New to the Genre...

Voice is EVERYTHING in Chick Lit. The stereotype is to do it in first person, present tense, but that's not a requirement. The main thing is to give the reader the feeling like you're talking to them over a coffee (or a few cosmos, if we're going on stereotypes). You don't have to follow the formula of trendy drinks, designer shoes and neuroses about one's weight, and frankly, if you can avoid those cliches, even better.

Good luck and happy writing!

Hi A.S.,

Congrats on your commitment to expanding your skills through other styles and genres! Quite a noble goal!

One word of caution regarding Chick Lit - as the other response mentioned, voice is everything. Chick Lit is very much about the female experience and everything that goes along with it. I watched a great documentary on RTE (Ireland TV) that discussed this very topic and many of the writers mentioned that part of their "job" was staying on top of nightlife, fashion, etc. Not to say that all women (or even all women who read Chick Lit) are into the Vogue or Cosmo lifestyle, but there is a certain mindset that even if you aren't "into it" that you have internalized that experience. (I hope that made sense...) Chick Lit is all about translating the female experience and giving women worldwide a world that, if not similar to their own, is one they can inherently relate to.

So my advice to you would be to talk to lots of women and really listen to the thoughts, feelings, emotions behind the dialogue. Spend time looking through "female directed" publications - magazines, television, etc. Think about the messages those publications are putting out and how women would be receiving those messages.

I hope this is helpful. I'm looking forward to hearing how you do. Quite the interesting experiment!

Hey A.S.

Like you I'm completely new to the genre.... mind you I have a one-up on you in being female but don't let that stop you!

I agree with most of what the others have said about voice etc - but I don't necessarily agree that Chick Lit has to have the stereotypes of what's hot in fashion etc - though that's certainly the way that the genre is going at the moment.

Are you wanting to prep yourself by reading some chick lit? Popular chick lit novels would be things like Bridget Jones' Diary, Devil Wears Prada, The Nanny Diaries etc -- mind you these are all movies now so if you don't have the time to read the novels you can watch the movies to get an idea.

I'm a 33-yr-old female and I don't think I've actually had much exposure to chick lit, either - but that seems to be the direction I'm headed in for this year's Nano, too! Crazy. I'm more the science-fiction/fantasy writer.

I actually doubt me being a chick will help in this regard. :) Although, if Richard Peck can write a young adult fiction, posing as a teenage girl, I have half a shot writing from the femal perspective.

Otherwise, I'm just dropping in, hoping to get hints/advice and share my woes and triumphs with the coming month. Good luck to you!!!

I really enjoyed the Devil Wears Prada film, and if I can find the time I'll pick up the book and give it a read. I'll also look into those other titles, and I'll certainly watch the films.

Thanks for the tip!

I'm totally new to this genre as well. I've read a little bit of chick lit, but not much. Looks like I need to work on changing that over the course of the month.

I've started throwing together my characters and piecing together a setting for them. My challenge is going to be either a) not straying too close to the line between memoir and fiction, or b) not discussing the details of my novel to much of anyone (because the plot is going to be roughly based on my experiences over the past summer). Also I'm going to have to work at finding humor in a situation that I haven't personally found very humorous. Sarcasm will probably abound.

Anyone have tips for writing semi-autobiographical pieces without trampling on other people's privacy? Especially when writing about unpleasant situations?

Like someone's already said, voice is really key, and it'll be interesting to see how you portray it, as a young male (sorry, not to stereotype). The characters themselves tend to be young; usually in their first jobs out of college, or so. For some reason, alot of these characters tend to desire careers in the publishing industry (though I think it'd be interesting for one to be a computer programmer, just for something new). Additionally, chick lit is often centered on relationships. When I wrote that sentence, I was initially thinking only about male/female relationships, but now that I think of it, chick lit is often about how the main character and her [often female] friend[s] navigate [generally] yuppy life.

Best of luck with your NaNo endeavors!

Yes, one of the challenges I believe I'll face writing this Nano novel is exploring the genre, without relying on the stereotypes it brings, as I think it would be very easy to do that, being a young male.

It will be an interesting month, and I'm hoping at the end I'll have learned something, and been able to bring a little different flavor to the genre than other, more typical chick lit authors, may bring...

I must say though, this forum is looking like it will be quite the fun place to hang out. Especially as I try and figure out the genre. Thanks for all the great advice everyone! Keep it coming. I see there are plenty of newbies to chick lit around, it's good to hear I'm not alone!

Hey kysandra,

Change names, change locations, put it someplace far away... add in events that didn't happen, take away small events that did happen etc etc.

It's touchy no matter how you do it, but most writers write for experience so I say go for it. You might just have to realize that some people might come across it and be insulted... but really who's privacy are you infringing on if you change everything around? An outside reader isn't going to know that Bob is actually Joel your next door neighbor.

Hi

Why not have a look at some the guys writing chick litty type things? I recommend Mike Gayle http://www.mikegayle.co.uk/ and John O'Farrell http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/o/john-ofarrell/

And obviously - read some chick lit - read lots.

I'm curious to know why you've picked a genre you don't seem to have a natural affinity with - or maybe you just relish a challenge.

Good luck

Cathy

Also Nick Hornby is another good "ladlit" writer.

This is all really tying in. I've never heard of ChickLit before, but now that I've got an idea of what it's about, it really makes sense. I've really been getting into it lately (probably to make up for my uneventful love life), and nearly all of the things listed above were in it, or referenced in some way.

Is there any way to write a ChickLit that doesn't have any of these cliches? Because I'm trying to figure out whether my idea would fit into ChickLit or Mainstream Fiction.

And I'm assuming any type of Broadway reference or character would be cliche as well?

I think the trick here is to stop thinking so much of what you'll write as 'chick lit', which is just a bland marketing term. There are many writers lumped into the category that probably also crossover into other areas.

'Chick Lit' has received bad press at times - and with some writers this is deserved, there is some pure dross out there, just as in any genre! However think more of 'Contemporary Commercial Fiction' that just happens to have a female voice.

I do think you need to read some before launching into writing some though and would hugely recommend Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and even Jennifer Weiner as kick off points.

What matters most is you find your own way and avoid writing a 'genre'. Don't try to hard to fit into what you may think to be a formula, because then you end up sitting at the end of the Chick Lit scale where the afore-mentioned dross resides.

After reading all the post I am really wondering if my story is Chic Llit.

Here's the basic.

A plain Jane type of girl is wronged by unfeeling guy who is totally caught up in the Gaming things.
She decides to get even by getting better at the stupid game and killing his character every time he plays.

As her online character develops her real life personality begins to change, Eventually plain Jane becomes Hot Babe.

My question is: Is that Chick Lit?

At first I thought it was Action Adventure type stuff with a bit of suspense/romance. I had not thought of writing it 1st person, but I can see how that would work. But...?? I know romance usually has a happy ending. My ending will not be happy. Boy does not get girl. Girl finds out the revenge is a two edged sword.

What do you all think. If not Chick Lit...what is it.

Paula in Cary, NC

Hey Makana - I love the idea for that story!

And I'd have to say it is indeed chick-lit.

Chick-Lit tends to just mean (in the most general sense) that the main character is a strong female and romance more often than not is involved.

I don't think it needs a happy ending at all - so long as the main female character has grown in some form or another and learned something at the end of the book, mostly about herself. At least that's my take on it since that's how my novel will roll.... My main character has her ultimate goal (getting published) and smaller goals that are unrealized... she achieves some of those smaller goals but fails at her ultimate goal.

I posted this last year because it's one of the most valuable lessons I got in a chick lit writing course that I took. The instructor was Stephanie Lehmann (you should check out her books - they're great). This is Stephanie's eight-part structure for chick lit, and she gets all the credit:

The eight-part structure works like a timeline. Remember, it does not need to be slavishly adhered to. Use it as a guide to the extent that it helps you conceive of your book.

1. The set-up. The beginning of your book sets up who the main character and what she wants. Both her outer need (an action in the world, like a career or ambition) and her inner need (her feelings, her psychology) are established. The outer need is what the heroine thinks she wants, and the inner need is what she really wants.

2. The love interest. Our main character meets the guy who is going to make her suffer for most of the rest of the book. Or do they already know each other? If so, what’s wrong with the relationship, and why can’t they take the next step, whatever that is.

3. The stakes. Opportunity presents itself. Something happens that makes the situation more exciting. The main character’s expectations are raised. Her inner problems (what are they again?) make whatever is going on in her life become even more intense. And/or… something happens in her outer life that makes her inner problems more intense.

4. She rises to the occasion. Most likely, she is experiencing early success. Things seem to be going her way. She seems to be achieving her outer need.

5. Things start to go wrong. The antagonist makes things more difficult for the main character. Her inner need may be preventing her from achieving her outer need. You are weaving together the storylines so that they all are inevitably crashing towards…

6. The Crisis. Everything falls apart. The antagonist seems to have prevailed. Your heroine hits rock bottom. She is losing everything. Her love interest doesn’t want her. The worst happens. I like to have a crisis in mind from the beginning – a scenario in which I can imagine everything that I’ve been setting up going wrong. It needs to be the “right” crises, in that it needs to be an event that helps the heroine learn something about herself.

7. She takes a risk. Your heroine does something extreme, acts totally unlike herself, goes beyond the call of duty, does “the right thing,” finally tells the truth… She is facing down her demons.

8. The resolution. Our main character has changed – or, in a more Chekhovian ending, perhaps she just learns to accept the highly imperfect way she is. Or perhaps a mixture of both. In any case, she either ends up with the guy or she doesn’t.

Kysandra wrote:
"Anyone have tips for writing semi-autobiographical pieces without trampling on other people's privacy? Especially when writing about unpleasant situations?"

This is my dilemma too. I figure I can plow onwards and let my (hopeful) future editor and/or lawyer worry about details that should be changed to protect the innocent.

I don't think my intended novel really classifies as 'Chick-Lit' as it's probably a bit New Age for that. The Chick-Lit reader is really the audience I want to target though so I'll be watching this forum with anticipation.

This is my first NaNo.

I'm also new to this genre, even though I do enjoy reading it. The last two years, my Nano novels were historical romance, which is my first love, but I have a story that I dying to write that automatically fits the 'chick-lit' genre.' This year my story takes place in 1999, so I guess it could still be considered historical. I'm sure my story will be very cliche, but as long as I hit 50M words and end up with some sort of plot in the end, I will be happy.

This is awesome! How fun. Well, I think I got about half of those covered and the rest I'm hoping will unfold as Nano does. :) I think I'll definitely come back to this list to help inspire/push me forward in the coming month!!! :-D Thank you for posting this!!

Hi A.S.,

I never got around to reading this book, but I remember one of my friend's in college reading a book called, "She's Come Undone" (I think it was an Oprah's Book Club Book). Anyhow, my friend was telling me that she was surprised to learn that the author was a man because he wrote about women so well! So you could rock this genre, too! The author's name is Wally Lamb.

Right now I have a bathroom read called, "Straight Up and Dirty" by Stephanie Klein. The quote on the book cover says, "Outrageous, outspoken and always honest...makes Sex and the City look passe." Check out her blog at www.stephanieklein.com

Hope this helps!

I'm really sad that 1999 is historical. It feels like yesterday...and now I feel old.

But I suppose it was last century!

www.disyc.blogspot.com

Hi everyone! My name is AJ and I'm new to the genre because I'm new to Nano. My roommate told me about it and here I am. I think I'm writing a cross between a Chick Lit and a Fantasy Lit. I tried my time in the Fantasy form and just felt like it wasn't the place for me. I coined the phrase Diet Fantasy because I'm not going hard core into creating new words and new languages, but there is a little bit of powers/magic in my novel that I will be working on.

AJ

Hi AJ!

That idea actually sounds pretty neat. I normally write a lot of fantasy myself. I love the term Diet Fantasy.

I'm a part of a group on Writing.Com called Fantasy+. Instead of High Fantasy a lot of people in the group write what's normally considered "Low Fantasy" but we call it Fantasy+... like Fantasy+ Adventure or Fantasy+ Horror or Fantasy+ Romance so I'm pretty sure you can do a Fantasy+ Chicklit!

Mine is too semi autobiographical, and if you read the plot you would think I was hurting a lot of feelings, but I have over exxagerrated a lot of incidences, and added a lot to them, plus changed gender of some of the players. Im also basing a few of my characters on 2 people at once, makes it hard to tell who Im really insulting...or flattering...lol

Wow! Thanks so much for posting this!!! I think it will offer a lot of help when I'm feeling stuck and not knowing where to go next... which will probably be frequently... lol

In my opinion, chick lit is really all about capturing the essence of the female mind.

Hah! Oh, how I laugh at myself...

But yeah, it's about the tendencies, the stupid things we do and then cringe and jump about in frustration later : it's about how we think and how we react to things.

Therefore, chick lit really needs to be... realistic and idealistic.

Well, that probably didn't make sense.

GOOD!

**scoffs at self**

I think that's the first description of Chick Lit that encompasses my story. I still think mine is chick lit, I'm just getting the idea that no one else will.

Not that it really matters as no one is ever going to actually get to read it.

* left lame comment

Just wanted to say thanks for this, Bozoette! I'm getting a little more nervous as our crucial date looms ever closer - so this little guide is helping keep me calm. LOL

If nothing else, my outline is being helped along by this as well. ;)