Weekend Writing: What I Learned from Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is one of the most successful authors in modern literature. She's most well-known for writing The Handmaid's Tale, but she has also written other captivating novels, including Alias Grace, Oryx and Crake, The Blind Assassin, and more. She's a feminist novelist, essayist, literary critic, and environmental activist. Atwood is considered to have the "jack of all trades" in the literary business, and I would most definitely agree with that classification.

A selection of Margaret Atwood's books (photo/Book Riot).

When I first learned Atwood was offering an online class through MasterClass, "Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing," I was immediately intrigued. In 25 fairly short lessons, I would listen to Atwood and learn from her experiences in writing and publishing. I wanted to learn from the author, someone who I believe knows the literary business better than most.

The class discussed a wide variety of topics, including:

• How to find your own writing process. 
• How to structure your novel. 
• How to choose the most-appropriate narrative point of view. 
• How to add intricate detail in your writing. 
• How to create compelling characters. 
• How to get over "writer's block." 
• How to craft strong, unique dialogue that works with your character's voice. 
• How to find your prose style and texture. 
• How to write the beginning, middle, and end of your novel. 
• How to revise your novel. 
• How to publish your novel. 

As a creative writing graduate, I studied these discussion topics in my writing courses. I knew how to write an effective plot and how to create believable, coherent characters. But, did I still learn some valuable information in this class? Of course! My grandfather, who lived to be 102 years old, always said, "You never stop learning, no matter how old you are." Well, I will never stop learning something new about writing. 

I loved listening to Margaret Atwood's advice. She discussed her experience as a best-selling author. It wasn't always easy for her. Like many others, she faced rejections. She has received negative comments, censorships, bad reviews, etc. But, did she ever give up on her dream? No, absolutely not. She said that if you're a writer, it's impossible to give up. You can't change the fact that you're a writer. You must write. 

If Margaret Atwood didn't give up, we can't give up, too. 

Margaret Atwood (photo/MasterClass)

I took notes during the class because I knew I would write about the experience in a blog post. Right now, I'm going to share the most memorable pieces of knowledge Atwood offered. Take notes! 

• You don't always write the same way. Everyone has a different writing process. Discover your own set of rules. 
• Stories are patterns interrupted. Stories need events and characters. A good plot needs something unexpected to happen. 
• Think of a story as building blocks--one thing after another. 
• The story is what happens; the structure is how you tell it. Finding the structure takes time. Start simple. 
• Writing is a voice. It's a way of recording the human voice. Who's talking? Who are they talking to? You won't always find the right point of view in the first draft. Experiment as you write and see what works best. 
• Action reveals characters. You don't know how your characters will react to an event until you put them into the situations. 
• Readers want to know all of the important details: age, birthday, clothing, hobbies, friends, traumatic childhood experiences, obsessions, moods, etc. 
• Readers like compelling characters and ones who aren't predictable. Make your characters unique.
• Improvise and manage your writing time. Find time to write every day. 
• Characters should talk with a purpose. There should be a reason for what they are saying. 
• Know your character's voice and how they would talk. Know how they would express themselves. 
• Be precise and specific with your sensory imagery. Use all of the senses. 
• Think about the sound of your prose. How do the words sound? Read your work out loud. 
• Make the first five pages of your novel count. The first page is a gateway. If you can't entice readers on the first page, they're not going to continue reading. Surprise your readers in the first five pages. 
• Keep your readers engaged in the middle of the novel. 
• The ending you often think is the ending doesn't happen. Do you want an open or closed ending? Contemporary literature prefers open-ended conclusions. Sometimes, you don't have to resolve everything. 
• Read your novel out loud as you revise. Fine tune your work. Show your work to select readers you trust. 
• No matter what some people say, writing is a job. It's your career. Own up to it and don't be ashamed to tell people, "I can't have lunch with you today. I'm working on my novel." It's your job. 
• There are different ways to publish your novel: get an agent, submit the work to literary publications who are hosting contests, or self-publish. If you choose to work with an agent, choose an agent who loves your writing and you love. You need a strong, trusting relationship. 
• Be able to talk about your novel in an intellectual way. Know everything about your work and how you could "sell" it to publishers. 

As you can see, I learned a lot from Margaret Atwood. It was amazing to listen to her stories and learn from her writing experiences. She had many "rollercoaster" moments, when it was a constant "up and down" battle with writing and publishing her work. She commented that sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time. But if you want to be a writer, be a writer. You can't ignore the stories inside you. They need to be written. 

Margaret Atwood (photo/MasterClass)

If you're a writer, I strongly recommend taking this class. You can work at your own pace and you can share comments with other writers who are also taking the class. It's a community of writers who want to learn from one of the best authors in the literary business. 

Towards the end of the class, Margaret Atwood tearfully reflected that she's nearing the end of her life (at 79 years old). She knows she won't have much longer to write and even experience life. She wanted to instruct this class before it was too late--so she could inspire a new generation of writers to get over their fears and write the novels of the future. She told us to keep writing and to never give up on what we hope to achieve. 

We won't, Margaret. We won't.

Write on. 

-KJL-