"Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic." Today's question on the YA Highway road trip is:
If you couldn't use your own name, what would your pseudonym or pen name be?
This seems like a question that would be fun if I were answering it for some one else. But since I'm working towards publishing a book under my own name, I think pen name? Forget it! However. If I had to write under a pen name, my first name would probably be Claire. In my misspent youth, my friend and I would give boys we met at a bar (trust me, the word boys applies here) another name if we thought they were creepy, or if we were just being brats. The name I used is Claire. I can't remember what my friend used.
As for a last name, I've never particularly liked mine. I would want to choose something cool. At the moment, I'm obsessed with Scandinavian procedurals, so something like "Sigurdadottir" or "Larsson" sounds cool. The coolest sounding Scandinavian last name coming to mind is also a line of clothing, but I'm going to go with it anyway.
My pen name will be Claire Leifsdottir. I think I'll have to dye my hair blonde. And figure out how exactly my last name is pronounced. The sacrifices you make to resemble your pen name. . .
Tarah, let me tell you, it is not easy having a name from a place you aren't. People want to talk to you about Ireland, and there's just nothing you can do for them. You're never yourself. Having said that, if I were a famous author, I'd publish under my for-real name, which is Patricio -- it's more foreign and dangerous.
ReplyDeleteFor your pen name, I would just add an "Anna", because "Tarah Anna Dunn" sounds like "pteranodon".
Yeah, you're lucky. You have a cool name.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Irish thing--in Massachusetts, it actually makes a lot of people, especially around Boston, feel like you share some sort of cultural identification. And with my first name being "Irish-y," that's reinforced.
But I've always though the Ireland worship thing was super bizarre, so when someone who's really into that talks to me like I'm part of the club, I have no idea how to respond. In other words, I have no shamrock tattoos.
Pternanodons sound so tragic. They can't fold their wings all the way?
It's probably because they could also walk on all fours is my guess, but the archaeological record does suggest that if not tragic, Pteranodons were at the very least BROODING. Ps. We could get shamrock tattoos on the next solstice.
DeleteI'm in. We can rope Emily into doing them. Mine will be black, to signify its irony.
Delete"And figure out how exactly my last name is pronounced" HAHAHA
ReplyDeleteyeah, that would be a problem. We always have to think about making it easy for readers to talk about us lol That last name, Leifsdottir, would be easy to remember in one's mind, but hard to spell or pronounce ;)
You're probably aware that the "dottir" suffix goes back to Old Norse and means "daughter of." So, if your father's name actually *is* Leif (a good Scandinavian name), then this would actually be true! Using a pen name that means something, and doesn't just sound good, is another option. But, like you, I take this all as a fun exercise. I also intend to publish under my real name.
ReplyDelete@Juliana--yeah, if I think about my pen name like a stage name, I would probably change the last name. Something simple sticks in people's minds.
ReplyDelete@Colin--I know, isn't it cool? Sadly, my dad's name isn't Leif, so my pen name would be fake all the way around.
It could be interesting to use the name of a character from someone else's work as a pen name. But unless for some reason I didn't want to be associated with the work, I'd never use a pen name.
Tarah- I like your real name, the spelling is new to me. But something scandinavian would be cool. Be ready to explain a billion times how to pronounce it. My danish friend has to do this ALL the time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, KO. I think my pen name wouldn't work in real life, but I'm okay with that. It just reinforces the utility of my real name!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you want a scandinavian name even though you're not scandinavina. I have a friend who wouldn't just give a fake first name a parties while in college but acutally invent whole new personas for herself. She was scandinavina (by heritage only) and would tell people her name was Sonna Svenson and she was an exchange student from Sweden. So just being Claire is a bit tame.
ReplyDeleteI really like the spelling of your first name (with the 'h' on the end). The Scandinavian thing is pretty cool. I'm sometimes envious of their neat last names.
ReplyDelete@Kate--Thanks. I feel a little better about my youthful deceptiveness ;)
ReplyDelete@Jaime: I'm envious of their last names too! A neat twist on this question would be, what would you name yourself, if you could rewrite your life?
Claire is a nice choice :-) (one of my best friends in High School was named Claire) plus the memory you have tied to it should make you smile everytime you say it...
ReplyDeleteBut I like your name, it just works :-)
I could very easily see your real name on book covers. I've always liked the name Tarah - when spelled like that especially. I intend to use my real name when I publish too. The boy version of my name (Donell) is celtic and apparently means "world-mighty warrior", which is pretty cool. I just wouldn't want to be confused with the R&B singer with that first name - Donell Jones.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder how many Claires aren't blonde. It always brings to mind golden hair and somewhat tanned skin.
I like your real name a lot! It sounds so strong. Like you could lift a car. But it's not too masuline. So maybe it sounds like you could lift a car while wearing a floral skirt?
ReplyDeleteLOL. I like the humor you took with this. I also like your normal name as well as your pseudonym, especially with the hair.
ReplyDelete"My pen name will be Claire Leifsdottir. I think I'll have to dye my hair blonde. And figure out how exactly my last name is pronounced. The sacrifices you make to resemble your pen name. . ."
ReplyDeleteDude, am I the only one who sees my penname as my alter-ego?
Haha! Love it. Even if I couldn't pronounce it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not using a pen name. I always think how hard it is to name my MCs... naming myself would be even worse!
@Donelle: Thanks! I haven't heard your name before, or of the singer, so for me at least, you are the "real" Donelle ;)
ReplyDelete@Crystal: Haha. Yeah, it's not very girly. It would be cool to be able to lift a car; you hear about those crazy bursts of adrenaline strength people get in crisis situations. I probably would be wearing jeans, though. Feminine ones ;)
@Veela: Thanks!
@Yael: That's a cool way to approach it. I think I was just locked into the "I want my own name!" position. It could be fun to explore the alter-ego potential. When I finally make my way through everyone's answers, I'm curious to see who your alter ego will be!
ReplyDelete@Peggy: Thanks! I can just imagine traveling to Norway, introducing myself under my pen name, and getting lots of funny looks when people realize I don't know how to pronounce said last name. Naming is tough. I get tangled up when I switch the names of characters half way through, and I always do this.