THE next generation of writers at New College were treated to a wealth of literary insight today when six wordsmiths joined them for a day-long celebration of the written word.

The New College Lit Fest featured home-grown talent Jasper Fforde and Gilly Macmillan, whose debut novel Burnt Paper Sky was published earlier this year as well as Bitter Sixteen author Stefan Mohamed.

Kansas-born Mimi Thebo, a former journalist and lecturer at Bath Spa University, who is preparing for the launch of her next novel Dreaming The Bear in February 2016, also took time out to speak to pupils, while Nicola Davies and Harry Partridge completed the day-long line-up.

Author of The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde, who has famously used the streets of Swindon in his novels, told pupils that writing was a craft that needed to be learned over a period of time, and that there was no such thing as writer’s block.

The 54 year old revealed he had started writing at the age of 27, but it wasn’t until he was 38 that his first novel was published. He said: “It took me until the age of 27 to realise that this wonderful thing – creative writing – isn’t something that only other people can do – it is something that you and I can do. It is very important that you know that because I didn’t know that that. But once you know that you can actually achieve something, you can aim for it.

“It was only when I was 27 that I started arranging words on a page that I realised it was great fun. You can’t be a writer if you don’t love it. To make a living with creative writing is tremendous fun, I love it – it is day dreaming with ink and being paid for the privilege of it.

“But writing is a skill, it is not something you can do instantly but it is a skill that is worth learning.”

When asked why he had chosen Swindon – to which he refers to as the jewel of the M4, and home to glistening glass towers – as the setting for some of his novels he said: “If you are going to set a book somewhere the obvious well-trodden path is London, Edinburgh or Bristol. What’s the least well-trodden path? Somewhere like Swindon, Calne or Chippenham. So I go for the opposite and use that less well-trodden path.”

He also revealed he was sceptical about the existence of writer’s block. Writing is my trade, so why should I say I cannot write today because I have writer’s block? Carpenters don’t get carpenter’s block, I think it is actually a bit of nonsense and what it comes down to is that you can’t be arsed to do it.”