I continue to be very conflicted about pen name use, and I feel like it's inhibiting me.
On the one hand, I'm a private person. My real name is uncommon. I like the idea of having a little separation (even if I'm not committed to keeping myself unidentifiable). I chose a pen name for that reason.
On the other hand, I'm active in my local writing community, and everyone knows me by my real name. I don't think I really want to go by my pen name. I'm not even sure if I like the pen name I came up with (it's connected to my real name but not close enough that people would associate it with me if they knew my real name). I haven't been published under it yet, but this is making it difficult to do stuff like start a blog or have a social media presence.
I'm not sure what I should do. I was hoping that I'd figure it out after coming up with a pen name, but I feel like I can't move forward.
Any thoughts? Suggestions?
On the one hand, I'm a private person. My real name is uncommon. I like the idea of having a little separation (even if I'm not committed to keeping myself unidentifiable). I chose a pen name for that reason.
On the other hand, I'm active in my local writing community, and everyone knows me by my real name. I don't think I really want to go by my pen name. I'm not even sure if I like the pen name I came up with (it's connected to my real name but not close enough that people would associate it with me if they knew my real name). I haven't been published under it yet, but this is making it difficult to do stuff like start a blog or have a social media presence.
I'm not sure what I should do. I was hoping that I'd figure it out after coming up with a pen name, but I feel like I can't move forward.
Any thoughts? Suggestions?