What's in a name?

[proudduckling]

Quite a bit, actually. I have a hyphenated last name, which I've fought long and hard to preserve. In high school, everyone would ask, "What'll you do when you get married? What if your husband [yes, that was the assumption] has a hyphenated last name too? What'll you call yourself? What'll you call your kids?" My response was invariably some variation on "I'll burn that bridge when I come to it." However, it's possible that I'm coming to that particular bridge - not because I'm getting married, but because I intend to be a professional writer. It's useful to have a simple name that people are able and willing to pronounce. Yes, "willing" is a large consideration; a lot of people see my name and break out the nonsense syllables or just skip it completely. A professional name should be something easily pronounced and remembered. I also know that no two people in the Screenwriters' Guild can have the same name, but I don't think that'll be a problem. When the head of the theater department introduced me to the audience after my play, he just called me by my dad's last name. It was weird. I've made a point of having this name for so long, but I may have to give it up. Fortunately, neither of my parents will be offended if I keep the other parent's last name. Still weird.

Oh, and, by the way, I'm on spring break.