The latest fare of MasterClass (in the writing arena) is Margaret Atwood’s Creative Writing Class. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it.
In this class, Margaret Atwood will be showing us how she crafts compelling stories, from historical to speculative fiction. We can expect to follow along and learn her creative process for developing ideas into strong standing novels.
I haven’t been able to start this MasterClass yet, as I am making my way through a number of Holly Lisle classes, but this class is definitely next on my list.
But I wanted to blog about it in case you hadn’t heard about it yet, and to let you know what you can expect.
As always…
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I love reading how my favourite and other famous write and schedule their writing time, and learning any tips that they’re happy to give out, even if I do have to pay for them.
That’s why I’m so intrigued about these MasterClass classes. Even if they are not perfect, there is still something to be learnt from listening to and observing such a writer-master.
Of course, my favourite writing classes are by Holly Lisle, but a number of MasterClass classes are on my to-do list, even just to hear my favourite writer speak and share her and his wisdom. (Just in case you’re interested, I’m down to take the Apatow, R.L Stine and Atwood classes!)
Knowing that even if the MasterClass isn’t a perfect training method, how awesome will it be, to be taught by such a master writer as by Margaret Atwood!
Now, the reason I suggest MasterClass isn’t perfect is that from all my research, there are mixed reviews on some of the classes. You will learn more than others from some of them, some being more practical in their lessons, while other’s more theoretical and philosophical. For this reason, if you are even remotely interested in more than one class, I would recommend picking up the All-Access Pass – this way you can watch a wide variety of classes and always find something worthwhile. There are many writing classes available, and include screenwriting, writing for television, creative writing, and writing non-fiction.
Course Summary
- Course: Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing (MasterClass)
- Who’s it For? All Levels.
- Cost: $90 for the single class or All Access Pass (unlimited access) $180 per year
- Duration: 23 Video Lessons (Online), approximately 4 hours long.
- Community: Upload Videos and receive feedback. Select critiques by Atwood herself.
- Guarantee: 30 Day Money Back Guarantee.
- Rating: A tentative 9/10 – from other’s reviews
If you are interested in purchasing this course, please remember that for only $180 per year, you can get the All-Access Pass, and get the other excellent writing MasterClasses by James Patterson, R.L. Stine, Aaron Sorkin, and Judy Blume.
So Why Margaret Atwood?
In her first-ever online class, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale presents an exclusive creating writing class, teaching you how she crafts vivid prose and hooks readers with her timeless approach to storytelling.
Margaret Atwood is an award-winning and prolific author of more than fifty novels, books of poetry, and critical essays. Her novels have been nominated for numerous Booker Prizes and won the Booker Prize for The Blind Assassin in 2000.
This makes Margaret Atwood the perfect creative writing teacher to draw lessons and inspiration from.
I first discovered her at University in English Literature 101. The book was Surfacing, and it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Here was a great writer, who wrote speculative fiction which was also literary, whose novels were studied at a College level. I found her then, and have been following her ever since. My favourite are her more speculative novels such as Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and The Handmaid’s Tale. I even got to see her live one year at the Perth Writer’s Festival, which was a real treat and I learnt a lot just from that short exchange on stage with an interviewer.
I can’t wait to see what she offers up here to us on MasterClass.
What You Get…
100% exclusive video lessons and some of Atwood’s original research materials and notes. Learn at your own pace through your mobile or desktop. These video lessons are said to be of exceptional quality.
The 23 lessons total approximately 4 hours. Each lesson is from 10 – 20 minutes long. Learn exactly how Margaret Atwood crafts vivid prose and hooks readers. Plus she uses her own novels and classics to draw her lessons from.
You’ll receive a Class Workbook, with lesson recaps, assignments, and supplemental materials.
You also have access to the class members area, where you can upload videos and get feedback from others taking the class. It is said that Margaret Atwood will also be critiquing select student work. This is an amazing opportunity, and I wonder how it works if you buy the single class… In theory, you have lifetime access and can retake the class at any time. Does this mean you could keep taking it until Atwood critiques your work? Maybe…?
What does it cost?
- You can pick up the single class for US$90 for lifetime, unlimited access.
- Purchase the All-Access Pass for US$180 per year, and get access to all available MasterClass classes while your subscription is valid. This needs to be paid for each year, but you do get access to all active and new classes.
Check out the Offical MasterClass Trailer below:
What You’ll Be Learning
There are 23 lessons presented, and you can read about the whole list on MasterClass, but here are the few that I am most interested in:
Lesson 2: Getting Started As a Writer
This is where Margaret teaches us how to find our own path, and overcome obstacles like fear. She also shares her own writer’s story and creative process, which I am SO excited to hear:)
Lesson 3: Story and Plot
Learn what makes a strong plot. Atwood recommends you to study myths, fairy tales, and other historical works of literature so that you can use them as building blocks for your stories and novels.
I am very attracted to the workings of plot and story and am intrigued to hear what Atwood has to say about this subject.
As too the original stories found in our myths and fairy tales, our legends and fables. This is an area I draw from too, so I love that Atwood also recommends this.
Lesson 18: Speculative Fiction
In this lesson, Atwood reveals her approach to writing speculative fiction and gives advice on how to generate ideas and build your world.
Lesson 21: The Writer’s Path
In this lesson, Atwood reveals the one book she recommends to all writers, and shares inspirational stories from other writers. I can’t wait to find out what it is. Can anyone enlighten us?
Writing Insights from a Favourite Writer
What I love most about the idea of this class, is that it’s taught by such a revered and prolific writer. Margaret Atwood is a talented writer in both non-fiction and fiction, and a Booker Prize winner at that. She is one of the select writers in this age, that I’d love to learn any tip or trick she has to offer.
I am bound to learn something golden within the lessons, and for this reason alone, I know I need this class
Is It Worth It?
So, although I haven’t taken this class yet, it is Most Definitely on my writing class to do list, once I’ve finished my current Holly Lisle class. I want to be able to give my full attention to this class and devote myself to the lessons, without any distractions.
And while I have heard that some of the MasterClass classes do not give concrete steps in their training, and that some of the classes are rather hit and miss, I have no hesitation in trying out this Margaret Atwood class.
Not only is she a Master in the writing arena, and any insights that I’ll be able to come away with will make the class worthwhile, but MasterClass also has a great refund policy, so if I do not like the class for any reason, I know I am safe, and can receive a full refund within the first 30 days.
Click Here To Learn More about the Margaret Atwood MasterClass
I will update this post after I have completed the class with my final thoughts on the MasterClass.
Have you taken the Margaret Atwood MasterClass yet? Are you thinking about taking it? I’d love to hear your thoughts and reviews – please comment below and I’ll reply as soon as I can.
Happy Writing!
Erica
If you are looking for other writing classes, I cannot recommend enough the writing classes by Holly Lisle.
I am currently enrolled in her How to Write Short Stories, How to Write a Novel and How to Think Sideways, and highly recommend them if you are series about your writing and learning how to be a career creative writer.
You can see for yourself with Holly’s Free Flash Fiction Writing Class.
I don’t know why I have the creepy feeling when I watch the video. Maybe it is her face or expression. I write a lot too on my blog. I think this is something can help me to write better. I have many imaginations too. I hope the price does not burn a hole in my wallet.
The great thing is MasterClass has a great refund policy, so if it’s not what you’re after, you can return it for a full refund. Maybe look at the other writing classes though, if you are more into blog writing. There’s the Malcolm Gladwell Writing class that might be better for you:) Good luck! And I love to hear how you go.
Erica
Wow this is a great idea for pro writers to give master classes in writing. This is the first time I have heard of this as I always thought that these types of novel writers were way too busy writing their next novel to put classes together.
I like the 180 per year option as you can get access to all the classes but hopefully the year will be enough time to get through them all.
I actually think I read that Margaret Atwood is nearing the end of her career and is looking for ways to give back to other writers, and that’s why she’s made time for this class. I do hope this is not quite the case, as I do love her novels, but I guess she is getting on…
That’s a good point about the yearly option. I think finish all my current classes then grab the All In One when I’m ready:)
Thanks for stopping by:)
Erica
Hi Erica,
Margaret Atwood is my favourtie and I have never knew she is doing masterclasses. The price listed is definitely affordable and I think in the end will give you more than the investment. If I get it for my mom for Christmas will she have acces to it for the whole year if I geat the yearly pass? Just checking so she can get back to it when she has more free time.
Thank you for the great article!
Best regards
Andy
That’s correct, the all access pass is for an entire year – it’s a great way to try out the various classes. Thanks for reading!
Great review on the Margaret Atwood writing course. I am excited to hear what you think about it and what other helpful points you will learn once you have finished taking this course. I am not a strong writer when I have to research a lot but I find that if a though comes into my mind I can just run with it and write a decent article.
What suggestions do you have for writers block and how to unblock and keep the writing moving?
Thanks I will keep checking out your site and see what other helpful information I can find.
Glad you liked the article, Monika:)
For writer’s block, I find daily writing helps. Having an easy to access source of writing prompts helps as well. I love using Pinterest for prompts, as well as Instagram actually. Thanks for reading!
Hi Erica, Thank you for writing a great informative review for the Margaret Atwood – Teaches Creative Writing MasterClass. This course sounds fantastic. I too really enjoyed her book The Handmaid’s Tale. I have been working on my own writing for a while and could do with some help and direction as I have been a little stuck with it lately. Also, thank you for pointing out the cost for the year pass compared to the single pass, as that sounds like it is amazing value and well worth the cost. It is fantastic that this master class also has a 30 day refund policy. It always makes you feel safer to know if its not for you haven’t wasted money and can easily return it. I look forward to hearing your update once you have completed the course. Mary
Hey i really enjoyed this article, it was really interesting. I have always liked writing, so it does not take me long to write a blog post but i dont think i would pay that much for a class to learn how to do creative writing. This program would be helpful to the ones that wants to get a lot better and needs the community and it seems like the person is well known.
Hi Justin, thanks for your comment. I must say, I thought Margaret Atwood Was really well known… oh well. She is a wonderful writer, and it’s fun to be able to learn from her. Thanks for reading! Erica
Its a great privilege to be able to learn from Margaret Atwood in the area of creative writing. The way she crafts compelling stories, from historical to speculative fiction to me seems to be very amazing. Though i have only come across her name once prior to reading this blog article, i think i am now very much interested in getting her course, after all, her contents worth more than the $90 she is requesting. Lest i forget thanks for also sharing her video, it was really helpful seeing it. Thanks for this educative post.
Good Morning Erica,
Having 2 websites any advice on how to write better posts is of course welcome
I have followed MasterClasses but on completely different topics like health-related. I always enjoy them as the information presented in a visual way sinks in very well.
I looked at the video of Margaret Atwood and really liked it, she seems to be quite a lady and I can see with the way how she talks can keep you spellbound. I think it is a brilliant idea to take classes in writing, I will seriously think about it. Thank you for this post.
Regards, Taetske
I really love Margaret Atwood masterclass because a friend once told me about it and she explained how she has been acquiring lot of new knowledge and the investment really worth it. The price is reasonably affordable as it covers a longer period. I love your post as it actually defined all the important points one needs to know. I will really like to give it a try. Nice write up, thanks for the thorough research carried out.
Margaret Atwood masterclass, I must get the program. I’m such a lover of her writings and my best piece of her books is “The Handmaid’s tale”. Though, I am not really a literature person but her technique of presenting her story is so compelling and intriguing that you do not have a choice than to like her writings. I cannot remember how many of her works I have read. Getting the $180 all year access seems interesting but I’m not really a literature person so, I will opt for the $90 single class. Its benefits too are worthy.
thanks for this eye opening post
Glad you enjoyed the post, and love Margaret Atwood too! Thanks for reading 🙂
Hey Erica,
I’ve benefited by reading your educative post about Margaret Atwood’s Master Class. Writing is my passion. Since childhood, my aim is to become a writer. I have read many author’s stories, novels, articles, critic, etc. But Margaret Atwood’s writing has not been read so far. Rather I read Margaret Thatcher several times. It’s great to know about Atwood today. I watched her video attentively. Because I love creative writing very much. Hope Master Class will help me more as I get some important tips from here. I already bookmark this page.
Thank you sincerely for your valuable review.
Warm regards,
Ranao.