Writer Margaret Atwood, who has a lot more to say than Madonna and can say it much better, received far fewer questions than the pop star during her Ask Me Anything at Reddit. Some exchanges follow.

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Question:

What are you most scared of?

Margaret Atwood:

This might seem strange to you, but a person is often afraid of fewer things as they get (shhh!) Older. We know the plot. We know how this is likely to end. As Anita Desai once said, It Is The Cycle Of Life. But apart from that, spiders, if unexpected.

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Question:

Do you have one or more favorite science fiction films? What are your thoughts on the process of translating literature to cinema, generally or specifically in the genre of science fiction?

Margaret Atwood:

Blade Runner. Beautifully made. Let The Right One In, Swedish version; not SF but same problems faced (plausibility). With SF: I watched a large number of SF B movies when they first came out. The problem then was the low-budget special effects. Now it’s likely to be holes in the plot, or over-slickness. But all of that’s a generalization.

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Question:

I can honestly say that without a doubt, The Handmaid’s Tale was the scariest book I have read. May I ask if you had someone in mind while writing the character of Serena Joy?

Maragret Atwood:

More like a type: women who make a career out of telling other women they shouldn’t have careers. Also the Shelley Winter character in the splendid film Night of the Hunter (Robert Mitchum’s best role, IMHO)

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Question:

Hi, I’m a high school English teacher in Northern California who is rolling out a unit featuring The Handmaid’s Tale–we’re starting Thursday! My question: What would you say to a group of students from an affluent community weaned on science and technology to convince them of the enduring relevance of the novel? Thank you so much for your consideration; it’s been an amazing learning and professional experience teaching your novel—my students brought this ama to my attention and I couldn’t be more thrilled at the opportunity as well as the timing!

Margaret Atwood:

As they already know some science, show them some brain-science and evo-devo studies – folks studying the inherent human story-telling “platform.” We tell stories because we’re human. The novel appears to be the most brain-intensive media form – second only to being there.

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Question:

What are your thoughts on the current popularity (which is perhaps on its way out) of dystopian novels, especially in the Young Adult genre? 

Margaret Atwood:

Lots of thoughts on that! I wrote Oryx and Crake before this wave set in, but there were a number in the 20th C. However, turn-of-century often causes folks to wonder where we’re going, and how they themselves might behave if they find themselves in a bad version of There. And Climate Change and the resulting storms and floods, and the threats to the biosphere.. young people are attuned to all of that.

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Question:

Maybe an odd question but one that interests me: have you written anything that you now regret?

Margaret Atwood:

Several letters.•