Author puts eager Highfield and Brookham School pupils on the 'write' path

Aspiring young writers from an independent school in Liphook have been given some expert guidance in the art of storytelling.

Author Miles Hudson spent the day at Highfield and Brookham Schools passing on his expertise and vast writing experience to absorbed Year 7 bookworms who had just finished reading his latest book, The Mind’s Eye.

The Mind’s Eye is a dystopian science fiction thriller which centres on the murky world of surveillance in an England ravaged by climate change and is a sequel to 2089.

Hudson explained the process he uses to write novels, exploring various techniques and challenging the pupils to carefully consider story structure, plot lines, settings and characters.

Armed with their working knowledge of The Mind’s Eye, and an understanding of the elements which need to be expertly woven together to produce an engaging read, the budding young authors quizzed Hudson during a lively and thought-provoking question-and-answer session to round off an informative glimpse into the world of literary fiction.

Phillip Evitt, Headmaster at Highfield School, said: “My study is brim full of books and our library is one of the most-used rooms in the school, so what a thrill for the children to have a visit from a published author.

“Year 7 have been reading Miles Hudson’s latest book and will have gained a special insight into exactly what goes into producing a book and what makes a popular read. These are things that they can now put into practice themselves and, one day, perhaps one or two of their books will find their way into our school library and onto the shelves in my study.”

Pupils (and staff!) at Highfield and Brookham Schools have been set a summer reading challenge – to be pictured reading their favourite books ‘on location’ during the holidays, with the pictures forming a literary montage which will take pride of place in the school library at the start of the Autumn Term.