Friday, 24 December 2010
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Work appearing in a Christmas ebook
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Christmas is a time for giving, so go and donate some of your funds to Metazen, and grab yourself a copy of their Christmas e-book.
The lovely Annie Evett and fabulous Dan Powell have work in there, alongside my good self - so if you haven't read my most recent Friday flash, The Music Man, by now, then you'll just have to go get the e-book...come on, it's for charity!
The lovely Annie Evett and fabulous Dan Powell have work in there, alongside my good self - so if you haven't read my most recent Friday flash, The Music Man, by now, then you'll just have to go get the e-book...come on, it's for charity!
Pseudonyms - Using Pen Names
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A couple of weeks ago, I came across this post on SellingBooks.com about using a pseudonym. Since then, I've read similar posts on other blogs about the pros and cons of pen names, and seeing as how I use one, I figured I should probably offer my two penn'orth on the subject.
Now, I'll be honest - mine isn't much of a pseudonym as Sedgwick is actually my surname. I probably should have adopted something easier to spell but I'm proud of my roots (according to SedgwickUK.org, the surname is believed to come from old Norse, and the geologist Adam Sedgwick asserted that 'seggeswick' meant 'village of victory'). It also amuses me that James Coburn's character in The Great Escape is called Sedgwick, and he's one of the few characters to actually escape.
However, you probably won't be too surprised to learn Icy isn't my real name. It's actually a nickname that stemmed from an Internet handle I started using in around 2002 that just stuck. When I submitted my first story to a magazine in late 2004, it didn't occur to me NOT to use the pen name 'Icy Sedgwick'. The story wasn't accepted, but when my first story was published online in 2008 (Bending Spoons published The Midas Box in July of that year - it's now available in my free short story collection, Checkmate & Other Stories) it seemed like a good idea to keep using the same name.
You might find that there is already an author with your name. Maybe the domain name you want is unavailable. Perhaps you just fancy a change. But what are the pros and cons to using a pen name?
If you're not lucky enough to be a fulltime writer, then there's a good chance you'll want to keep your writing and your job separate. I use my social networking spaces for my writing life, and I certainly don't want my blog to be the first thing that pops up if a potential employer decides to Google me (instead, they get my LinkedIn, which is for my professional life).
Privacy
It's easier to keep your private life private if you're not using your real name. Obviously there's still something to be said for keeping certain things offline. Don't want strangers seeing photos of your kids? Don't post them in public. People sometimes forget that the Internet is public (unless you know how to work those privacy settings) and once you've posted something, it's very difficult to remove it without many people you don't know already having seen it.
Reinvention
Creating a pseudonym or pen name allows you a certain amount of self re-invention. If you were bullied mercilessly at school but have emerged as a strong and independent person, adopting a pseudonym allows you to distance yourself from the person you were then, under that name, and sell yourself as the person you are now, under your new name. Plus, you can even go so far as to create an entire persona to go with the pseudonym, turning your pen name into a character in its own right. Look at Stephen King - he even collaborated with himself when he did the Stephen King/Richard Bachman books.
Different genre, different name
Anne Rice writes under three different names, depending on the genre. You might decide to do the same - after all, if you write both hardcore science fiction and chick lit, you might want to differentiate between the two so as not to confuse readers, unless you think the readers of the fluffy Bridget Jones-esque books with the pastel covers will love your stories of quantum mechanics gone wrong. In addition, you may not want to embarrass/horrify your family if you write in certain genres, and adopting a pen name for those works allows you to put a certain amount of distance between you and your writing.
It's harder to prove a case of plagiarism if you're not using your real name. Indeed, if your real name is Jane Smith but you write as Madagascar Fairbanks, then how can you prove what's stolen is actually yours, and that you're really Madagascar? Now, I'm at least using my surname and there are photos of me on my blog so proving my identity, and thus my authorship of my work, is easier than if I were to adopt a pseudonym.
Legality
Publishing contracts require you to sign under your real name anyway so you might decide that it's just easier to use your real name instead of signing under one name and promoting under another. I've heard stories of authors being horrified to see a magazine print one of their stories under their real name, despite them stressing the pen name should be used.
No stone unturned...
The Internet is a big place and maintaining anonymity can be difficult. So if you're choosing a pen name to remain anonymous, you might find it harder than you thought. It's not impossible, especially if you pay for webspace and ensure you enable the privacy settings, but people will always track down information if they're dedicated enough. A fledgling writer won't have this problem, but it's something to think about if your career takes off.
It's up to you if the pros outweigh the cons, or vice versa, but whatever you do, have fun with it! Writing should be enjoyable. Now excuse me, I'm off to invent another me...
Now, I'll be honest - mine isn't much of a pseudonym as Sedgwick is actually my surname. I probably should have adopted something easier to spell but I'm proud of my roots (according to SedgwickUK.org, the surname is believed to come from old Norse, and the geologist Adam Sedgwick asserted that 'seggeswick' meant 'village of victory'). It also amuses me that James Coburn's character in The Great Escape is called Sedgwick, and he's one of the few characters to actually escape.
However, you probably won't be too surprised to learn Icy isn't my real name. It's actually a nickname that stemmed from an Internet handle I started using in around 2002 that just stuck. When I submitted my first story to a magazine in late 2004, it didn't occur to me NOT to use the pen name 'Icy Sedgwick'. The story wasn't accepted, but when my first story was published online in 2008 (Bending Spoons published The Midas Box in July of that year - it's now available in my free short story collection, Checkmate & Other Stories) it seemed like a good idea to keep using the same name.
You might find that there is already an author with your name. Maybe the domain name you want is unavailable. Perhaps you just fancy a change. But what are the pros and cons to using a pen name?
Positive
Keep your writing and your work life separateIf you're not lucky enough to be a fulltime writer, then there's a good chance you'll want to keep your writing and your job separate. I use my social networking spaces for my writing life, and I certainly don't want my blog to be the first thing that pops up if a potential employer decides to Google me (instead, they get my LinkedIn, which is for my professional life).
Privacy
It's easier to keep your private life private if you're not using your real name. Obviously there's still something to be said for keeping certain things offline. Don't want strangers seeing photos of your kids? Don't post them in public. People sometimes forget that the Internet is public (unless you know how to work those privacy settings) and once you've posted something, it's very difficult to remove it without many people you don't know already having seen it.
Reinvention
Creating a pseudonym or pen name allows you a certain amount of self re-invention. If you were bullied mercilessly at school but have emerged as a strong and independent person, adopting a pseudonym allows you to distance yourself from the person you were then, under that name, and sell yourself as the person you are now, under your new name. Plus, you can even go so far as to create an entire persona to go with the pseudonym, turning your pen name into a character in its own right. Look at Stephen King - he even collaborated with himself when he did the Stephen King/Richard Bachman books.
Different genre, different name
Anne Rice writes under three different names, depending on the genre. You might decide to do the same - after all, if you write both hardcore science fiction and chick lit, you might want to differentiate between the two so as not to confuse readers, unless you think the readers of the fluffy Bridget Jones-esque books with the pastel covers will love your stories of quantum mechanics gone wrong. In addition, you may not want to embarrass/horrify your family if you write in certain genres, and adopting a pen name for those works allows you to put a certain amount of distance between you and your writing.
Negative
PlagiarismIt's harder to prove a case of plagiarism if you're not using your real name. Indeed, if your real name is Jane Smith but you write as Madagascar Fairbanks, then how can you prove what's stolen is actually yours, and that you're really Madagascar? Now, I'm at least using my surname and there are photos of me on my blog so proving my identity, and thus my authorship of my work, is easier than if I were to adopt a pseudonym.
Legality
Publishing contracts require you to sign under your real name anyway so you might decide that it's just easier to use your real name instead of signing under one name and promoting under another. I've heard stories of authors being horrified to see a magazine print one of their stories under their real name, despite them stressing the pen name should be used.
No stone unturned...
The Internet is a big place and maintaining anonymity can be difficult. So if you're choosing a pen name to remain anonymous, you might find it harder than you thought. It's not impossible, especially if you pay for webspace and ensure you enable the privacy settings, but people will always track down information if they're dedicated enough. A fledgling writer won't have this problem, but it's something to think about if your career takes off.
It's up to you if the pros outweigh the cons, or vice versa, but whatever you do, have fun with it! Writing should be enjoyable. Now excuse me, I'm off to invent another me...
Monday, 20 December 2010
Photo Prompt 12
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Twelfth prompt, ready and waiting.
If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.
The twelfth prompt is Tomb.
If you want more prompts, check out Walt White, Eric J Krause and Jen Brubacher!
If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.
The twelfth prompt is Tomb.
If you want more prompts, check out Walt White, Eric J Krause and Jen Brubacher!
Friday, 17 December 2010
Friday Flash - The Music Man
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The chill of an autumn morning holds the city in its thrall. Dead leaves drift from the sleeping trees to carpet the pavements in crisp fragments of bronze and gold. The sun burns cold in a piercing blue sky. Offices and shops bulge with scarf-clad workers, warming their shivering hands on steaming mugs of tea. They fight for space around small stoves and fireplaces.
Hope Lane curves through the overcrowded alleys near the workhouse. Footsteps ring out on the cobbles as a stream of notes curls down the narrow street. The blacksmith's apprentice presses his face against a grimy window. He forgets the dull ache in his arm, and runs outside. The old and infirm shuffle to the doorsteps of their tiny homes. Gaunt women carry skinny babies. The accordion's picture of the impending season muffles their sadness.
The old man limps down the street, swathed in a cheerful red coat and hat. His deft fingers manipulate the keys, oblivious to the frosty air. The scent of cinnamon and roast chestnuts wafts in his wake; the apprentice dreams of candy canes and sugar plums. He pauses outside the forge. The new song begins and he plays with gusto, conjuring the spirit of King Wenceslas. The babies gurgle and the apprentice sways to the music. Fingers fumble in moth-eaten pockets for their last few coins. They flash in the air, and a black monkey in a scarlet waistcoat collects them with nimble paws.
Money buys happiness when the music man comes by.
The image for this piece is Ludwig Knaus' painting, The Hurdy Gurdy Man (1869). You can buy a print here.
I submitted the original version of this story to the 50 Stories for Pakistan project, but it wasn't selected. Carrie Clevenger acted as a valued beta reader as I knocked the story into the shape you see now.
Hope Lane curves through the overcrowded alleys near the workhouse. Footsteps ring out on the cobbles as a stream of notes curls down the narrow street. The blacksmith's apprentice presses his face against a grimy window. He forgets the dull ache in his arm, and runs outside. The old and infirm shuffle to the doorsteps of their tiny homes. Gaunt women carry skinny babies. The accordion's picture of the impending season muffles their sadness.
The old man limps down the street, swathed in a cheerful red coat and hat. His deft fingers manipulate the keys, oblivious to the frosty air. The scent of cinnamon and roast chestnuts wafts in his wake; the apprentice dreams of candy canes and sugar plums. He pauses outside the forge. The new song begins and he plays with gusto, conjuring the spirit of King Wenceslas. The babies gurgle and the apprentice sways to the music. Fingers fumble in moth-eaten pockets for their last few coins. They flash in the air, and a black monkey in a scarlet waistcoat collects them with nimble paws.
Money buys happiness when the music man comes by.
* * *
The image for this piece is Ludwig Knaus' painting, The Hurdy Gurdy Man (1869). You can buy a print here.
I submitted the original version of this story to the 50 Stories for Pakistan project, but it wasn't selected. Carrie Clevenger acted as a valued beta reader as I knocked the story into the shape you see now.
Monday, 13 December 2010
Photo Prompt 11
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Eleventh prompt, ready and waiting.
If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.
The eleventh prompt is Abandoned.
If you want more prompts, check out Walt White, Eric J Krause and Jen Brubacher!
If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.
The eleventh prompt is Abandoned.
If you want more prompts, check out Walt White, Eric J Krause and Jen Brubacher!
Friday, 10 December 2010
Friday Flash - The Visitor
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Soft white flakes float from the clear sky. They settle across cracked roofs, in blocked gutters, and between the cobblestones in the narrow lane. The door to the parish church stands ajar, and carols drift out into the cold night air. Only devoted worshippers venture abroad as most souls seek the refuge of the family hearth.
A solitary figure trudges down the lane, pulling the cloak of close-woven sadness tighter around her neck. Her feet drag along the slick cobbles. The gaslights flicker as she passes, and even the shadows weep, feeling a sudden wave of despair. She peers left and right at the lop-sided buildings that line the forgotten street. Frost glitters on naked beams and icicles hang from rotten eaves.
The figure stops at a cramped dwelling opposite the remains of a milliner’s shop. Light spills out of the window, painting the snow with a golden glow. The figure wipes the bottom pane of glass with her sleeve and peers inside. A family gather around a roaring fire, basking in the warmth of the crackling flames. The father sits in a rocking chair, a toddler on his knee. He leads the family in a raucous song that ends with the clinking of glasses and the exchange of well wishes. The figure sidles along the front of the house to the door, but the handle does not budge. She swears at the lock.
The figure turns away from the happy household. She flicks her cloak, sending ripples of melancholy down the lane. A scavenging alley cat howls in the shadows. The figure stops at the next house. As before, she wipes a sooty layer of frost from the window and peers inside. No fire blazes in the grate of this house. No carols are sung, and no bonhomie warms her face through the glass.
Instead, she spies a lonely figure, hunched over a writing desk. A single candle burns, casting flickering shadows across the cramped writing. The nib of the pen scratches across the paper. The writer looks up, gazing at the wall between herself and the happy family. Envy and misery chase each other across her pale face. The cloaked figure clasps her hands together, as something blossoms in the cavern where her heart should be. She feels a surge of kinship towards this writer.
The figure reaches for the handle, and finds the door unlocked. It opens easily at her touch. She casts off her cloak of sorrow and steps inside. The writer looks up, and smiles. She will welcome anyone on this lonely Christmas Day, even Melancholy herself.
* * *
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