OE


cloistered, sheltered The signal word “Though” tells you that you are going to contradict the first portion of this sentence, which says that writers ought to have “some experience of life.” Your blank should go against that notion. Because you already have “solitary,” a good fill-in word would be protected. Enigmatic and cryptic (having hidden meaning; mysterious) are an incorrect near-pair. Idiosyncratic (unique to an individual; eccentric, quirky) and susceptible (likely to be influenced or harmed by something specific) have no relationship.