Coming up with a title is my least favourite part of writing a book. I think it’s the weight of expectation. My usual method is to pick a working title, usually one word, and pray for something better to turn up.
I was really pleased when Speak Its Name occurred to me: the association with same-sex love, combined with the overarching theme of saying things the way they are, made it pretty much perfect.
Anyway, I think I might finally have one for the book that I’m currently working on, which I’ve been calling Wheels for want of anything better. I had been wondering if I could pun on spoke/speak, getting sidetracked by West Side Story (wire-spoke wheel in America!), and scouring If for lines to appropriate or undermine. However, for the moment I have settled on (drumroll, please!):
A Spoke in the Wheel
Or I might drop the indefinite article:
Spoke in the Wheel
Or maybe make it plural:
Spoke in the Wheels
Or wake up tomorrow and wonder what on earth I was thinking. We’ll see. But at the moment it feels like I’m on the right track.
Kathleen Jowitt 