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Sat, Jul 26, 2025

12:18am EDT

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Writing Blog Number 2

by S 🤦

Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #2311764

This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC

This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario.

An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"

Feel free to comment and interact.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Schnujo is failing 2 classes

about 4 hours ago
In response to "20250725 Writing scandals 2: George Eliot and the Brontës"

Side Note: I'm SHOCKED you aren't a big fan of Nicholas Sparks, S 🤦. Because, let's be honest, romance and horror have a LOT in common. Why do you think I'm still single? HAHAHAHA!!!!

Schnujo is failing 2 classes

about 5 hours ago
In response to "20250725 Writing scandals 2: George Eliot and the Brontës"

I obviously have a different understanding of how backwards writing was back then. I'm not at all surprised they had to hide their identities. lol

And, even in the 1950's, a woman's place was in the home, so I can see why they weren't welcome in, especially "science" fiction. "Come on, ladies. You know science and math are just too hard for your pretty little brains. Now, go fix me a brandy." Yep, that was life for a lot of women back then. (And, depending on where you live and who you're with, may be for some women now, too.)

S 🤦

about 5 hours ago
In response to "20250725 Writing scandals 2: George Eliot and the Brontës"

Schnujo is failing 2 classes - The romance thing, I knew that was out there. When I had a short story published, I was literally the only one in the book with a masculine first name, though I know there were at least three other men in it.

And the only way I'd bring up Nicholas Sparks is by regurgitation reading his... "work."

Science fiction was the same in the 1950s, but the other way. Until Ursula K LeGuin pushed her way in, women were either forced to accept a co-writer tag or use a male pseudonym. Except in the pulps. They didn't care.

But the fact these four women, after Shelley was published, were forced to hide their identities is, even for the time, stupid.

Schnujo is failing 2 classes

about 15 hours ago
In response to "20250725 Writing scandals 2: George Eliot and the Brontës"

In the other group I belong to where they are very focused on publishing, they actively tell you to pick a pen name that is appropriate for your genre and niche. If you are a man trying to write in contemporary romance (where the big money is these days), they tell you to choose a feminine 1st name for your pen name (though they recommend the last name be shorter so your pen name can be bigger on the cover, not too complex so readers can remember and spell it, and some other things -- IDK).

Some of the men balk at that idea of using a feminine pen name, always bringing up Nicholas Sparks, of course. But he has a big name publishing house throwing big money behind his masculine (and, no doubt, also made up pen) name and there's never another man's name in the Top 100 of romance, so if you're going to be using a pen name anyway, choose one that makes you fit with the genre.

Sure, there are odd-ball ones like right now, there's a last name Palphreyman in the Top 100 of romance. Arnold Schwarzenegger was told he'd never be famous without changing his name and he proved them wrong. But how many millions of other people have refused to change their name and never became famous? The pop group Ah-hah (or was it Wham?) was told they needed to change their name to that, but they thought it was a dumb name, so they didn't for the longest time and and couldn't get any traction. They did eventually change their name to Ah-hah (or Wham) and finally took off. Coincidence? No telling.

And as for that unusually long name currently in the Top 100, no telling how much advertising money they're throwing behind their books to be there, but based on the people I've met who have been open about their advertising numbers, a solid five figures is a very safe bet.

Thank you for this interesting series, S 🤦!

2 Like

Beholden

Jul 23, 2025 at 10:25am
In response to "20250723 Writing Scandals 1: Ern Malley & Angry Penguins"

Modern poetry isn't. Well, it might be modern, some of it, but poetry it is not.

Amethyst Angel 🌼

Jul 23, 2025 at 9:01am
In response to "20250723 Writing Scandals 1: Ern Malley & Angry Penguins"

Ok, I'll admit... I thought this was a parody at first! Good grief

Thanks for sharing!

Schnujo is failing 2 classes

Jul 23, 2025 at 1:12am
In response to "20250723 Writing Scandals 1: Ern Malley & Angry Penguins"

WOW! I went back and forth on whether to do the Shocked or the Laughing emoji on this. Wow! It was a tough call, for sure! lol Very interesting! Obviously, the best part was the name of the journal -- Angry Penguins! Hahaha!

S 🤦

Jul 20, 2025 at 4:52pm
In response to "20250711 External Writerings June 2025"

Schnujo is failing 2 classes -

Girls names A to Z - https://www.weekendnotes.com/a-to-z-of-songs-with-girls-names-in-the-title/

Boys names A to Z - https://www.weekendnotes.com/a-to-z-of-songs-with-boys-names-in-the-title/

Falling - https://www.weekendnotes.com/songs-about-falling/

Stars is on my list of ideas.

As for band names, that was toyed with but the editor wasn't keen. And X? X-ray Specs, X (Billy Idol's first band), Xx (whose version of 'Wild Thing' Jon Moxley uses as entrance music in AEW), Xenomorph... there's a few.

1 Like

S 🤦

Jul 20, 2025 at 4:48pm
In response to "20250711 External Writerings June 2025"

Amethyst Angel 🌼

Trees: https://www.weekendnotes.com/songs-about-trees/
Flowers: https://www.weekendnotes.com/songs-about-flowers/

1 Like

Schnujo is failing 2 classes

Jul 20, 2025 at 1:06pm
In response to "20250711 External Writerings June 2025"

Have you gone through the alphabet with a single word title? Probably. lol Have you gone through it with male and then with female names? I would expect not. Odd suggestion, but if you get desperate, you can just pull out a letter one day and do that, then go about other ideas, then pull out another letter and do that when you're short on ideas. lol Maybe even come up with a playlist for several for when you're sick so you can just pull something out really fast? Also, have you gone through the alphabet with single word band names -- you've probably done that, though...or something similar. "And today, every band featured has a single word for their name and begins with the their band name begins with the letter X." Uh, yeah, good luck with that. lol

I'm playing around with the idea of writing some YA romantasy for my other site (though TBH, IF I write anything, it will more likely than not be sweet romance since it IS easier lol) about a world with fallen stars and how they impact the humans and fae and magic systems on there. What about a playlist about fallen/falling or even (because I think it's the same thing, right) shooting stars?

Parodies -- those are so fun! Have you done many of those? Granted, I'm sure you could make dozens of parody playlists, so I guess dealer's choice there.

July 25, 2025 at 12:05am

#1094053

20250725 Writing scandals 2: George Eliot and the Brontës

Writing scandals 2: George Eliot and the Brontës

Schnujo is failing 2 classes asked me about writing scandals. What a great topic!
Now, I am not going to go and research any. These are ones I know about from university study or personal interest.
The next one is one we looked at when I did my arts degree at university.

George Eliot and the Brontës
Now, I knew about this from high school (we read the Brontë sisters), but the university shed some interesting light on things.
The Brontë sisters are well-regarded authors and poets (Wuthering Heights is a personal favourite book), but they did not use their own names when publishing. Charlotte Brontë published as Currer Bell, Emily as Ellis and Anne as Acton. George Eliot, on the other hand, was the pen-name of Mary Ann Evans.
So, what’s the scandal? That these four women had to use neutral-sounding or masculine names in order to be considered worthy of publication. Even Mary Shelley’s seminal Frankenstein was published anonymously at first (her name was added to the second edition, but that had more to do with who her husband was – poet Percy Bysshe Shelley – allegedly). But without that husband (and Mary Shelley’s mother was a renowned figure as well), the other four women were forced to hide their identities in order for their works to be considered worthy of publication.
It might not be so much a scandal as a sign of the times, but the fact Mary Shelley made such a huge impact before these four women started to write, and yet the establishment still considered women not worthy of publishing says a lot more about the mores of the time and the way women were treated.
It is said that many “anonymous” works and sayings were probably written or coined by women (my ex had a t-shirt that said, “Anonymous Was Female”), and looking at these four, it is hard to deny that possibility.

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