Many pedantic writers may disregard chick lit novels. However, it is important to understand its sociological implications for women as chick lit novels depict the psychological and sociological problems of the modern woman. A plethora of chick lit novels are there today, like The Winter Folly by Lulu Taylor, Prada and Prejudice by Katie Oliver and many more. Chick lit novels are popular because they are fun to read. Since they make light reads, writing chick lit novels is perceived to be an easy task.
But writing a chick lit novel is as challenging as writing any other genre of fiction. Chick lit novels initially began as a genre focused on white, single, young women but now the genre includes subgenres such as sistah lit, southern chick lit, etc. By reaching out to women of different ages, regions and ethnicities, chick lit addresses a broader audience. How do you write a chick lit novel? Here are a few tips that may help you.
1. Choose an urban location for your setting
Chick lit novels are usually character driven. So when you start to write, put emphasis on your characters. Use the urban setting to shape your characters and mould their lifestyles and personalities. If your main character is a young woman in her twenties from urban Delhi, then ensure that she embodies the typical characteristics of a modern woman from Delhi. She may love wearing fashionable clothes, listening to latest songs on her mobile, etc. Most chick lit novels are set in an urban location as this provides readers insight into more fast-paced, exuberant lifestyles.
2. Introduce a glamorous profession
Chick lit novels usually depict women employed in glamorous professions. These typically include fancy jobs in the publishing, advertising or fashion industry, something that readers would love to experience too. However, these women may have to put up with an evil boss who may mistreat them. Most novels depict sweet revenge in the end, when the evil boss gets his/her much-deserved nemesis. When you write your chick lit novel, ensure that you have a woman in a glamorous job who is mistreated but in the end she takes revenge.
3. Include a twist in the plot
When you write a chick lit novel, ensure that your plot is not too easy to decipher. Include a twist in your plot. Introduce something that makes the heroine’s life worse and she must then work her way out. Make your heroine lose her job; or perhaps she breaks up with her boyfriend or she loses her prized apartment. A twist in the plot is a great way to hook your readers.
4. Introduce indecorous romance
Your chick lit novel is not complete without indecorous romance. Your heroine should be involved with a man who is not right for her; of course, your heroine is not aware of this until it is too late and then she ends up with heartbreak. She will continue to nurse her heartbreak until she realizes that she can live a better life without him and/or she realizes with whom she is actually in love with.
In traditional chick lit novels, the heroine used to have a best friend who was gay. Today the gay best friend is one ingredient that has become so overused that many writers now avoid including that in their novels for fear of being criticized for following the same clichés.
I’m Smitha Abraham. I love traveling in my flights of imagination and use these flights to craft short stories and poetry. I am a budding writer from India. My passions are reading, creative writing, listening to music, learning new languages, meeting new people, getting acquainted with different cultures and traveling. Authors like Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, genres like magic realism, historical romance, and writing styles that are imaginative and flow effortlessly fascinate me. I love to unwind with a book curled up on a sofa or by gazing at the stars by the sea shore. I am a nature lover and spending time admiring the sunset and sunrise is relaxing for me.