I first became interested in anonymous writing when Esquire published a story called simply “Why Men Cheat,” signed “anonymous.” It wasn’t just an explanation of why men cheat – it was almost a defense. While of course I’m not pro “men cheating,” I thought the whole idea was ballsy and well, badass. Just by getting rid of a byline, you can not only talk about taboo subjects, but you can also let people defend unpopular or even immoral behavior.

To me, the most interesting thing writing can do is help people understand the way people nothing like them think. From reading Animorphs as a kid and getting obsessed with the “animal stream of thought” to reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and seeing the funny little kid logic that made Maya Angelou mute for so long, the books I remember most were the ones that connected the A and B between thought and behavior. The more inexplicable that behavior is, the more interesting the narrative.

Hanging out in the blog world, I’ve learned a lot about anonymous writing. There are three main types:

Shared byline: We started out doing a lot of posts on Google Docs, where several people can write at once. It didn’t take long for us to realize that if no one can pinpoint who said what, you can get away with a lot more. Thus posts about fucking Winnie the Pooh characters. Our partner blog, Philolzophy, has always been a shared project between two writers, and the lack of personal accountability has allowed them to publish some ballsy stuff.

Pen names: Pen names aren’t for everyone. Some people like to have their work Google-able. Some people just frankly don’t write interesting enough posts to deserve them. But with the right writer, a pen name can bring about some ideas that otherwise would never be addressed, with the benefit of still letting the writer develop a consistent voice and persona. If you’ve got hilarious/offensive things to say, a pen name might make your writing go from good to “holy shit.”

Complete anonymity: This is powerful stuff – it’s like the Everclear of writing: to be used only when confronting some dark, personal shit. Nonetheless, it’s everywhere online, especially in comment forums.

There’s a catch when you publish anonymous writing to talk about controversial things – you will receive hate mail. But when you’re a writer or doing anything at all in the public eye, someone’s going to tell you to kill yourself. It doesn’t stop Tyra Banks, so don’t let it stop you.

–Becky Lang

Photo by Michael Inscoe