Margaret Atwood MasterClass Review: Is this writing class worth it?

Creative writing can seem daunting, but it is not some mysterious skill that can never be mastered. Most of the struggles and hurdles you face are the same ones writers of all generations were going through. Listening to their wise words and figuring out your style can help you become a successful author.

Does Atwood’s class accomplish this? Is there a unique takeaway that can finally enable you to complete the draft you have been slaving over? That is what this review will reveal.

⏩ Quick Summary: Margaret Atwood MasterClass Review

Margaret Atwood MasterClass	Rating
Content Quality	4.5/5
Engagement Level	4.3/5
Instructor Expertise	4.7/5
Practicality	4.6/5
Value For Money	4/5
Community & Support	3.5/5
Overall Rating	4.2/5

🤷‍♀️ Who is Margaret Atwood? Why should you learn from her?

Margaret Atwood is a fabulous author with decades of experience. Her works have fantastic plots and riveting characters. More often than not, budding authors struggle to choose between character-driven and plot-driven novels. If you can incorporate both in your book, why choose one? Taking Atwood’s class ensures you understand what makes a story and how it can be told effectively. You will be hard-pressed to find another author to teach you more about the craft.

👥 Who is this class for?

Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing class is for all aspiring writers. Even if you have churned out a few novels before you watch this class, you will still find plenty of useful pointers that help make sense of what’s wrong with your process, style, or story. In short, anyone who dreams of completing and publishing a novel should take this class.

🟢🔴 Pros and Cons

As Atwood said, one person’s utopia may be another person’s dystopia. Therefore, my perception of what’s fantastic about this class and what’s not can differ from yours. I have listed the pros and cons of the Margaret Atwood Creative Writing MasterClass below; feel free to agree or disagree with me.

📚 What You’ll Learn

A specific line in the Margaret Atwood Masterclass trailer won me over – the waste paper basket is your friend; god invented it for you. Seriously, who even says that? But that’s what intrigued me. When a best-selling author tells you not to be afraid of throwing out what you wrote, you get the message that even the mammoths in the writing industry have bad days. So, what other things would I find out about in her class? It was with a mind buzzing with excitement that I started watching the lessons.

Atwood shares her writing process but encourages you to figure out your own. She also speaks about the fear that makes you struggle with writing and discusses the ways to deal with it. Then we learn about the nuances of story and plot, introducing the threat from without and within, and subverting an original story. She explains the last concept was used in the film Maleficent.

She further illustrates how it can be done by coming up with several variations of the Red Riding Hood. I especially liked the grandma’s POV. Don’t feel daunted when choosing a POV; you can always change your mind. You can even use multiple POVs. So, try it out in the voice you think will fit best. The case studies are enlightening.

The class workbook has several helpful questions to create your characters. I always find it intriguing that most best-selling authors refer to Hannibal when explaining how to create a compelling villain. I get why he is so interesting, but is there no other villain in the history of fiction who is more diabolical than him? If not, then hats off to the creator.

Margaret also discusses dealing with writer’s block. What’s more interesting is that she feels it takes time and practice to understand story structure. This is a common view but the interesting thing about hers is that she explains that you are not an opera singer stuck on the stage after singing a bad note, and you have control. You can rewrite.

I started laughing. The statement is true, but my mind was too busy flashing to Carlotta croaking in The Phantom Of the Opera, not to laugh. We also learn about prose styles, frame stories, and using a specific and concrete writing approach rather than a generic and abstract approach. She also teaches us about circular and linear time, setting the story in a particular period, writing compelling flashbacks, and using time leaps if they work for your book.

Then Atwood moves on to opening lines. She uses (perhaps, the best opening of all time?) ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’ line to explain her points. Honestly, I heard this when I was watching The Dark Knight Rises. It was not until later on that I realized it was the opening of Charles Dickens’s A Tale Of Two Cities. In my defense, I had read the children’s version of the book and was traumatized by Sydney Carter’s death. So, I didn’t touch the adult version for a long time.

After explaining the significance of the opening line and the first five pages, the lessons dive into writing the middle (one part inspiration and nine parts perspiration – I like how she phrased it) and the end. The concepts of open and closed endings are explained perfectly. Atwood provides tips for revising the drafts. She considers revision to be ‘re-vision’ and tells us that there is no shame in getting something wrong and making it right.

She also explains why your concern should be to hold the readers’ attention by making the story as believable as possible and not what genre you are writing in. Later, she discusses ‘completion fear’, speculative fiction, researching for writing historically accurate novels and getting published.

I found Atwood’s take on commercial vs artistic success fascinating. She also laid bare the realities of a writer’s path and the struggles faced. The class ends with a discussion of learning to present your work, dealing with bad reviews, and writing the second novel after the success of the first.

If you feel that you can’t sit through all 23 lessons, use the MasterClass TA to find out which lessons you need to watch to achieve your goals.

💵 Margaret Atwood MasterClass Cost

You must subscribe to access Atwood’s class; it isn’t available for individual purchase. Subscribing to one of the MasterClass subscription plans may seem expensive if you look at it as paying for a whole year. However, you get access to every class available on the site, meaning you get your money’s worth.

The Standard plan costs $120, the Plus plan costs $180, and the Premium plan costs $240. They are available at a discounted rate (50% off) for the holiday season; so, now is a great time to subscribe. New classes are added every month. So, you don’t have to worry about running out of interesting lessons to watch.

👫 What Others Say about Margaret Atwood MasterClass

To provide a well-rounded review, I spoke with friends who have taken Margaret Atwood’s Creative Writing MasterClass and explored feedback from users across various platforms.

Here’s a compilation of their shared experiences and perspectives.

The overall response to the Margaret Atwood MasterClass is positive. Learners like her teaching style, the valuable nuggets of information she provides, and the peek into her works such as Oryx And Crake, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Alias Grace.

However, some feel the class lacks depth, doesn’t truly reveal how to write a masterpiece, and is for inspirational rather than informational purposes.

🎯 Final Verdict: Is Margaret Atwood Class Worth It?

If you are new to the world of writing or still finding your footing, yes, this class is worth it. Even though I took several classes on writing before watching Atwood’s lessons, I still learned something new. When you are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of bringing what’s in your mind to life, understanding how to get past that fear can help. Margaret Atwood is phenomenal at encouraging that confidence and courage.

FAQs

1. Is Margaret Atwood MasterClass free?

No class on MasterClass is free. However, you can request a refund within 30 days of subscribing to a plan if you are for some reason unsatisfied with the platform or the classes.

2. Can I download Margaret Atwood MasterClass?

Yes, you can download all/specific lessons you want from Atwood’s masterclass if you have a Plus or Premium membership. 

3. What is the duration of Margaret Atwood MasterClass?

The class is 3 hours and 43 minutes long consisting of 23 lessons. Each video runs from 5 – 15 minutes. You can binge-watch lessons, download them, or watch them over several days. Watch at whatever pace you are comfortable with.

4. Which MasterClass – James Patterson, Neil Gaiman, or Margaret Atwood – is the best one?

Every writer has something unique or at least a different perspective to provide. All three are fantastic authors and have plenty of suggestions and tips for improving your writing. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but my favorite is the James Patterson MasterClass.