{"id":5354,"date":"2010-09-14T21:59:01","date_gmt":"2010-09-15T02:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.net\/?p=5354"},"modified":"2010-09-14T21:59:01","modified_gmt":"2010-09-15T02:59:01","slug":"on-contemplating-pseudonyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/?p=5354","title":{"rendered":"On Contemplating Pseudonyms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many years ago, when I was a manager for EB Games, I told a friend of mine that I did some writing on the side and that someday I hoped to be published.<\/p>\n

"Do you write under your own name? Or do you use a pseudonym?" he asked.<\/p>\n

"Under my own name," I said. "I've been using it so long, it's part of my identity, why use a pseudonym?" I like<\/i> my name, I always have.<\/p>\n

My name really is<\/i> a part of my identity<\/a>, and I don't want to lose that. Most people, when they get on the Internet, use a pseudonym. I never did; I've always<\/i> been myself online and I've never hidden that.<\/p>\n

The thing is, though…<\/p>\n

I have<\/i> thought about a writing pseudonym.<\/p>\n

I thought about it at work about two years ago. On some publications at work, the writers are credited for their contributions. On one particular publication, I wrote six or seven articles a month, sent them to the editor, and they would never come back with corrections, never come back for rewrites and redrafts. This puzzled me for a while, and then one day I actually looked<\/i> at the publication, and discovered that my work was being heavily rewritten and I, as the writer, hadn't been given the opportunity to do the rewrites myself — or be given indications of what to do and what not<\/b> to do to prevent this from happening in the future. Naturally, I was incensed; in some cases, I felt that the writing genuinely didn't reflect my work.<\/p>\n

I wanted to be credited as David Agnew.<\/p>\n

Doctor Who<\/i> fans will recognize the name right off. It's the in-house BBC pseudonym, the British equivalent of Hollywood's Alan Smithee. Douglas Adams used David Agnew on Doctor Who<\/i> for "City of Death."<\/p>\n

This crisis of credits ultimately fizzled out; the magazine in question ceased publication. The need for David Agnew evaporated.<\/p>\n

That said, I have considered a purely professional pseudonym, for some specific reasons.<\/p>\n

Ironically, I would not<\/i> use a pseudonym if I were to ever write a vampire romance novel. Many people think that "Allyn" is a female name anyway<\/i>.<\/p>\n

No, I've thought that if I ever wrote for children or young adults, I would use a pseudonym, largely because I can sometimes be a bit foul-mouthed online. My sister worries that someday my niece will read my blog and find it littered with f-bombs; that's family<\/i>, now imagine a total stranger<\/i> under the age of ten stumbling into this corner of the 'net.<\/p>\n

What would my writing pseudonym be? I'm torn between two names —<\/p>\n