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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Dillard use to crank herself up to write, in the log cabin in Chapter 3?
(a) A daily jog on the beach.
(b) Photos of lions.
(c) Coffee in titrated doses.
(d) The company of a cat and dog.

2. What does Dillard say that she thinks an artist supposes a live image to possess?
(a) Something he should pretend to know.
(b) A confused set of lines.
(c) Some technique stolen from him.
(d) A secret to be discovered.

3. Saint-Pol-Roux used to hang what sign on his door while he slept?
(a) "Dream in progress."
(b) "The poet is working."
(c) "Resting is writing."
(d) "Do not disturb."

4. How did Washington writer, Charlie Butts, write fiction in order to gain momentum?
(a) He did not rise from his chair until writing 10 pages.
(b) He wrote while running mindless errands.
(c) He repeatedly left the house and wrote quickly upon return.
(d) He left every last written page in the middle of a sentence.

5. What passage was Dillard working on in the cabin on Puget Sound while a northeaster was blowing?
(a) A passage about a wild child.
(b) Christ's baptism in the bay in front of the house.
(c) Rows of breaker waves resembling lines of writing.
(d) A marble statue of a Greek funerary.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Dillard realize when she spoke to the local sheriff in Chapter 3?

2. In Dillard's experience, what always wins over the vision being forgotten?

3. What does Dillard say that she believes a writer should aim for when writing?

4. What happened to the Smith-Corona typewriter in Chapter 4?

5. Why did Dillard write that 'People should not feed moralistic animals'?

(see the answer key)

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