Characters Educating the Writer
Aug. 14th, 2011 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ayoubI tend to write characters in the fantasy genre. When I want a break from that, I write crime, or a little sci-fi. The nymwars pseudoym issue struck me as something that would concern a member of one of the long lived races I write about.
'What's in a name?' I ask myself, looking in the mirror. I'm several thousand years old, and have held many names, but only one has stuck. And by one, I mean, literally, one. A single syllable, a single word, a single letter. Not really a common name, but one that I've been known by for the last few millennia. It's also convenient, because the first name I took for myself is unpronounceable for most humans, and many other creatures. The problem is, it's not so convenient when it comes to official paperwork. I have a legal name. I've actually had a long list of them, but they're conventions. They're not me. My name, in as much as what I call myself, pre-dates record keeping as it exists today.
'So again,' I ask out loud, 'what's in a name?' I shake my head and laugh. 'Apparently, nothing.'
I use my real name on Google+, on Twitter, and on LJ/DW. It's worked for me. My personality profile is such that, if I use a pseudonym, I find it restrictive. It becomes a character that is only a part of me, and therefore, I get into character when posting.
But not everyone is me. I'm glad I have my critters in my head, though. They help me understand things.
'What's in a name?' I ask myself, looking in the mirror. I'm several thousand years old, and have held many names, but only one has stuck. And by one, I mean, literally, one. A single syllable, a single word, a single letter. Not really a common name, but one that I've been known by for the last few millennia. It's also convenient, because the first name I took for myself is unpronounceable for most humans, and many other creatures. The problem is, it's not so convenient when it comes to official paperwork. I have a legal name. I've actually had a long list of them, but they're conventions. They're not me. My name, in as much as what I call myself, pre-dates record keeping as it exists today.
'So again,' I ask out loud, 'what's in a name?' I shake my head and laugh. 'Apparently, nothing.'
I use my real name on Google+, on Twitter, and on LJ/DW. It's worked for me. My personality profile is such that, if I use a pseudonym, I find it restrictive. It becomes a character that is only a part of me, and therefore, I get into character when posting.
But not everyone is me. I'm glad I have my critters in my head, though. They help me understand things.