. Dillard believes that some writers weaken their resolve to discard parts of their work. Why?

5. What question does Dillard say a writer must ask when considering random scenes that come to mind?

(see the answer key)

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