I don't want to expose myself. I'm still in school and the anonymity of having a username helps me so that I can be taken seriously as a writer. And what killbill said too. I've had issues on other sites where people have actually stolen my work but being a junior member and on the e-net its dam impossible to track them down and stop them.
Simon is the name I use because I like the game Simon says. Age is a reason, as people may not take me seriously if they know how old I am. Also, I write as Simon to be a different person.
I don't like my real name advertised. And if I ever became published, I would probably use noodlepower and my picture on the inside cover would most likely be a stick figure. Eating noodles.
I usually use my initials online, so that will have to do. When I get to know someone better, I may share my name with them. Here only one or perhaps two know my name. I see the point about promoting yourself, but that's kinda not allowed here for some reason.
My real name is Rodolfo dos Prazeres. It's Portuguese for "My Parents are Dicks". I think I'll stick with El Chacal for now.
I like the anonymity of having a username but my real name combines two very common Anglo names so it probably doesn't matter if I used it security wise. If I ever publish, it will be under my real name and I'll be shouting it from the rooftops so any online community I'm a part of will certainly know about it.
As others have said, I like my anonymity. If I do ever get published, it's likely "Warde" will be my pen-surname. However, I doubt that'd be enough to connect published me to internet me. Furthermore, the likelihood of me even pursuing being publishing is slim. I have no intention of making a career out of writing.
It is sad that a lot of erotica/horror or other "adult" genre writers feel the need to do this, as it's hardly likely the two sides of your life would ever collide, but the fallout if it did would not be worth all the money in the world to me. I specifically picked out a username that I don't use on any other sites to avoid being harassed or recognised as my usual nicknames are very unique. Here I don't want to be connected to my other online profiles because I want to be able to take it more seriously, it's for me to think on a more serious note as much as it is to be anonymous. My username here is also a character from one of my very favourite books, so it's a little inspiration boost too. When I used to write on an "adult" forum I used a name different again to this and all my others to avoid it being linked to my every day life because it's just too awkward to explain to some people that what you write is often a different side of you. I don't think my real name is very "publishable" so I really do want to have a pen name, but I'm yet to decide on how outlandish I want it to be, or if I want it to be taken more seriously.
I'm just so used to the "brainwashing" my mother did on me. (She doesn't even like buying stuff from Amazon.)
This thread has made me realise I'm doing it all in reverse: I use my real name online and go by an alias in real life.
I've been on the 'net since before there was a net and I find few, if any, reasons for revealing my name on social/non-professional websites. Any name-recognition that could come of it would likely not be of much practical use. Far more concerning are the legions of "weirdos" and "anti-social personalities" that find the internet a perfect place for them to express their anti-socialness and weirdiffic personalities. There's no need for me to worry about some random dude trying to burn my house down because I got into an argument with him on the internetz...
