Saturday, July 2, 2016

What's in a Name?

“I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables 

You know one of the hardest part of creating a blog?
It's not the updates or the creativity (though those certainly aren't a piece of cake).
It's not the photography (how many professional-grade selfies do I have to take again??? for reals?)
It's not even the html coding or design (I'm not even good at that and I STILL have Photoshop Elements stamped on the inside of my eyelids).

It's coming up with a name.
A flippin' name.

You know how Stephen King talks about how the most important part of a novel is the beginning? How the opening lines can make or break a story? 
No pressure or anything, aspiring novelists. Geez. That's totally NOT the reason I've been rewriting my own book for THIRTEEN FLIPPIN YEARS. Beginnings, man.
  • "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
  • "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
  • "Call me Ishmael."
  • “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
  • "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
  • "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." 
  • "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."
See? No pressure.  
 
But people don't always read your first blog entry. Do you know what they DO read?
The  title and the "About Me" section (don't get me started on "About Me" sections . . . gaaah)

So why The Fugitive Pen

Honestly? The hubs thought it was cool. And it's sentimental, which is always a plus.
Not that I've ever been a fugitive. Or really ever even gotten a speeding ticket. I have, however, seen the movie with Harrison Ford. Highly recommend it, folks. You can't go wrong with Harrison . . . except for that last Indiana Jones flick, but that totally wasn't his fault. (LUUUUCCCAAAAASSSSSSS)

Sorry, rambling. 

ANYWAYS . . . . 

 Once upon a time, when phones were still flipping and just learning to wifi, I had AIM. Anyone remember that? The man who would become "the hubs" (the myth, the legend) and I would message back and forth for HOURS over AIM, the savior of our long-distance relationship (along with free after-hour cell minutes--good Lord, I have totally dated myself). The username we stared at for three years until I actually had my degree and unlimited text messages? FUGITIVEPEN.

And BEHOLD! A blog title was born!

You want to know what this place was ALMOST named?
  • Flibbertigibbet, Inc. 
  • The Claptrap Collective
  • Untidied
  • The Laughing Squid
  • The Laughing Owl
  • I May Be A Platypus and Other True Confessions
Not gonna lie--that last one was SO CLOSE to winning. I still kind of love it. Seriously, I sit here looking at it and wonder, "Oh, man, did I really make the right choice? That's so fun. And random. And . . . well, crap, the URL may even still be available . . . . "

But I've already spent way too much time creating a header and fumbling through design, so I think this is it. The final choice. The grand finale.

Welcome to ......  




DADADA-DADA-DADADA-DADA-DADADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
-that's totally the Jurassic Park Theme FYI-

(Not that my blog will be ANYWHERE as amazingly and awe-inspiringly EPIC as Jurassic Park, but, you know, it's fun.)


Enjoy your stay!
I'm glad you're here :)