Of all the darlings I’ve had to kill over the course of the edits, this is the biggest; I have to rename Softening.

My work in progress has been called Softening from day one. In every meditation class in the world ever, participants are instructed to soften into their experience. What’s more, the title relates directly to the novel’s worldview – everyone softens. Difficult characters are kind and amusing characters have hidden depths. I love the title Softening. 

Sadly, when the book was critiqued by an experienced romantic fiction writer, the title was immediately flagged up as an issue. For floaty light meditation aficionados, softening evokes relaxation, blurred edges and being in touch with the emotions. For avid readers of romantic fiction it evokes the wilting, shrivelling and slackening of something that was previous hard. I’ve named my book after a drooping erection. Oops.

So, as difficult as it is, Softening has to go in favour of something with less potential for misunderstanding. Flaccid imagery is out. Neutral statements with no sexual overtones are in. 

Possible renames

I’ve dreamt up the following potential titles for the novel-formerly-known-as-softening.

Love And Distraction

Awareness For Beginners

Outside Looking In

The Spaces In Between

In This Moment, Together

Beautiful Moments

No Such Thing As Not Knowing

The Naming Of Things

The World As It Is

And here are some names I should avoid

Zesty Pillows 

Mrs Jones’s Love Tunnel

Droopy Rods

None of those names are as good as Softening (which I still, and always will love). The provisional title is now ‘Love And Distraction’ – an obvious play on love and attraction. I’m mysteriously drawn to ‘Droopy Rods’ though.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash