Posted: Thursday, December 12, 2013 4:23 pm
Grand descriptions of days gone by and a heartwarming tale of friendship enthralled students at Marion Elementary during a recent visit from McDowell County author Victoria “Vicki” S. Blake.
Blake spoke to students about her first published book, “My Days with Nell” and helped kids better understand the writing process.
“My Days with Nell” takes place in the early 1900s on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Blake wrote the book because of her love of writing and the grand house that tourists from around the world visit every year.
“When I first decided to write a book I decided that I wanted it to be a children’s book and I wanted to write about the Biltmore Estate,” said Blake. “This book is historical fiction because I did a lot of research on the Vanderbilts and their home and mixed it with a story I created. I took the real-life daughter of George Vanderbilt, the man who built the Biltmore House, and created a story about his daughter Cornelia ‘Nell’ Vanderbilt and two other girls Lilly and Ellen Jorith.”
After talking to students about the plot, Blake explained that writing a book was no simple task.
“I’m nearly 60 years old and the skills I used to write this book I used when I was your age, when I was in junior high, when I was in high school and in my adult life,” said Blake. “The first thing you have to decide on as a writer is what your topic is going to be. I chose the Biltmore House because it’s one of the things I love.”
After going through the other steps, like drafting, revising, and helping local artist Virginia Palmer come up with image ideas for the book, Blake then asked kids a few questions to get their minds going.
“Could I have written that Lilly woke up? She went downstairs? She ate breakfast?” asked Blake to the group of fourth-graders present during one of her many presentations.
“You could have, but it would have been boring,” said one of the students.
After that answer, Blake explained that writing isn’t so much about listing out events, but asking who, what, when, where and why and writing something that people can relate and sink in to.
Blake ended her presentation to students by encouraging them to try new things and to leave a legacy that they would be proud of.
“What do you want people to remember about you?” said Blake. “The legacy you leave behind isn’t about how much you have, but about how you treat people and the kind of person you are.”
Copies of Blake’s book “My Days with Nell” are for sale at the Biltmore Estate and other book stores in the area. They are also available for purchase at amazon.com
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