Nom de plume -- why a pseudonym?

Many famous authors throughout history have written under pseudonyms that became vastly more well-known than the authors’ real names — Konrad Jozef Korzeniowski wrote under the pen name Joseph Conrad, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson wrote as Lewis Carroll, Eric Arthur Blair wrote as George Orwell, Alisa Zinov’yevan Rosenbaum wrote as Ayn Rand, and Samuel Clemens took the name of Mark Twain. They all had their reasons for choosing a different name.

What's in a Word Count?

Counting words seemed to me initially to be a counter intuitive concept. After all, is it not about the quality of the words rather than the quantity? Yet the guidelines for first-time authors to be accepted into established categories are rather strict. A novel must be over 40,000 words, but most publishers need 80,000-100,000 words to charge a standard amount of money and compete on a bookshelf. Thrillers are even longer at 100,000 to 175,000. I suppose it is a value per word marketing proposition.

Classification	Word count
Novel	over 40,000 words
Novella	17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette	7,500 to 17,500 words
Short story	under 7,500 words

Inspiration

I've had several sources of inspiration recently which have spurred a period of creativity like I have not experienced in some time. Three were book signings with readings -- one of a novel, one of a collection of short stories, and one of poetry.  In each case, the authors/speakers inspired me to feel rather than write again.

I have since written two short stories, two poems and one piece of flash fiction, as well as adding another 10,000 words to my novel, The Naked Truth -- all in the past week. My husband calls it verbal diarrhea. I call it inspiration. Whatever it is. I love it!

Bring it on.

Finding inspiration in the weather

I am a firm believer that you have to experience the bad to appreciate the good. And I believe that changes in mood inspire creativity.  Ergo, a change in the weather should induce a change in mood, thereby inspiring creativity.

When Joseph Conrad may be your uncle

My birth name was Daria Olena Korzeniowski. I was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1954 to immigrant parents who left their country, a part of Ukraine at the time ruled by Poland, during World War II.  The town my parents hailed from was near Lviv, called Yaroslaw. But my father, Marian Korzeniowski, originally came from Peremyshl.  Przemyśl in Polish [ˈpʂɛmɨɕl] ( listen) (Ukrainian: Перемишль, Peremyshl, German: Premissel) is a town near where Joseph Conrad was born and raised.

I cannot not write

Books are fun to write, for me at least. Whether writing non-fiction or fiction, I love to get wrapped up in a subject and look at it from the perspective of my prospective audience. What are they looking to learn from me? What will entice them to spend their precious time with me? How can I share my knowledge and entertain a little, too. These are the kinds of questions I ask myself throughout the process. I don't want to let them down, and yet I know I cannot satisfy them all.