This is a retort, written by my present self, against the perspective displayed here by the +J. R. Nova of November 14, 2011.
Not wanting to be identified as this or that, simply allows people to define you as the person that does-not-want-to-be-this-or-that. People are going to try to build expectations of your behavior, and so they identify your behaviors and categorize them under labels. He's a writer and a poet, so he'll probably behave X if I behave Y.
To me it seems a matter of fear, truth be told. If I pursue something with my whole being, I'm scared I will be less than I am if I keep my options open.
For me, I won't consider myself a writer or author until I make money doing it. I'm hoping that I won't have to resort to fiction to do that, though, for I'm hoping the time for fiction is past.
Fiction is a useful tool for generating metaphors for actual realities, for opening people to new perspectives. It is my hope that we are getting to the point where we don't have to drape our perspectives in fictional stories for them to be accepted by our society. It's a beautiful method for inception, but sooner or later won't the result have enough of an affect that we can just talk to each other about our actual reality?
Using a pseudonym just allows one to distance oneself from the product. In my case, this has been because I thought it would improve the reception of the product. A low self-esteem tie-in. There is no place for me in this world, but I can create the mask to allow me to let the work stand on its own and not be smeared by association with me. Another possible reason for the use of a pseudonym is to distance the work from oneself, believing that the work would besmirch oneself in the eyes of his/her immediate peer group/family.
Is the writer mask compatible with the son/daughter mask? The lover mask? The retail store employee mask?
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