2019-10-01_Writer_s_Digest

WritersDigest.com I 17

I

n preparationforWD’s 100 th

anniversaryissue,WDstaffhas

beendiggingthroughnearlya

centuryofarticlestopickout

theverybestwritingadviceWD

hasgleanedovertheyears.Asa

sneakpeekofwhatawaitsinthe

trove,hereis anexcerptfromformer

editor-in-chiefKristinD.Godsey’s

interviewwithMargaretAtwoodin

theApril 2004 issue.The Testaments,

Atwood’ssequeltoThe Handmaid’s

Ta l e, releasesfromPenguinRandom

HouseinSeptember.

You’vebeena poet,novelist,

shortstorywriter,andessayist,

andalwayshavebeensinceyou

announcedbackin highschool

thatyouweregoingtobea

writer.Doyouhavea softspot

foronegenreovertheothers?

I dowhenI’mwritingit.WhenI’m

ina poetryphase,I thinkthisis the

greatestthingandhowcouldI write

anythingelse?WhenI’mwritinga

novel,I’mveryfocusedonthat,and

I canbarelyreadpoetry.There’sno

secret.I’vebeena multitaskerinall

areasoflife.

Let’stalkaboutyourwritingpro-

cess.Doyouwriteeveryday?

Noteveryday.I’dliketo,butI never

did.I’vealwayshadeithera jobora

verybusylife.I can’tdescribemypro-

cess.It’schaosaroundhereallthetime.

Doyousufferfromwriter’s

block?

I neverhave,althoughI’vehadbooks

thatdidn’tworkout.I hadtostop

writingthem.It wasdepressing,but

it wasn’ttheendoftheworld.When

it reallyisn’tworkingandyou’vebeen

bashingyourselfagainsta wall,it’s

kindofa relief.Sometimesyoubash

yourselfagainstthewallandyouget

throughit.Butsometimesthewallis

justa wall.There’snothingtobedone

butgosomewhereelse.

Sohowdoesa Margaret

Atwoodnovelcometobe?

I usuallystartwithsomevoices.Or

animageora place.The Handmaid’s

Ta l estartedwiththesceneofthe

bodieshangingfromthewall.Inthe

writing,thatscenemigratedquitefar

backintothebook.Butthatwasthe

firstarrestingimagethatmademe

feelI reallyhadtogoforwardwith

thebook.

Doyououtline?

No.I didthatonce.It wasa terrible

mistake.

Soyoustartwithanimage—

Yes.It’slikeoverhearingsomeone

talkinginthenextroom.It’slike

seeinga villagea longwayoffand

thinkingyouhavetogothere.It’slike

seeinganobjectfraughtwithsignifi-

cance.Youwonderwhythat’sthere.

Whatis thatblood-stainedcleaver

doinginthemiddleofthelivingroom

floor?I thinkwe’ dbetterlookinto

100 Years of Writer’s Digest

In celebration of our 100th anniversary in 2020, WD is selecting the best past

articles to showcase again.

BY KRISTIN D. GODSEY

Kristin D. Godsey was editor-in-chief of

WD from 2003 to 2006.

this! I’m compelled by something to

go and fi nd out more about it. And

I’ve been wrong.

And do you just know when

you’re wrong?

You know eventually. It may take you

200 pages. Th at’s unpleasant. But you

know when you lose interest. We all

have those “this is drivel” moments.

But it would be a “this is drivel”

moment that lasts for quite a long

time. It’s not only drivel on Monday

but also on Tuesday, Wednesday,

Th ursday, Friday, and Saturday, too.

What am I to make of this? Why did

I write that?

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