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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How long did it take William Faulkner to write "As I Lay Dying"?
(a) Six years.
(b) Six weeks.
(c) Ten years.
(d) Six months.

2. When a writer is stuck while writing a book, what does Dillard think he should do?
(a) Write, no matter what.
(b) Read books that are similar.
(c) Do crosswords to stimulate the brain.
(d) Nothing but think about it.

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

4. How does Dillard describe the process of writing a book?
(a) "It is boring and difficult."
(b) "It is life at its most free."
(c) "It is a dreamlike task."
(d) "It is something to avoid at all costs."

5. As explained by Dillard in Chapter 1, what must be done to a piece of writing after the first draft is finished?
(a) Delete just a few sentences.
(b) Nothing; it is done.
(c) It must be mercilessly edited.
(d) You must strike it with a hammer.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What does Dillard say many people prefer to the written word?

3. According to Dillard, how do painters work as opposed to writers?

4. When Dillard relays a story about a cabdriver singing a boring song, why did the driver sing it twice?

5. In an analogy about a photographer, why did the photographer say he brought the same rejected photograph for judgment every year?

(see the answer key)

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