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

2. What is the title of the Jack London book mentioned in Chapter 2?
(a) The Call of the Wild.
(b) The Iron Heel.
(c) The Sea-Wolf.
(d) White Fang.

3. Where does the "line of words" go at the end of Chapter 1?
(a) To Houston, Texas.
(b) To the sun.
(c) Out past Jupiter.
(d) To Venus.

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

5. When Dillard wrote in Roanoke, Virginia, what did she long for upon coming home after writing?
(a) Sleeping till noon.
(b) A tolerant giant to soothe her.
(c) Cigarettes and coffee.
(d) A dreamless sleep.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. How does Dillard describe the process of writing a book?

3. What was seen outside the carrel window in Roanoke when Dillard peeked outside the blinds?

4. In the life of a Danish aristocrat mentioned in Chapter 2, what did he do for most of the day?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. When Dillard glanced in the daylight at one of the stacks of books she regularly touched to feel her way at night, what surprised her?

3. How does Dillard describe the way in which a writer might start the process of writing a book?

4. What is the most appealing schedule that Dillard says she knows?

5. What, outside Dillard's library window, proved to cause the most distraction to her work?

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

7. Why did a ritual slaughterer bid goodbye to his wife and children every morning as if it were his last, in Chapter 1?

8. Why did the inchworm in Dillard's story keep asking itself, "What! No further"?

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

10. Why does Dillard feel that an appealing workplace for a writer should be avoided?

(see the answer keys)

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