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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many hours of sleep would Jack London usually get?
(a) Seven.
(b) Four.
(c) Eight.
(d) Two.

2. Which insect is discussed in the book as part of an entomological experiment?
(a) Phataria.
(b) A worm.
(c) A fly.
(d) A butterfly.

3. According to Dillard, how do painters work as opposed to writers?
(a) Painters work on a blank canvas, writers on a computer.
(b) Painters work with their hands, writers with their heads.
(c) Painters work from the ground up, writers from left to right.
(d) Painters work with color, writers with black and white.

4. How did Dillard get into the library in Roanoke late at night?
(a) She hid in the women's room when the door was locked.
(b) She climbed in through a window.
(c) The door was never locked.
(d) She had a key.

5. Jack London maintained that every writer needs a technique, experience, and what else?
(a) A pen.
(b) An imagination.
(c) A philosophical position.
(d) A certain personality.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long did it take William Faulkner to write "As I Lay Dying"?

2. What does Dillard have to say about appealing workplaces for writing?

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

4. As explained by Dillard in Chapter 1, what must be done to a piece of writing after the first draft is finished?

5. Which religious sect did Dillard read about in the Virginia library?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Dillard say that she defines the meaning of schedules, in Chapter 2?

2. How does Dillard describe the line of words as being one's own heart?

3. Dillard vows to remember her difficulties writing in Roanoke, Virginia. Why is this ironic?

4. What decision did Dillard make to finally shut herself off from all distractions at the library carrel?

5. In Chapter 1, what does Dillard say she thinks of as the usual reasons for an author getting stuck in a book?

6. What is the meaning of Thoreau's note that "The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or perchance a palace or temple on the earth, and at length the middle-aged man concludes to build a wood-shed with them"?

7. Why does Dillard believe that putting together a book is interesting and exhilarating?

8. When Dillard heard a June bug bumping up against the carrel window one night, what did the noise bring her to realize?

9. Why does Dillard believe a writer often wants to refrain from throwing away the beginnings of the work she has created?

10. When the cab driver in New York sang songs with Dillard, why did he sing one dull song twice?

(see the answer keys)

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