But Why A Pen Name?

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Are you afraid? Is a question no one likes to hear or answer. This question often comes at a time when we ourselves have not yet decided what state of mind we are in. Are you hiding something by using a pen name and not your real name although it’s quite obvious who you really are? Is a question I image I will receive throughout the lifetime of my writing. So I’ll try and get ahead of the curve and answer that question for those who wish to know.

Back to the question. Why are you using a pen name?

I am using a pen name because I felt that I could not divorce my own personal surroundings from my writings. I needed to create a character that was not me so that I could tell any story I had floating in my head and have no fear of repercussions. You see when I use names like Dan, Jessica, Ryan, or any assortment of names I can’t help but think of people that I know who have those names. I don’t want those people to feel like I’m writing stories about them, that’s too much pressure to put on a person. If I have a character Dan die in the third chapter I don’t want Dan in real life to think I have a vendetta against him. Most people can probably logically divide between ‘Oh this is a make-believe story’ and ‘oh he’s being serious with this one’ but I didn’t want to risk it. As a self-published author my only audience at the moment is my community, so I certainly don’t want to offend the few people that might ever read my story.

I will forever write under the pseudonym Stew Stunes because it allows me to write without fear, without worry, and enjoy the story being told instead of concern that i might inflict too much real life into something that is only made for entertainment.