Question:

Writing well is not so much a matter of inspiration as it is (i) ______ ; just as the scientist toils away in an attic, or the athlete trains even in inhospitable conditions, a writer too must be (ii) ______ .


The idiom "not so much....as it is" suggests that the word for the blank should be the opposite of inspiration at least in sense. Forethought is in the same league as inspiration and carelessness is completely wrong, as it does not make sense. Therefore, perseverance is the correct answer, as it involves hard work, and not just inspiration.

We have further confirmation of it, for the part of the sentence after the semi-colon talks about the toiling scientist and the athlete training in inhospitabel conditions. Given the parallel nature of this sentence fragment, and the expression "writer too", we can conclude that the word for the blank should be a synonym of hardworking. The correct choice is tenacious. Tenacity is a quality frequently found in those who persevere.

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