pen-names-when-best-to-use-a-pen-name

 

Choosing a pen name is a very personal decision and not one to be taken lightly. It is a name that will impact my writing and will have an effect on the genre I choose to write.

In the first month of blogging here at WordPress, I’ve used a kind of nickname that friends have called me for my love of coffee! I adore coffee, latte, mocha cappuccino but defiantly not the instant crappy coffee from a jar! I just don’t drink it! It too bitter and way over processed!

This name kinda came about as I’m not an all out party girl but I love my friend’s company much more than a few glasses of cheap wine! I’d much rather have a coffee and a chat! Having children kind of takes the ability to go out ‘On the Town’ a little difficult and to be quite frank … I want to spend my spare time with my fiancé and children. I’m not a part time Mum who looks for every spare moment to get away from her children! My children often go to their dad’s but I’m not into looking for a babysitter to pass my baby to so I can go out drinking! Some women are like that and need time away. Me? Not so much! If I had my way I’d much rather home school … but that isn’t going to happen! Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying every mother should have children hanging off her apron strings once she makes that commitment, everyone should have some ‘Me time’ I’m just not that bothered!

Back to the pen name … Have you ever googled yourself? I have! My name belongs to an author! I was quite shocked as I’ve never heard of the ‘other me’ but when I saw there was someone else writing under my actual name I felt a little bit cheated! My initial thought was I want to be me and not have to hide behind a pen name!  I wanted to keep my name in my professional writer’s capacity as I’m proud of who I am. To realise that I can’t, was a bit upsetting and to be honest a bit of a slap in the face!

So the dilemma was to choose a name I would feel would represent me. I have no idea still what genre I will write within, I’m still experimenting with this which is why I’m here but at the moment my manuscript is leaning toward Mystery or maybe Young Adult. I then decided I wanted something personal so I will use a mix of my daughter’s name and my Mum’s … well, I can’t use mine now, can I!

So here I am being re-born as Madison Ward! ~ AKA Mocha Mad Mum!

Nice to meet you! … Once again!

 

Published by Madison Ward

I'm a coffee loving Mum from England who is just starting out as a writer. I decided I wanted to become an author after reading a novel while on holiday in Cornwall. I have been writing my blog to get some experience and explore different genres to decide what style of writing I want to use before finishing my manuscript.

16 thoughts on “Choosing My Pen Name”

  1. Hello you, Mrs Madison Mocka Mad Ward Mum : P
    I have googled myself and there’s no one like me haha I also chose to have a pen name. I want to be free to write about what I want, no constrains.
    I am a bit like you concerning being with the kids. If I’m not working, the kids are mine haha. I really miss my kids a lot when we’re not together and when I go out without them, I find myself thinking how much more fun it would have been if they were there. Having said that, I also like to go out at night – I don’t do it very often, but occasionaly feels good. I like the way you chose your new name and sounds nice> Madison Ward!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you Lovely lady! It has a nice ring doesn’t it! It flows … I have had a right nightmare when I realised I needed a pen name. It was hard to decided how to choose but wanted something personal you know? I’m not the best at picking usernames either, I kind of opt for one of the first things I think of lol. Also it means I get to decide when I go public with my new writing ‘hobby … career’. It’s a bit of a minefield when your writing about people who have affected your life including family and friends. I don’t want to upset anyone and also want to be established too lol

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. The Fiction Cafe is a great name for a blog, but once you do write a book you’ll need to have a think about that one, too. My blog name is my author pen name, which didn’t take me long to come up with, as it’s made up of my parents’ names, Millie and Thomas. My dad was generally called Tom, but when I tried to have my name as Millie Tom, like you, I found someone had already beaten me to it! So i just added the ‘h’.
    I was a ‘stay at home’ mum for quite a few years. Having six children made it hard to go out to work (or anywhere else!), although I did do some evening teaching when my husband was home to keep an eye on our brood.
    I like Mystery as a genre and read quite a lot of them.

    Like

    Reply

      1. I’ve just posted another comment to make my earlier one make sense. Sorry, to have made things so unclear. I didn’t mean you should change your blog name, I was thinking you were talking about choosing an author pen name/pseudonym once you have written a book. Sorry to confuse you – I’ve confused myself now.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  3. Hello again. I’ve just popped back to say that that Mocha Mad Mum is a great pen name and The Fiction Cafe is a good name for your blog! I must me half asleep. And also, not everyone wants an author pen name. Madison is a really nice name, whereas my real name is totally boring! 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    1. See Mocha Mad Mum is a bit of a nickname but Madison Ward is my pen name . I’m planning out my manuscript so wanted to get a pen name ready for when I publish! also I want to create my Social media sites so need to organise an email thats not a hotmail account as they don’t look professional. I need both the pen name and email to be the same.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Ah, thank you for explaining. At least you’re doing things in the right order and preparing in advance for publication. I’d almost finished my second book before I knew about the importance of social media. I hope you have a lot of fun writing your book. Many author websites and blogs simply use the author’s name, though not all. It’s definitely something for you to think about.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  4. I love your name! Casey Fae Hewson is a pen name for me too as someone else had my other name as an author and I can across the same issues as you did too. I chose Casey because I always liked that name, Fae is my middle name and I kinda liked the different spelling and Hewson – well, that’s another story for another day! I love your blog too- well done!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment