MasterClass - Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing | 2.

22 GB

The art of powerful storytelling

Called the Prophet of Dystopia, Margaret Atwood is one of the most influential literary voices of our generation.
In her first-ever online class, the author of The Handmaids Tale teaches how she crafts compelling stories-from
historical to speculative fiction-that remain timeless and relevant. Explore Margarets creative process for
developing ideas into novels with strong structures and nuanced characters.

LESSON PLAN
01 Introduction
Meet your new instructor: Man Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood. In your first lesson, Margaret
shares her perspective on the art of writing and who ultimately gives your book its meaning.

02 Getting Started as a Writer

Margaret encourages you to find your own path, overcome obstacles like fear, and start writing by sharing her
own writers story and creative process.

03 Story and Plot

Learn what makes a strong plot. Margaret advises you to study myths, fairy tales, and other historical works of
literature so that you can use them as building blocks for your stories.

04 Structuring Your Novel: Layered Narratives and Other Variations

Margaret illustrates the myriad ways you can structure your story and create a multi-layered narrative, using the
classic tales Little Red Riding Hood, Arabian Nights, and her own novel The Blind Assassin as examples.

05 Who Tells the Story: Narrative Point of View

Choosing the right point of view to tell your story from involves a lot of trial and error. Margaret explains the
impact this decision has on your story, and offers an exercise to help you explore the effects of various points of
view.

06 Point of View Case Studies

In this chapter, Margaret discusses her use of multiple points of view in Alias Grace, and why she wrote The
Handmaids Tale from the first person point of view.

07 Bringing Characters to Life Through Detail

Actions and reactions reveal character, but so do details the writer thoughtfully weaves into the story. Margaret
offers concrete tools to help you create nuanced, well-developed characters you know by heart.

08 Creating Compelling Characters

Margaret teaches why the most compelling characters are often not very likeable, and delves into how gender
plays into our expectations about character.
09 Writing Through Roadblocks
Learn Margarets advice for overcoming challenges such as constant interruption, writers block, or a narrative
problem you cant figure out how to solve.

10 Crafting Dialogue
Margaret teaches how to use dialogue to reveal character and story, and discusses the importance of making
your dialogue authentic to the time and place in which your narrative transpires.

11 Revealing the World Through Sensory Imagery

The more specific your details, the more engaged your readers. Learn how Margaret uses The Handmaids Tale
to illustrate her approach to imagery.

12 Prose Style and Texture

Learn the difference between style and descrion as Margaret illustrates two different prose style extremes-
baroque and plainsong.

13 Working With Time in Fiction

Margaret explains the significance of time in fiction, and offers advice on keeping readers oriented without
compromising your story structure.

14 The Door to Your Book: The Importance of the First Five Pages
From Melville to Dickens, Margaret shares some of her favorite opening lines and underscores the value of
making your first five pages utterly compelling.

15 Writing the Middle and Ending

Margaret teaches her approach to keeping readers engaged through the middle of your book and discusses the
merits of closed and open endings to your story.

16 Revision: Seeing Your Work Anew

For Margaret, revision is an opportunity to take a fresh look at your book and consider new possibilities. Learn
the value of soliciting feedback from select readers, and the importance of a good line editor.

17 The Novel and the Shifting Sands of Genre

Margaret discusses the evolution of the novel and asserts that the writers objective should be to stay true to the
foundational elements of storytelling, regardless of genre.

18 Speculative Fiction
Learn Margarets approach to writing speculative fiction and her advice on how to generate ideas and build your
world in this genre.

19 Speculative Fiction Case Study: The Handmaids Tale

Margaret reveals the ideas and research that inspired The Handmaids Tale, offering a first-hand look at some of
these materials.

20 Research and Historical Accuracy

Getting details right is critical in historical fiction and can lend believability to any story. Margaret emphasizes this
point but also shows how to avoid letting research slow you down.

21 The Writers Path

Margaret reveals the one book she recommends to all writers, and shares inspirational stories from writers past
and present to encourage you to persevere despite the obstacles you may confront.

22 The Business of Being a Writer

From finding an agent, to getting published, and dealing with negative reviews, Margaret offers her perspective
on the business of being a writer.

23 Parting Words
Margaret bids her students farewell, sharing her desire to pass on her wisdom to the next generation of writers.