Changing my name

Well, not my name. My Substack's name.

Photo by Ron Lach

I’ve been thinking for a while about changing the name of this blog. Matt Kelland, Writer is perfectly descriptive and accurate, but it’s not exactly interesting.

It is, at least, unique. There aren’t many Matt Kellands (or Matthew Kellands) in the world, and I believe I’m the only one in the entire United States. That was handy when it came to buying the URL of my name, and it minimizes the risk of bureaucracies getting me confused with another person with the same name. On the other hand, it’s practically impossible to argue your way our of trouble by claiming “it wasn’t me, it was some other Matt Kelland.”

Anyway, I’ve been toying with finding a name that says something more about me. I want to keep an element of saying I’m a writer, but I’d like it to be less bland and more personal. I want to capture the fact that I live out in the woods in Maine, surrounded by trees, and that inspires me every day. (Okay, almost every day. Some days are just blah.)

So far, I’ve come up with the following names:

• Storyteller, Forest Dweller
  I like the sound of it when you say it out loud. And I like that it evokes storytelling, not writing, which appeals to me. However, the lack of symmetry irks me: I could say Story Teller instead to make it more balanced, but that looks wrong.

• Turning Leaves, Writing Stories
  Turning Leaves, Spinning Tales
  Leaves Turning, Words Unfolding
  I like the pun on leaves. And with several hundred trees in my yard, dealing with leaves is a major task, so that’s perfectly accurate!

• Tales from the Woods
  Words from the Woods
  If that made you think of Jethro Tull’s Songs from the Woods, that was completely intentional.

• Words in the Wilderness
  Okay, it’s not quite a wilderness out here, but it feels like it sometimes.

What do you think? I’m open to suggestions - including not changing the name.