How My Pen Name Came To Be

If you ever wondered why I chose "Gordalme Cross" as my poetry alias...well, continue reading and you will find your answer!

Before I ever even thought about publishing my book, I knew I would have to choose a catchy name that would set me apart from everyone else. And with as many people as there are in the world, writers included, I knew I was diving into a pretty large pool. I remember reading an article warning people to refrain from choosing anything that was too similar to the pseudonym of another author, especially one that is extremely well-known. And that's actually pretty good advice. I have read my fair share of novels, but that doesn't mean I could tell you every big name off the top of my head. To be honest, I was kind of worried about unintentionally picking a name that was too close to someone else's. And while I can't think of any famous poets by the name of Issabella, the name "Bella" is far too common for my liking.

A few months before I found myself trying to land on a good alias, the name "Gordalme" randomly popped into my head out of absolutely nowhere on some random day that I can't even remember. So if you didn't catch that, it was random. I knew the name was unique and interesting, so I decided to save it in my notes app so that I could maybe give it to a character if I ever decided to write a fictional novel.

Fast forward- When it came time for me to name myself, I tried using a pseudonym generator online (believe it or not, that exists). Nothing really gave me a "that's the one" kind of feeling. And deep down, I knew I didn't want my entire writing career to be branded by some arbitrary computer-generated name. No judgement against anyone else, but that isn't my personal cup of tea. I was just desperate and had no other ideas. Suddenly, I remembered that I had an interesting name stored in my phone, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was. But when I read it again for the second time, I knew that it was the one.

What made it so perfect wasn't just the fact that it was completely original, but when I typed it into Google, absolutely nothing came up. I wasn't in danger of picking a pseudonym that was too similar to someone else's, nor did I have to worry about the name "Gordalme" causing anyone to think of something other than me and my poetry. And because the name had come to my mind in such a spontaneous manner, I wondered if maybe it was really God who gave it to me because He knew all along what it would be used for. It's a comforting feeling.

And finally, I chose "Cross" as a way of implementing my faith into something that is so important to me. It's sort of like I was handing God the keys and letting Him do with it whatever He wanted to. And aside from all of that, I like it. It's catchy. And it reminds me that no matter what happens, everything is under His control.

So that's that. Probably not as dynamic as I made it out to be, but it answers the question and gives me an excuse to write. So thanks for reading. If you have any blog requests or simply want to reach out, click the "Share Thoughts" link at the bottom of my Home page. I look forward to hearing from you.