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No One Expects To Make It as a Writer; Not Even Margaret Atwood
Here are lessons to learn from her ascent
As the writer of The Hand Maid’s Tale, Alias Grace, The Edible Woman, Surfacing, and many other literary masterpieces, Margaret Atwood has used her uncanny ability to delve into the oppression of women to develop an astounding collection of fictional literature.
Yet, as talented as Atwood is, she admits to doubting her own writing capabilities and her potential to succeed in the literary realm.
Here are some lessons from her ascent to superstardom.
The art of pissing people off
While pursuing her master’s degree at Harvard, Atwood experienced the rampant sexism of what was at the time an elite sexist boy’s club.
Now, I know that referring to the almighty Harvard as an “elite sexist boy’s club” will surely piss some people off.
But… the shoe fits.
At the time, only a quarter of the student body was female, women were barred from using the Lamont Library, the library specific to Atwood’s English studies, and Atwood’s roommate, Susan Milmoe recalls that Atwood infuriated peers and professors with her outspoken feminist opinions that frequently attacked the societal expectations for women to be compliant submissive housewives.
Atwood has even established that her inspiration for The Hand Maid’s Tale was drawn from the Harvard English Department.
Although this behavior gained Atwood a lot of enemies, it also enabled her to touch the emotions of her fans, and to amass millions of dollars while pursuing her passion of being an author. Which brings us to our first lesson.
Sometimes pissing people off is both necessary and beneficial.
Like Atwood, you might even make a career out of it.
Reality can fuel fiction
When reading a fictional story, most readers believe the story is fake.
Debunking this myth, Margaret Atwood asserts that her works of fiction each required her to perform an introspective deep dive into reality.
