Stephen Tuffin, aged 59, has had a bumpy ride in life. From his mother running away with Mafia Lou after a brawl with his father, shooting his elderly neighbour with a rifle, to lying in a pool of a mentally ill patients’ blood. But after deciding to move to the small town of Swindon, his life changed for the better.
Living in Margate his whole life seemed to be a challenge for young Stephen. Going from being a door-to-door salesman, to a taxi driver, he could never find a stable job. It was getting more tedious every day as he completed these manual tasks. When he met his wife and had a child, he had a terrible accident at work. It rendered him jobless and consequently, penniless. His family didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have a good educational upbringing, only being interested in football and girls at the time, and as a result was clueless as to where to go next. “At the time,” Stephen explains, “Swindon was considered glamorous. It was ‘the place’ to be. That’s why we ended up packing our bags and starting new lives.”
After moving to Swindon, his wife started up work at New College. “One day, a leaflet came through our door and spoke about how brilliant it was there. It was telling of a scheme offered for older students to come back and ‘relive’ their education. It sounded like a great opportunity, but I was apprehensive.” He had a bit of an interest in writing after school. His teacher, Mr. Marshal set him an assignment to write a story about red letter day. He remembers that his teacher was “highly pleased with the work”, which provided him with confidence in his own writing abilities, further reigniting his passions.
But in the end, he decided to take the plunge. After seeing Othello with his wife, the idea of going back to college on his mind, his love for English finally clicked. Among the dozens of students at the age of 18, he was sat in a lecture hall at Bath Spa University at least double the age of the average student, enjoying himself and taking all the opportunities thrown at him. After finishing his MA, he was invited to teach there, sharing an office with Tessa Hadley. “Being a lecturer is like acting”, Stephen remarks. “How did I go from basically nothing to a lecturer?”
And here he is now, with his own work published in an anthology, working alongside the people that taught him the information he’s putting into practice today. ‘The Sun on the Dash’ depicts the tale of two men in love. “I see my published work as a springboard.” Stephen states. “It doesn’t really feel like an achievement. I will use the opportunities I have been given to be my inspiration to do bigger and better things.” He has also informed me that he doesn’t believe in writer’s block. “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. Yeah, you might need some time to sit back, relax, have a break. But the ideas don’t just stop. It’s such a silly thing, I mean you don’t see students saying, ‘I have student block, I’m not going to college today’, or teachers’ block. It’s just a need for a break.”
His two unpublished pieces, The Boy from the Gate and The Scenic Railway, are some of his most passionate works. He told me that he “generates unlimited enthusiasm when writing. I keep a note on my phone of all of my ideas for stories.” Stephen also informed me that he uses people he knows as ideas for characters. “The people I met in the asylum, my childhood friends, my college lecturers/colleagues and even my students can be an inspiration for the characters I write about in my stories.”
Stephen also finds it easiest to write when in his ‘writing room.’ A big open room with lots of natural light with a marvellous view. His wife often asks him if he’s still alive due to his high concentration levels.
Stephen is just like the rest of us. Wanting to input his passion into a successful and rewarding career. His advice to aspiring young writers is to keep trying. “Keep practicing, because one day, it’ll be easier than breathing. Just like it is for me.”
By Emily Usher
