STUDENTS learned the art of crafting a cracking story on the third day of the Youth Festival of Literature.

Author Sarah Mussi visited Commonweal School to talk to Year 7s and 8s about her writing career and taught Year 9s how to come up with their own bestsellers.

The pupils enjoyed acting as the goodies and baddies in a murder mystery-thriller in which the antagonists killed the protagonist's parents in a plot to steal her inheritance.

Under Sarah's guidance, the youngsters brought their tale to a dramatic conclusion with a final showdown, a fatal flaw killing the villain, and only one character left alive at the end.

Sarah said: "I was impressed by their ideas.

"They were very thoughtful and took the time to plan how the story would move forward.

"Initial ideas which were a bit cliched were revised and replaced with more interesting ones, which was very good, it's like they were already writing a second draft.

"They were really brilliant, lovely students."

Sarah has written light-hearted books for young children and darker dystopian dramas for teenagers. Her newest Young Adult novel Bomb explores radicalisation, kidnapping and suicide bombing.

She added: "I like to think about social issues for young people that need to be addressed and I like to empower girls and give them a voice by writing strong female protagonists that bring about change.

"My advice is to go in the library every day, read all the books you can, then through osmosis, the ability to write will come to you.

"When writing, as Wilkie Collins said, 'Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.'"

This was one of many events held at schools around town for the festival.

Helen Dennis and Ali Sparkes gave talks and workshops at Abbey Park School and Nova Hreod Academy, while performance poet Ash Dickinson continued his week-long tour of every school in Swindon.

The festival's main event will be held at the Wyvern this morning, with comedy author Jonathan Meres entertaining an audience of more than 500 schoolchildren.

Friday's finale will see pupils facing off in an inter-school book quiz at Swindon Academy.