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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to King, what is the second condition that, if readers cannot accept, should be a reason to stop reading his book?

2. How many specific facts are provided by King about the entire image in the second chapter?

3. On one of their expeditions, King and his brother meet an unexpected enemy. What is this enemy?

4. What type of job does King believe writing to be?

5. Why does it prove valuable to King to work for a local newspaper?

Short Essay Questions

1. What facts or ideas show the beginnings of King's career as a master of horror?

2. After Tabitha King's intervention in her husband's addictions, King insisted on moving his desk. How was this symbolically important to him?

3. What are some of the aspects of writing that King is not going to emphasize in the chapter, What Writing Is?

4. Based on the chapters, C.V., and What Writing Is, what ideas justify King's statement that writing is a serious job?

5. What relationship is there between writing as a career and writing as a passion? Explain in your own words.

6. What conclusions can you draw from King's comparison of writing as a career versus writing as a passion? Explain in your own words.

7. How did King begin his career as a writer?

8. King was a heavy drinker and addicted to cocaine. He believed that these two elements contributed to his creativity. In terms of the chapter, C.V., do you think his belief was justified? Why or why not?

9. When King asks the writer to accept 'the magic of writing, but to take it seriously', what is he saying?

10. How would you summarize the different jobs King had during his early career? How might these jobs have influenced his work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

King believes that certain preparations are unnecessary and even harmful to aspiring writers. He mentions creative writing courses and writers' retreats. What does he have to say about these two options for writers? Explain using your own words.

Essay Topic 2

King mentions many elements as being important to good writing: limiting the use of adverbs, writing in the active voice instead of the passive voice, the use of speaker attributes other than said, and paragraph length. How would you prioritize these elements and why?

Essay Topic 3

King discusses several reasons for allowing others to read a book after the first draft and before the second draft. What are these reasons and why would they be valuable to the author? Answer based on King's opinion citing examples from the text.

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This section contains 1,075 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample