It's my turn on The Runaways of Haddington Hall blog tour today and I'm delighted to welcome Vivian French who is sharing her top tips for new writers (I'll be sharing these in school today as well!). Below that, you'll also find my review of The Runaways of Haddington Hall.
Top 5 Tips For New Writers by Vivian French
1. PLAN your
story before you begin! It’s boring but it really helps! Think of the
beginning, then the end - and then the middle. That works much better than
beginning, middle, end.
2. Invent a
problem for your main character that has to be solved, and make sure it’s the
main character that solves it! (It’s cheating if someone comes in from the
outside to make it all ok.)
3. Start
with someone saying something like… ‘OH NO!’ ‘HELP!’ ‘IT’S NOT FAIR!’ That’ll
get your reader interested.
4. Try
writing in different ways.
o
‘Seb
sneaked out of the classroom. No one was watching as he crept down the
corridor…’
o
’I
sneaked out of the classroom. No one saw me as I crept down the corridor…’
o
‘Seb
sneaks out of the classroom. No one is watching as he creep down the corridor…’
5. Read read
read read READ! The more books you read, the more you’ll absorb new ways to
write.
The Runaways of Haddington Hall. My review.
Minnie O'Sullivan spends her days helping her mum who is a Victorian washerwoman, that is until she finds herself on the wrong side of the Reverend Obadiah Marpike who sends her to Haddington Hall, a home for wayward girls. Life gets tough very quickly as the home's owner, Mrs Haddington, takes an instant dislike to Minnie and insists she spend long days doing chores in return for only scraps of food. However, Minnie is spirited and is determined to prove that there is fowl play at work.
Minnie is a brave and strong character who isn't afraid to fight for what she thinks is right. Family is important to her, as is friendship. She copes with so much during the course of the book but her family are never far from her thoughts. She is feisty and won't let Mrs Haddington get the better of her, despite the fact that she named Minnie 'Mangle' as soon as she set eyes on her and clearly treated her unfairly from the very beginning.
It is obvious from the start that Marpike has ulterior motives and he manipulates everything to his own means. He is s truly evil character disguised as a very 'polite' Victorian vicar.
The Runaways of Haddington Hall is a great adventure with a wonderful Victorian setting; from humble homes overrun with washing to Haddington Hall and all it promises. Its pacey plot is full of drama with a classic feel.
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