Though I have been using the pen name "Thunderduck" for quite some time, I recently became the brunt of "Family" jokes over using it. I created the name because a writer once commented that my poetic works had both power and softness to them. So now I ask you pros your opinions. Is the name ok?
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Hm. So you created the name because of what someone else said about you, and now you're asking us for what we think.
What do YOU think your name should be?
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
I'm happy with my choice. But still want others opinions
Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :
If you're asking me how I think I would respond to the name if I saw it on a book...that's one thing. If you're asking me how the average reader would respond...that's something else entirely. For me, Thunderduck would inspire enough curiosity to take a second look at the spine of the book in question. For others, well...I can't say. It greatly depends on the kind of book you put it on. I'd estimate a high probability that children and adults (like myself) who are still in touch with their inner child would absolutely love it. Others...perhaps not so much. I agree with mike in that the decision is entirely up to you, and should probably be bereft of input from others. After all, we don't know you even half as well as you know yourself. And a pen name usually is a reflection of the named, no?
Inkwell ----------------- "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
Posted by RagDoll (Member # 2757) on :
Power and softness...thunderduck sounds about right to me. As was previously mentioned, who cares what others think? If it bothers you so much to be ridiculed by family, maybe you should get a slightly thicker skin (I personally think the name is pretty cute). I dont know your style, so I cant really make any recommendations for a new name. Good luck finding one though.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
It sounds like a Disney character with gastritis to me.
Posted by Mechwarrior (Member # 2796) on :
What's Thunderduck in Latin? Maybe if it sounded more auspicious your family wouldn't laugh (as much)
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
It is a pretty funny sounding name. If you're not okay with that, then don't use it.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
I'd fully expect the book to be comedic or something tongue in cheek. Maybe a Lemony Snicket kind of thing. I would have a VERY hard time taking any book written by someone named Thunderduck seriously.
Sorry.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
I guess when I read between the lines of the comments so far I guess it's a great choice. So I'll stick with it. Strange how comments were serious up to a point, then you add the "Comic" factor and suddenly everybody wants to be a comedian. Maybe I'll write comedy and challenge the beaten path.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
I'm thoroughly horrified by the name Thunderduck. I think it's offensive to ducks -- and believe me, you don't want to get ducks angry at you.
Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :
All I can think when I read Thunderduck is Howard the Duck. Need I say more? Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I'm a bit puzzled, because all the comments before Thunderducks last post seemed to be perfectly serious.
Then he says that everybody wants to be a comedian, and we start getting tongue in cheek comments about offending ducks.
But he was the one that first mentioned that some people think the name is a joke. I'm still confused as to whether it is supposed to be a joke or not. If it isn't, then that's a bit of a problem. I cannot, for the life of me, take that name seriously. I'm thinking of things like Disney characters dressed up as comic book superheroes and real ducks quacking thundrously and a fictional device designed to test critical reentry parts by throwing ducks at supersonic velocities into the tested part...those are all pretty funny images in my mind.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
>>and we start getting tongue in cheek comments about offending ducks<<
it may have been an in-joke bleeding over from Liberty Hall. knowing Will, the name tickled his sense of humor.
and that's probably all it was, i think.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
You shouldn't have tried to read between my lines, Tduck. Because there's nothing there. My post was plain and up front. I think it's a silly name. So if you want to inform your audience--right from your pen name on the cover--that your book is going to be silly, go for it. But if you want to be taken seriously, change it.
IMO, of course.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
I mentioned no one particular in my "Between the lines" comment. So if some inner moment of thought leads anyone to think I meant them, then they, not I have placed themselves within a given catagory. So far I've sold over 900 copies of said Pen Name and resales are climbing. My question was more on what to do with my family and they're joking. My apologies if I wasn't clear enough on the subject. As far as the name Thunderduck goes. If you type it in any search window you'll find lots of sites, companies, and colleges that use it. Now just how funny is it in the real world? Once again my apologies if I wasn't clear on my meaning. Hey I'm a rookie in here lol.
Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :
I was being quite serious too. The name reminds me of Howard the Duck.
The comment - "Need I say more" and the were there because who really needs to say more about Howard the Duck. That part was less than serious.
Posted by Dude (Member # 1957) on :
Yes, my first thought was a Saturday morning cartoon. I wondered if Thunder Cats hunted ThunderDucks or are they more civilized than that -- seeing as how they come from another planet.
I don't think you can do anything about your family's joking unless you plan to change your name. The name ThunderDuck just spawns too many jokes -- you can't change that. Especially since many poets tend to be so serious, a Poet named ThunderDuck is just too tempting a target. Any number of funny situations and/or stories pop into mind just thinking about it. I'd say either change your pen name or let the comments flow off your back like -- well -- like a duck's.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
I guess I achieved an objective though I wasn't originally intending to reach for one. To some the name is funny, to some it is down right silly. And to others it draws deeper meanings. I guess all in all it did the one thing that all pen names should. It drew attention.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
Ah, is that what you were after? Glad we could help.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
No Beth it wasn't what I was after. But if a fish jumps in my boat I'm going to consume it for all it's worth, both good or bad.
[This message has been edited by Thunderduck (edited August 19, 2005).]
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
You asked for opinions. If you only want validation, then say that up front.
I'm not surprised that the term gets a lot of hits. It's a funny name. If you like that, then it's all to the good. But if you don't, then we can't make it any less funny.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
Survivor, First of all I appreciate your comment. If you read the string "completely", you'll find that it wasn't my intention. I mean honestly, the only thing I've ever needed validated was a parking ticket.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I don't understand what you're saying. At first, you said you wanted opinions. Then, more recently, you claimed that you didn't get what you were after.
But everything you got was opinions. So just what is it that you got that wasn't what you wanted?
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
No, survivor, in his reply to me, he's claiming that he didn't just want *attention*. I don't think he's saying he didn't want opinions.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Maybe we should turn this into a more general discussion of pen names.
If you had to use a pen name, for whatever reason, how would you pick it?
Would you use some variation on a family name (as some writers have done) or would you try to come up with something totally different?
Would you use a different pen name for different kinds of work? Would you use something romantic sounding for romance, or would you choose against type?
And so on.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Or maybe not.
Posted by Varishta (Member # 2789) on :
I'm game
Seeing as there's several authors that share my name, I've been toying with the idea of, "L.G. Young".
Does this sound like a good pen name? Or is it too boring?
[This message has been edited by Varishta (edited August 20, 2005).]
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
It's got a sit up and notice ring to it
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
Beth, Thanks for explaining it to Survivor.
Posted by AaronAndy (Member # 2763) on :
I used a pen name for years when I was younger becasue I didn't want to do or write something stupid and be personally associated with it for the rest of life. It was the name of a character in some of the first stories I ever wrote, and I never plan on using it (the name) professionally, unless I some day publish those stories (which isn't very likely). Then I was out of the writing loop for a while, and when I recently decided to get back in I thought it was time to go in as my true self.
Actually, I posted quite a bit to this board under my pen name at the time, which is why I'm listed as a "new member" here, even though in reality I've been around for quite some time.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
You two must have some weird kind of telepathy. I didn't understand that exchange at all.
I don't think that I would bother with using a pen name, as such. But I would probably use different variations/arrangments of my given name for very different genres.
When a pen-name is conventional/required, I have mixed luck. I picked out "Survivor" only months before someone decided to use it as the name of some stupid "reality" show. I've only watched part of one episode of Survivor, it was the final episode of the first season, and it was soooo long and pointless and boring. Maybe it would have been interesting if I'd watched all the other episodes, but I assumed (or perhaps just hoped) that it would be canceled pretty soon.
Actually, it's been a while since I heard of it. Maybe it was eventually canceled.
Some other "pen" names, "Obsidian Solitaire", "Azrael", "WraithSword", "Imperitor Ferx", stuff like that. Sometimes the imagery is obvious, sometimes rather abstruse. Occasionally I'm being a bit funny or at least ironic. I sometimes choose manga/comic characters, too. It's hard to find good ones, though. Making up a nom de plume is usually much easier.
If I had to write under a convincing pseudonym, I'd go Varishta's route and just pick something boring.
And write a bio containing references to my cats.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
Yes it's true brains of higher calibre often posess this "Weird" telepathy. But really it's simple enough that if you actually read the string that you can grasp it. I find "Survivor" the show to be an indepth study of human abilities. Not that I watch it all the time, but when I do I try to learn more about the nature of those sharing this world with me. Sometimes it saddens me, and other times I'm cracking up inside. Thanks for your comment Survivor, as always it's appreciated.
[This message has been edited by Thunderduck (edited August 22, 2005).]
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
would just like to deny any kind of weird telepathy with TD. For the record.
Posted by Varishta (Member # 2789) on :
quote:If I had to write under a convincing pseudonym, I'd go Varishta's route and just pick something boring.
Aha! So it is boring!
Posted by JarrodHenry (Member # 2800) on :
I know this sounds bad.. but..
If the author's name sounds too pretentious or it sounds too fake, I won't read it. Regardless. And if it sounds like an internet or forum handle, I won't read it either. Generally, I want to see that there is a human sounding name behind what I read. If it sounds made up, I tend to shy away from it, because that reads to me as people taking themselves too seriously.
Posted by 'Graff (Member # 2648) on :
quote:If the author's name sounds too pretentious or it sounds too fake, I won't read it
What do you think of the name "Wellington DaSilva"?
It it too pretentious?
How about:
W. M. DaSilva
Wellington M. DaSilva
Wellington Marques DaSilva?
The reason I ask is that, well, those are my real names, and for some reason they feel like fake names. Brazillians have a penchant for obscure, royal sounding names...
----------- Wellington
Posted by JarrodHenry (Member # 2800) on :
Heh.
Funny you should mention that particular name. One of my good friends from a while back is a brazillian woman by the name of Vivanne DaSilva.
So.. no, that doesn't.. not at all. I'm thinking more of names like:
Silver Moonfire or Obsidian Rainbow or Katz Miaux
Things like that. Perhaps pretentious was too.. well, unclear. Perhaps I should have said "Self Important."
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
quote:a fictional device designed to test critical reentry parts by throwing ducks at supersonic velocities into the tested part...
I guess the fictional aspect of this description is that it throws ducks instead of frozen chickens.
Thunderduck, are you any relation to Safety Duck? Probably not, but I had to ask. The best part about Safety Duck was his theme song, which was comprised of the Janet Jackson hit "Nasty Boys" just with "Safety Duck" replacing the title phrase. I guess Safety Duck was simply an emanation of my passive agression on a day when I had to drive to the city dump with my 13 year old brother-in-law. It was a stuffed toy duck whose head was nearly as bit as its body.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
Don't forget Toilet Duck.
When an editor or producer got Harlan Ellison upset, he would pull his name off the manuscript and substitute Cordwainer Bird, thus flipping them off.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
Judging from my family Tree/Pond, Safety Duck is a 5th cousin twice removed
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
I thought it was "Ode De Toilet Duck" Spaceman.A cute duck with an astronauts helmet on? Is that the one?
[This message has been edited by Thunderduck (edited August 23, 2005).]
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
I was thinking of the toilet cleaning stuff in the bottle shaped like a duck.
Posted by Thunderduck (Member # 2802) on :
I found it on the web Spaceman. I had to order some just for the bottle, being a collector of ducks. Comes in a gel too. Thanks. The stuff I was talking about was some other bath product made in France I think.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
You probably could have bought some at the local grocery store.
were there because who really needs to say more about Howard the Duck. That part was less than serious. 
