Mat Osman: On Finding Inspiration Through Doing the Work of Writing
Mat Osman is a musician, songwriter, bassist, and founding member of the British band Suede, as well as a composer for film and television. His writing about art and travel has appeared in the Guardian, Independent, and Observer and more. He is the author of the novel The Ruins and, most recently, The Ghost Theatre.
He lives in the UK. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Mat Osman
David Emery
In this post, Mat discusses what inspired his latest novel, how his research of Elizabethan London surprised him, and what authors need to do to harness inspiration.
Name: Mat Osman
Literary agent: Sarah Fuentes, UTA
Book title: The Ghost Theatre
Publisher: Abrams / The Overlook Press
Release date: June 27, 2023
Genre/category: Fiction
Previous titles: The Ruins
Elevator pitch for the book: It’s the story of two Elizabethan child actors who form a magical, guerilla theatre troupe, whose guttersnipe performances threaten to set the whole of England ablaze.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I’d always wondered who were the equivalent of rock stars and Hollywood actors in earlier times. So when I saw a documentary about child actors of the Elizabethan age I was instantly intrigued. Their lives were such an odd mix of widespread fame and total poverty, of power and powerlessness that I knew I wanted to start there.
I read about the very real boys who were often snatched off the streets of London and I imagined how it felt to be them, thrust onto the stage. But I needed an outsider to witness the phenomenon of the Blackfriars Theatre with fresh eyes, so the character of Shay was born.
Again, I wanted to write about the ordinary lives of the time that have gone unrecorded, so I made her a messenger. In a time before phones or even a postal service, messengers were the lifeblood of the city.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took about two years. I had the idea while I was finishing my first novel, so it was already percolating nicely. It changed from a book about a boy actor to focus far more on Shay. The things I had to think about with her, about the role of women in those societies, about performance and magic and second sight, they became much more interesting to me.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I’d never really thought about genre before. The Ghost Theatre has elements of historical fiction to it, and a hint of fantasy, but I’d never thought of myself as a writer who lived in those worlds at all. For me it’s a story that just happens to be set 500 years ago.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Research was constantly surprising me. I found that Londoners were already complaining about gentrification and foreign laborers 400 years ago. That there were bears so famous that they featured in Shakespeare plays. That hawkers were selling paper copies of popular songs in the exact same location that’s now London’s music-shop center.
That it was believed there was a golden city where chickens flew, already roasted, into waiting mouths. That a ship full of spices could be worth more than a good-sized town. That there was a sizable black population in London, including musicians, diplomats, drivers, and cooks. Every page I read about Elizabethan London simultaneously brought the people closer and farther away.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
A thrilling story, a thought-provoking setting and a hint of magic. And if I haven’t made you cry by the end I’ve failed!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I always come back to that quote of Picasso’s. ‘Inspiration exists but it has to find you working.’
If you wait for the perfect time, the perfect location, the perfect inspiration you’ll never get anywhere. You have to train yourself to keep writing even when you don’t want to.
Write some background to a character, write about the location—it doesn’t matter if it never gets used, it just puts you in a mindset where you know the world and characters of your book more deeply. And often, while you’re doing this boring stuff—the creative admin—you find great ideas and real writing slip in.
While there’s no shortage of writing advice, it’s often scattered around—a piece of advice here, words of wisdom there. And in the moments when you most need writing advice, what you find might not resonate with you or speak to the issue you’re dealing with. In A Year of Writing Advice, the editors of Writer’s Digest have gathered thoughts, musings, and yes, advice from 365 authors in dozens of genres to help you on your writing journey.
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