Pen Names

[sarillia]

How do you go about choosing a pen name? I don't know where to start.

I've been going back and forth for a long time about whether I would want to use a pseudonym if I ever actually got published. I finally decided yes because I don't need to worry about my bigoted brother seeing the shameful empathy towards things he disapproves of in my writing and judging me, even if I know that it's unlikely that they would google me and find out that I have a few stories that a handful of people have read. True story: his girlfriend once refused to lend me a book because she had discovered since buying it that it was "immoral" and said that she regretted lending me other such books in the past because she shouldn't be enabling me in poisoning my mind with such things.

Anyway, pen names. Do you have one? How did you choose it?

I kind of feel like I'm getting ahead of myself, but in my defense, I did write today.

Comments

[serria]

I think I would use a pen name, because when I inevitably become rich and famous from my smash hit future novel, I would like some semblance of personal privacy. ;)

Seriously though. To be honest, whereas most of my family would not appreciate what I wrote, I don't care what the extended family thinks. But I'm not sure if I'd want my mother to read most of what I read. She's supportive, but I don't want her reading my gay erotica, or dark, weird things. But I wouldn't want to hide my writing from her, either, especially since I know she'd want to read it to support me if I ever were officially published. I guess it'd be one thing to self publish something small, but anything big, yeah.

Kind of getting off topic there, but I'd probably use a pen name no matter what. Or I'd at least initial my first name and use only my last name - I'd rather things be gender neutral at least.

[splinteredstar]

Yeah, the gender issue is a whole other bag of worms. Might be fun to watch people guess...

And as far as your mother goes - while mine has always supported my writing and read a great deal of it, there are specific pieces she has said she would not read because she doesn't think it would be her kind of thing. (Which has nothing to do with the fact that there's a lesbian in it everything to do with the fact that the main character's part spider.) So it'll probably be fine.