One of the odd things about being a writer is that you can have two names. As with tv celebrities and bank robbers, people consider it normal for a writer to use a different name in their working life than the one they use in their everyday life.
It is important for a tv celebrity or writer to stand out and be easily recognised and remembered (bank robbers are presumably hoping for the exact opposite.) So it is a big advantage to have an unusual name. It would also be great if your name could project the image you want it to – a mystery writer’s name should sound mysterious, and a fantasy writer’s name should sound magical. A top mystery writer is Dorothy L. Sayers - What does the “L.” stand for? A top fantasy writer is Lewis Carrol. Doesn’t his name sound more beautiful and magical than his real name, “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson”?
Some writers, of course, are just born lucky. I am currently reading a book by Jared Diamond. His books are excellent. His book, “Guns, Germs and Steel,” is one of my favourite books of all-time. But even if his books weren’t so memorable, I would probably still remember his name. “Jared” is a very unusual first name. And who wouldn’t like to own a diamond?
Parents have to be very careful when naming their children. You have to find the right balance between being unusual and being weird. “Jared” is good because not many people are called Jared, but it does sound like an attractive name. “Satan” and “Pooh-san” are unusual names for good reasons. Don’t choose them!
I say that parents must know something about history and culture because names may have been used before. There used to be a young footballer called “Mark Anthony”. I often used to wonder why the guy’s parents – Mr. And Mrs. Anthony – had called their son, “Mark”. Mark Antony is the English form of Marcus Antonius, a famous figure in the Roman Empire, who married Cleopatra. If your family is Antony or Anthony, call your child anything except “Mark”! In Japan, it would be like the “Oda” family having a baby boy and deciding to call him, “Nobunaga”. Call him anything except Nobunaga! No matter how smart and hard-working the boy is, what is the chance that he will become more famous than the other Oda Nobunaga?
This essay was written by Rainbow X.X. Ruby.
Vocabulary:
to stand out – to be easily noticeable
weird - strange and unnatural
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