Odds are you’ve seen at least the first season of The Hand Maid’s Tale, but have you read the book?
If the answer is no, then you are in for a double treat.
Treat # 1. Margaret Atwood is a master of her craft, so it’s a fantastic read.
Treat #2. You get a free DIY writing masterclass along way.
Why? Because when you know what happens in the story, you can focus more on the writing.
You are less distracted by wondering what’s going to happen, so you can pay more attention to how the story unfolds.
You can slow down your reading and enjoy the prose, ponder the choices the writer makes and re-read powerful sections to analyse why they are so good.
Slow reading is a fantastic way to learn more about your craft.
I read with a pencil. I mark passages that jump out at me and dog-ear the page so I can come back to it later. My co-host of the Curious Writers Book Club, Stephanie Preston, who also writes Instagram book reviews as the word witch, uses little sticky notes – her books are bristling with them.
A great way to start a slow reading practice is to either re-read a book you love, or read a book that you’ve seen dramatised on screen. These are slightly different experiences, but they have the same effect.
Your familiarity with the story allows you to take your time.
Taking your time allows you to see more.
When I read The Hand Maid’s Tale I was blown away with Margaret Atwood’s deft hand. She feeds us bits of information at the right time (not an info dump in sight), slowly building the dystopian world and revealing Offred’s back story. At the same she has us trapped in that room with Offred, enduring the long tedious hours of doing absolutely nothing. Later in the book she juxtaposes this with the oppressive humidity of summer and a storm that won’t break. It’s a returning motif that is subtle but powerful. And enduring – it’s still with me about six months after reading the book. I can still feel Offred’s terrible inertia. If I hadn’t seen the series I might not have even noticed it. I might have been too caught up in the claustrophobic feeling it gave me without seeing how Atwood achieved it.
I learn more and more about writing with every book I read. If you adopt a slow reading practice, you will too.
