After a lifetime of writing for pleasure, Kate Kinsella knows the trick to getting started. "It's really very easy," says the 87-year-old former nurse. "Get some paper, take the pen in your hand and start at the beginning. It's no use looking round and saying, 'I can't do it'. You have got to make an effort. There's nothing difficult about it because the words come into your head as you write."
Kinsella, from London, took a computer course at her local Open Age centre to make it easier for her to pursue her hobby, and two years ago, at the age of 85, the autobiography she had written for her family was made into a book.
The independent reading charity Booktrust is hoping that Kate and other older writers like her will prove an inspiration to the over-60s, who are the target for a major new literature project.
Bookbite, which is launched this week by Booktrust, aims to encourage older people to become more involved in writing and reading, for the sheer pleasure of it and for the social and health benefits of learning. The scheme, funded by £400,000 from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, is also designed to encourage older people to make use of the internet to access support and resources.
Participation in adult learning is in decline. Last year, a study by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) found that the number of adult learners had dropped to its lowest level since Labour came to power. The older people were, the less likely they were to be involved in learning. For 20- to 24-year-olds, 61% said they were currently learning, compared with 18% for the 65-74s. And last week colleges learned of a £200m cut to funding for adult students.
A Bookbite website has been set up, and more than 100,000 magazines will be distributed to the over-60s throughout England via partner agencies such as the WRVS, UK Online centres, library services and Age Concern. The magazine, which gives advice on getting started, research and creative writing tips, can also be downloaded from the Bookbite website. The scheme has the support of a number of well-known authors and poets, including Andrew Motion, Pam Ayres and Val McDermid, who have contributed their own work. The author Gervase Phinn, a former Ofsted inspector, will act as writer in residence for the initiative.
The project was launched after a study showed growing interest among the older generation in writing, initially about themselves and their families. "We knew from the focus groups we run that there was a lot of interest in finding out about writing," says Viv Bird, Booktrust's chief executive. "We are about supporting a lifetime love of books, and there was a sense of older people having a story to tell and wanting to find a way to do that."
Bird acknowledges that the demographic requires a unique approach and level of support. "We have such a wide spectrum of older people. Some will be very clued up as to using the internet, researching and writing. Then you will have those who are less confident about reading and writing and maybe don't have the opportunity; they are isolated at home.
"But over 50% of the population are now old people. There needs to be a huge cultural and social change: not just thinking that because people are not of working age there is no point investing in them, but supporting them and encouraging them to play a community role."
Phinn says he was delighted to become involved with the project. He will act as writer in residence, liaising online with participants. "When I was a schools inspector I used to go to a lot of residential homes and speak to older people who had incredible stories to tell," says Phinn. "They had stories about their childhood, the war years, evacuation, that really deserved to be written down. What Bookbite will do is get older people involved as writers. I really think it is a marvellous opportunity. We are going to be very sensitive and supportive of these people. We are going to help them to interact online. This is social history, too, and the best way of doing that is putting it into words."
Kate Kinsella had her first piece of writing published when she was eight years old. She was paid five shillings for a short story about a Hoover that she submitted to a local newspaper in Cumbria. In her later years, she also wrote the lifestory of a close friend before tackling her own memoirs.
"When I got to be 85, I wrote about my life for my grandchildren and great grandchildren," she says. "That was the real reason I did the book. I have lived a life that they will never know."
Like Kinsella, Joe Moisey, from London, had his first book published in his 80s. Now 87, Joe had written about his life in a series of letters to a young cousin. He had endured a harsh upbringing after his mother died, and went on to serve in the RAF and to work as a movie extra. Two years ago, with the help of the Furzedown project, a self-help service for older people, he saw his memoirs made into a book.
"I felt quite proud when I saw it," says Moisey. "I never intended to write a book. I didn't think there was anything of interest in my life. If I had not had my cousin to write to, I would never have got started. It's just a matter of having the confidence to do it. I would say to people, give it a try. Imagine you are writing to someone. Think of them and tell the story."
Vera Waters, a former teacher and health service trainer, now a life coach and public speaker, has four books to her name. She prefers not to reveal how old she is, but says age is no barrier to starting something new. "It is about a state of mind," she says. "I have always believed that nobody needs to know how old you are. You are as old as you encourage yourself to feel. But I think the person who said that old age is a very difficult time, was right. When you get older your confidence seems to run out through the soles of your shoes for a lot of people. We live in a very ageist society and that makes a difference as well."
Waters says older people need to realise that everyone has stories to tell. "It is about believing that whatever you have done in your life is worth looking at. Storytelling has gone on since the beginning of time, and people remember stories. You can have a fancy PowerPoint presentation, you can show people graphs and figures and all of that, but tell a story that links into it and they will never forget it. That's why storytelling is so powerful. Older people need to realise that this is something they can be part of."
