"Smart" Chick Lit

Nothing wrong with smart chick lit. I've seen some very intelligent books and one I'm trying to read right now makes me grind my eyes simply because it's so flightly from the start in the narrative that now I know why I haven't tried to read it in years. However, it is giving me pointers on what I do not want to do.

My favorite chick lit novels tend to be the ones that fall at least slightly outside the generic Wikipedia definition. I love Jennifer Weiner and Johanna Edwards, and Liza Palmer's Conversations with the Fat Girl.

I think that chick lit gets a bad rap because of all the novels that are about shopping and boys. Most of my writing does include this, but I try to write characters who have depth. You can have a lot of fun with the genre convictions without completely buying into them. My NaNo for this year is a chick lit/urban fantasy hybrid involving Texas seceding from the U.S., and my heroine is a Ph.D. student.

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"Writing a novel is pathetic and boring. Anyone sensible hates it. It's all you can do to not play Snood all afternoon."--Steve H

That's pretty good. I'm also writing a chick lit/paranormal fantasy. It's likely to be set in Texas (Austin or Dallas) but no one is seceding. My girl is going to be an 'image consultant' or 'PR' agent.

Have you discovered Jennifer Crusie yet? So excellent!
I wrote tons of angsty chick lit while a teenager, and am tempted to try a more intelligent, mature variety next month too, but it also makes me cringe in embarrassment to acknowledge it. I'd like to be able to write some deep, thought-provoking, life-changing tome, but I'm not vain enough to think I have much to offer the world in terms of earth-shattering revelations. Plus I suspect verbal constipation should I attempt such a thing. I could, however, help entertain, and the sh... well, it flows.
How does one overcome the embarrassment factor and proudly respond when asked, "So, what's your book about then?"

Oh, the embarrassment factor and I are quickly becoming fast friends. I usually just duck my head, blush, and say "well, it's chick lit, right? But, um, not." and hope they don't ask me for a plot summary.

Michelle
ML for Chicago, IL
ml-michelle AT chiwrimo.org

Michelle
ML for Chicago, IL
Moderator, "Character & Plot Realism" forum
ml-michelle AT chiwrimo.org

I think chick-lit has evolved a lot faster than the label. Jennifer Weiner [Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, etc] Jennifer Crusie [Lie to Me, Welcome to Temptation], Marian Keyes [Rachel's Holiday, Anybody Out There] ...all terrific.
I find I can relate to their characters -- they're not vapid, shallow, 20-somethings obsessed by careers. shoes, and sex.

Well, maybe shoes.....;-p

[just kidding]

I love it!

When I was trying to figure out my own story, a friend was like sounds Chic Lit to me. And I cringed because the first thing I thought of was some skinny shoe obsessed person. I hate that I do that, but I think the genre has grown to so much more now.

---amber d*

My female MC is a recovering alcoholic, fat waitress who doesn't have much to live for. Chick lit? No. This genre has a horrible rep for being totally vapid and superficial and it generally makes me cringe. Though I have a female MC again (I have all other three times, too), nothing what I have written I'd consider chick lit. Too many people die.

2003: The Karma Twins, won
2007: Can't Get Clean, won
2008: Michelle Spiller, Private Eye, won
2009: Saint Heidi, won

Wikipedia is not necessarily a great source for definitions of this type because they are often written by average people (not 'experts'- if such a thing exists in writing) and therefore cannot be considered objective. The entry is not the whole picture of what chick lit encompasses; it is only what a few people say it is. To me, chick lit is whatever the author wants it to be. If you want a strong smart MC then that is great; it can still be 'chick lit'- which to me is any novel where the main characters are mostly women. Good luck with it; I think we could use more 'smart' chick lit so that the rep it has can start to evolve a little more.

I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down. - Chumbawamba

You took the words right out of my mouth, Michelle! I always tell people that I like to write, "smart chick-lit." As a matter of fact, if my characters were real people, they'd probably punch me in the face for the non-girly-girl, shenanigans I put them through. And like all things, the genre has to evolve. So, I say, make it whatever you want. And maybe the term, "chick-lit" will one day get more respect for being more diverse than it implies.

A Drink Between Friends - My 2008/2009 NaNoWriMo Novel
Genre: Chick-Lit
Follow my shenanigans on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Tiff_Griff

Chic-lit does need serious diversification. My MC is a physical therapist intern in her mid 20's with a best friend who is ill and neither of them are anywhere near being the chic-lit "type". I look at this as a challenge, and hopefully we can push the diversity of the genre just a little bit.

Aminah Jamil

Michelle it can be about anything you want. I read your post and my book is similar to the plot idea you posted. It is loosely based on my dating experiences of being a plus size girl originally from the Midwest dating in LA. I think too, the authors that write smart chick lit have a better chance of getting read because it isn't the norm and is more relatable to the average woman.

I'm not sure what my genre is yet, but I think it would come closest to chick lit.
I don't really have a plot yet! I have a MC who is a smart and cute, but social inept (think Asperger's Syndrome) young woman who pretty much only has one friend (a guy) who ditches her because of his dating life. She goes in search of a new friend. The theme is about the contrast between adult women who either have established social groups and those who will always be "the new kid". Anyway, that's my idea now. I don't really have plans for my MC to fall in love (yet) because I really want to focus on female relationships. Who knows? It could turn into something totally different, right?

To butterflyblob: That sounds so interesting! Texas has been my home most of my life, and that sounds like a really fascinating scenario! I look forward to seeing where it goes!

I'm so happy I found this thread! I like stories about women in modern life, dating, working and all that - chick-lit by the accepted definition, but I find, more often than not, these kind of books to be SO patronising and down right painful to read. I'm not interested in hard core femminist approaches either. Where's the middle ground?

I'm hoping that's where my story this year will end up. My MC is a smart, serious independent to the point of arrogant twenty something who, while visiting her family in a small town, discovers a wild past behind her mother's conservative, domestic, suburban demeanour and doesn't quite know how to take it. While she's figuring this out, as well as trying to figure out what direction to take her own life in, she meets and forms a close bond (may or may not be romantic, haven't decided yet) with a curious guy from the circus that is in town the same time she is.

I'll be checking out some of the authors suggested above. Thanks folks!

"Find the next word. Write it down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat." - Neil Gaiman

I think part of the reason why chick lit gets such a bad rep is because we allow it. Women want escapism, at least I know I do, and the cheesy chick lit is part of that.

I do like Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series because it has a plus side protagonist and a mystery concept.

My novel is what I consider smart and kinda' a-typical chick lit. It's about a ER nurse who works night shift and is involved in a message board... She has a problem because then fate (?) makes her catch three bouquets at three weddings and sends three very different guys her way and she keeps saying "No! The guy online is perfect!" Turns out one of those guys is her online guy.

Someone mentioned Marian Keyes above already - her novels are considered chick lit, but there is nothing dumb or superficial about her writing. She deals with some pretty serious stuff - drug addiction, bereavement, serious illness, and above all, she is a terrific writer. Yes, there usually is a happy ending, but it doesn't always look like you'll actually get one.

I think together with Helen Fielding, Keyes is considered to have spawned the genre over here. While the Bridget Jones books might not be the smartest you'll find, I'd say Marian Keyes' novels might be up there. They just happen to be written by a woman about modern women. I highly recommend them.

Sonya says: Writing it is the only way of getting it written.

Part of what makes a book chick lit to me is that the girl always gets the guy in the end. And I like that. It's escapism in the same sense that watching a sitcom is escapism. When I watch a sitcom I expect to laugh, and when I read chick lit I feel betrayed if the girl doesn't get a happy ending. Can the protagonist be smart? Absolutely. Elizabeth Bennet was smart. Every Austen heroine got the guy in the end.

Love this thread. So glad you've pointed out that writing chick lit doesn't automatically mean you have to dumb down the details and create vapid narcissistic characters.

Big fan of Jennifer Weiner myself.

Newbie here in NaNo land, but looking so forward to the challenge. Still flushing out some of the details but the working title of my chick lit piece is "Lillian Munch is Dead".

Mary-Beth

I agree with everyone above who says that chick-lit does not have to be about the self-absorbed 20-something girl who spends all of her money on fancy drinks and designer bags and is in love with, for instance, the son of her evil boss. Over it! I think the definition of chick-lit is really the tone in which the story is told - humorous, self-deprecating etc. My favorite chick-lit authors include some of the ones mentioned above like Marian Keyes and Jennifer Weiner but my absolute favorite is Emily Giffin. Her book, Love the One You're With was incredible.

I completed my first chick-lit novel earlier this year (trying to get it published) and my main character is not afraid of her boss, obsessed with designer handbags etc. And she doesn't date a million jerks while overlooking the great guy right in front of her. Because I was sick of reading those books. In my book, the main character sabotages her own relationship because, in typical female fashion, she sees what she wants to see, over analyzes everything and romanticizes the past. I created her and wanted to beat the crap out of her while writing it! My second novel (to be started next month) is more of a twist on the date a million jerks concept.

Meredith

Marian Keyes is one of my favourite authors and her books made me realise Chick Lit isn't usually just fluff. I like to think my approach to writing my nano novel is inspired by her; my MC is an academic on maternity leave who used to be a radical feminist back in her university days and the novel is about her realising how much her old self she lost just to try and keep her husband. i like to think my MC breaks the usual chick lit mold ;)

This thread makes me feel so much better about one of my WIPs. Thanks, guys! (And for once, no sarcasm intended. Seriously. Thank you.)

Will be checking out some of these author recs. :)

What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

I haven't read a lot of chick lit, but some of these synopses sound rather interesting! I do have to say one thing, though. It's always bothered me.

That bugs me. I've actually perused quite a few chick lit novels that have a plus-size protagonist. I'm a size 2 and it makes me feel both angry and like other women don't view me as a "real woman" because of my pant/dress/shirt size.

I admit I probably couldn't write from the point of view of a plus-size person. All of my best friends (believe me, I thought about it just after typing that -- it really is all) have been bigger. I love all of them even now (except one, but she betrayed me way back in like fifth grade). A MC can be smart, funny, aware of her surroundings and get the guy at the end and still be thin, blonde and gorgeous. I'm brunette, too.

Chick lit appeals to me because I love the lifestyle. Spending thousands of dollars on a pair of slingbacks from the youngest Russian fashion designer, dropping a 3-year-mortgage's worth of cash for a purse, eating at expensive places every night or having your own personal chef prepare your food -- it all appeals to me. It's the escapism because I am FAR from any of that!

I hate to nit-pick, but I feel ... hm... like "less of a woman" when I see "Just My Size" even in a retail store. Glorify every woman! Not just one who happens to be a size 10, nor the one who is a size 2.

Edit: I think I've found a possible story for this year.

I think I'm sort of writing a smart chick lit this year as well, though there I think my novel overlaps in a few genres But the thing that makes it chick lit is the dating portion. My MC is dating in a conservative religious community though she grew up more mainstream American, and for this reason, she feels misunderstood. The chic lit portion of the novel, an most of the plot, is focused on her dating experiences. But the overall theme of the novel is about her own inner strength and identity, as well as her belief in God, which is what makes it not purely chic lit.

Just something I noticed popping up on these chic lit threads, but pardon my ignorance as I have not read much in this genre, does all chic lit have a happy ending? I can't decide if my novel will or not. Part of me wants it to, just because I eat stuff like that up, but the other part of me feels that I can write a more powerful novel if it doesn't. Then again, it's not pure chic lit.

I'd been tossing around an idea for a story, but wasn't sure where it would fit - and you've all helped me to find my genre: smart chick lit. *glee!*

I'll admit that I haven't read a lot of chick lit in my time; I just can't get past the descriptions on the covers. So many of them sound shallow, and so far removed from my own life that I just don't think I could get into them. I mean, I'm a woman, but I don't fit in with the kind of woman usually featured in these books, and neither do my female friends.

And I think you got it exactly right, Limmenel - why can't a female character be all of the things you described in your first post? The answer is, as some people have already said, that she CAN be. Nice to know that I'll have some other chick lit rebels along with me!!

My novel, The Bum Magnet, is about a successful 39 1/2 year old Realtor who has a string of bad relationships and decides to go on a "man diet" of sorts to get to the root of her issues. She's african-american, she turns forty during the course of the novel, she's a size 14, and she's into knock-offs because she lives in a McMansion and drives a beamer. She goes against just about every stereotype but but everyone who reads this book calls it "chick lit." The story itself goes beyond typical chick lit but because she has a humorous voice, it's labeled as such because of the humor. Women's lit, hen lit, lady lit, lad lit, anything with a humorous protagonist will be chicklit.

My novel, The Bum Magnet, is about a successful 39 1/2 year old Realtor who has a string of bad relationships and decides to go on a "man diet" of sorts to get to the root of her issues. She's african-american, she turns forty during the course of the novel, she's a size 14, and she's into knock-offs because she lives in a McMansion and drives a beamer. She goes against just about every stereotype but everyone who reads this book calls it "chick lit." The story itself goes beyond typical chick lit but because she has a humorous voice, it's labeled as such because of the humor. Women's lit, hen lit, lady lit, lad lit, anything with a humorous protagonist will be chicklit.

Although this one is just recently published, I'm writing the sequel during Nanowrimo. It gets into other kinds of relationship issues of which I can't expand on because it will give the first book away, I wonder if it will chick lit label despite the humor.

Hi everyone, I'm Kate - I hate my username, but I made it up a long time ago, and now I am stuck with it.

Just wanted you all to know - there's a really good article about the 'update" of chick lit in the August 3 edition of Publisher's Weekly - here's the link if you want to check it out!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6674245.html?q=women%27s+lit

Kate,

Loved that article. I hope there is a gravitation toward the "women's literature" category. I wish they had a women's lit section in bookstores. That would be easy, one-stop shopping for me.

I couldn't agree with you more... and I'd love to be your writing buddy if you're interested, because you sound like a smart woman. :) That said, if anyone comes across some good smart chick lit to READ as inspiration, let me know. I feel like I've read all the good stuff on the shelves, but I'd love to know that I've missed some.

Kassandra Kuehl
Minneapolis Writing Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-27418-Minneapolis-Writing-Examiner

I've cringed at the term chick lit too. But like many of you, I consider it to be a story about women. Our relationships (not just with men, but with our mothers, daughters, friends, etc.), the ways we define ourselves, our standards, our joys and heartaches. I would rather see it called "Women's Lit" but it's up to us to change it!

I don't really care for the high powered, big city, stilletto heel and powersuit wearing, Sex/City genre - but that's simply because it's so far removed from my life as to be non-existent. Nor do I like the rural soccer mom who's struggling to lose 20 pounds and win back her cheating husband genre.

I've always preferred the books that feature a MC with insight, a willingness to examine her motivations, a creative streak, strong friendships, some quirky habits, a sense of humor and a unique perspective that makes me think about my own life.

And that's what I hope to accomplish in my novel too. VAGUE outline at this point: Woman (early 40s) who owns a marina and lives on her sailboat has ongoing conflict with her manipulative and overbearing mother that she tries to put into perspective, while having doubts about allowing her long-time friendship with a man to develop into something more and helping her "off the beaten path" best friend deal with her midlife crisis. All this while trying to deal with her own steps into premenopause. All approached with humor and a down to earth attitude.

We'll see! Best of luck to you all with your own plots/characters and "women's lit" endeavors!