Jodie asked Margaret Atwood:

Hi. Im 19 years old and I'm going to start writing a novel. I was wondering what do you think about books on writing. Will reading books like bird by bird be helpful or should I just start writing straight away?

Margaret Atwood Hello: I have no idea! Learn by doing… why not do both at once? Plunge in, and then if you get stuck, try a Helpful Hints book? A lot of people have mentioned Bird by Bird. The main thing is to keep going…

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Hello! You have received critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measures. But how important is a book's so-called "commercial" appeal to you? This may not be very important to you now, but was it something you considered when you started writing?

Rishabh asked Margaret Atwood:

How do you decide which events or situations will take place in a story that will lead the protagonist to achieve its goal or the effect it will have on the various characters of the story?

Bonnie asked Margaret Atwood:

You've written two (very different, but equally well-developed) dystopian worlds several decades apart. Has your view of society/the future changed between The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx & Crake? Do you think shades of either dystopian world are more likely now (2014)?

All answers from Margaret Atwood…

Margaret Atwood

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Hi. Im 19 years old and I'm going to start writing a novel. I was wondering what do you think about books on writing. Will reading books like bird by bird be helpful or should I just start writing straight away?

More Answered Questions

Hello! You have received critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measures. But how important is a book's so-called "commercial" appeal to you? This may not be very important to you now, but was it something you considered when you started writing?

How do you decide which events or situations will take place in a story that will lead the protagonist to achieve its goal or the effect it will have on the various characters of the story?

You've written two (very different, but equally well-developed) dystopian worlds several decades apart. Has your view of society/the future changed between The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx & Crake? Do you think shades of either dystopian world are more likely now (2014)?

About Goodreads Q&A