What's in a name?

That's an old question, that is. And very much abused.

However, when you start looking into the strange and wonderful world of creative output, names become... interesting.

Take my name. Ever since I first got my Tax File Number I've known that I wasn't the only Sharon Bryan in the country. I figured there were probably more of us out there as well.

For instance, there's a real estate broker in Georgia and a lawyer in California.

I was kind of hoping I'd get to use my own name if I ever decided to publish anything. I've been writing poetry ever since I was a kid (big highlight: winning the Best Ballad award in the Dorothea Mackellar Competition in 1996), and I write short stories and plays (biggest highlight: having a play performed for a two week run by a local theatre group), and I've always harboured dreams of publishing something someday.

However, some other Sharon Bryan has gone and published three books of her own poems. Now, if I want to publish any of my poetry, I'll have to come up with a different name. Or at least a different way of presenting my name. "Sharon Bryan" is out, but I might get away with "S.R. Bryan" or "Sharon R. Bryan". I'll have to Google those.

Not that it really matters all that much. I've always felt strangely drawn to pseudonyms. In fact, the plays I've written have been under a pseudonym. I like to be able to hide, when necessary. Not that I think I need to hide, just that I like the game.

I'll probably end up publishing things under half a dozen pseudonyms, for the fun of it. Still, it would have been nice to have my name available for such things.