Q&A with Margaret Atwood discussion

I was wondering about your writing process. Specifically the first bits of it (i.e. fleshing out your ideas and beginning to write). What process(es) do you take yourself through and your ideas through before you begin writing and then after you've started? Is it generally the same with each piece or does it vary at all? What's different for you when writing prose v. poetry?

Thanks for your time.

I've read The Blind Assasin and Alias Grace. Two completely different stories, yet binded by a sublime way of storytelling. And of course, we musn't forget the aura of mystery that always lingers while we're reading the chapters..

How hard (or easy) is it for you to create a whole story, especially since many of your stories don't share a similar writing style or theme? It is like reading a completely different author, and yet, we still know it's Margaret Atwood.

Have you every suffered from writer's block? Or have you ever hit a wall and thought, this plot is not working, I have to rewrite it? Or is your writing process natural and sequential, thereby forgoing the need to go back and change things?

I love to write, and started writing a story. In my case, ideas pop into my head a number of times, causing me to start a different chapter without even completing the one prior to it. The challenge for me is to fill in the blanks. Has this ever happened to you? Or do the ideas just flow in sequence?

I am curious to know what the writing process is for you - do you feel it is the result of looking inward & listening to yourself? Or do you feel the stories come from outside of you; the result of being able to open up & receive inspiration from beyond yourself?

I'm fascinated by the amount of detail you put into your work (and I'm a sucker for your puns and plays on words). What I'm curious to know is how much research you do for your books and how you keep everything organized? Going between Toby and Ren in The Year of the Flood, keeping their individual voices straight and unique, what made you decide to use first person for Ren and third person for Toby?

Dear Margaret,

I’m curious about your writing process. Not so much how you work with the ideas you have but more, how do you get ideas to work? How does the idea become the novel? Do you just write whatever the story dictates, or do you have an agenda, (themes, symbols, explanations or some such) when you sit down to write? Do you write for an audience? For yourself? Your publisher?

I’m also wondering how do you know when a story is worth writing? There are zillions (a modest estimate) of potential stories, can you describe the feeling, or thoughts, or something else that lets you know, yes, this is the one that I will make into a book. Do you ever get bored with your own stories and think they’re not worth telling? Are there stories you might wish you had told differently?

Warms regards and sincere thanks for all of your work and your time in this discussion,
Kate

Please, please describe your writing space for us...even the smallest details. What color are the pencils and odd things you love there?
What do you like to wear when you write? Do you like it completely quiet or with music?

I'm an artist and interior designer, so you see...I want to see. :]

Deb/Bookish Dame

Deb! What a great question!!

Do you start with a theme before you write (feminism, environmentalism) or a good story?

Lauryn wrote: "I'm fascinated by the amount of detail you put into your work (and I'm a sucker for your puns and plays on words). What I'm curious to know is how much research you do for your books and how you ke..."

I second Lauryn's question! I'm a political science PhD, and I study genetically modified organisms, food safety, and public health. I was so fascinated by the detail in Oryx and Crake and the Year of the Flood, and was wondering about your research process and how it works with your writing process.

Thank you!

I'm interested in your answer to many of these questions. Also I'm wondering if your process for creating characters has changed over the years.

Mrs. Atwood,
I love to write in my spare time. Unfortunately, I have been suffering from an inability to write. How do you overcome these periods of time? Is there anyway to write through this?
Thank you,
Katie

The research and voice in TYOTF: generally the inside of my head is like an attic — jumble of stuff — so I write first and then check to make sure I’ve remembered things correctly. (Often not quite!)I think I used the third and first voices because — a) it felt right , but perhaps b) so readers would know immediately which one was talking,

The writing space: I wish I had anything so organized as a writing space. I have several places I write fairly often, but sometimes I just write in coffee shops or wherever I happen to be. I do like a window, and I don’t write to music. I have way too many pencils and pen objects! And notebooks and scraps of paper... Trouble is, if the notebooks look too nice you don’t want to deface them; I find the yellow legal pads work well, and the student spiral-bound lined ones...

Dear Margaret,
Are there any plans for teaching a writing course in the future? I would leap mountains to be in it. I have been in a few and none compare to carefully studying your work.
...thank you for all the work that you do...you are much loved.
Sunita

ditto Sunita! I would LOVE to go to a workshop/lecture/anything!!

Is there a spot where all of your upcoming events are posted? I didn't see it on http://www.margaretatwood.ca

I did some more digging and found this in the FAQ of her website, but it doesn't have any dates or events. Am I looking in the wrong place?

"For speaking engagements within North America, visit www.thelavinagency.com/ "

EDIT: Found this event list by googling "Margaret Atwood Events"
http://www.yearoftheflood.com/us/tour/