CREW VIEWS
November is NaNoWriMo - or National Novel Writing Month, where participants use the 30 days of November to write a 50,000-word novel. According to the official website, last year out of the 119,000 participants, more than 21,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line. Even though the Chicklit Club crew is far too busy reading this month, here's what we'd write . . . if we could.
If you were going to write a chick lit novel what would it be about?
CHRISTY: If I were to write a chick lit novel I would definitely aspire to write like Tasmina Perry. She has a great way of writing about many characters at once without having a few of the characters fall through the cracks. My book would be about a woman overcoming her fear of commitment. She would also be extremely independent and is scared of losing that independence by allowing herself to fall for the "perfect guy". I have always wanted to write a book and I think chick lit would be the best type of book to write because most chick lit books have a happy ending!
GINA: I have always wanted to write a novel but haven't had that lightbulb moment yet on what it would be about but I'm hoping someday soon it will come!
KAREN: They do say that everyone has a novel in them and as a huge fan of chick lit myself if I was going to write a book then it would definitely fall into the chick lit category. I have had a couple of little ideas in the past - all of which have never seen the light of day - but in all honesty if push came to shove I have no idea what I would write about. I know I would stick to the formula that works so well in this genre, but at the same time I'd want to put my own little spin on it and try and find a new and exciting idea that would hopefully give it that little bit more of an edge over the other books on the market - although what that idea would be I have no idea. To be honest with you I think I'm more of a reader than a writer.
LEAH: I've thought about this question a lot as writing a novel has always been an aspiration of mine. The more I think about what I would like to read, the more I think that a book about a woman similar to me in age (35-45), who finally takes a chance on the life she has always wanted to live, would be of interest. I would like to write about a woman who has always done the safe thing - taken the job that pays the bills, married the man who could offer her a good life, lived the life that is seemingly "acceptable," white picket fence included. A woman who secretly yearns for a life of adventure and passion; moving all the way to Paris without knowing the language because she wants to immerse herself in the culture and discover something new about herself. A woman who is not afraid to take a chance if it will mean the outcome she is looking for. Of course in true chick lit fashion, this novel would include a lot of humor, a cute boyfriend . . . and the requisite happy ending.
PAULA: If I was to write a chick lit book, the plot would be about two people who meet online and start emailing each other - he is a musician called Ritchie and living it up large and Skye is a lowly worker for a PR company. His band has approached the PR company to represent them, so Skye who is desperate to move up in the ranks has been given the account as a trial run. A couple of days she goes to meet them, and she walks in only to hear Ritchie singing with his gorgeous Scottish/Irish (haven't really decided which yet) accent. He looks up with his gorgeous blue eyes and winks at her, fast-forward the next few days and they realise that they are each the people they have been emailing. They fall in love, only to have interference from his band members as they see her as a groupie. They decide to go their separate ways, as the band has a tour coming up. However, on the tour Ritchie can't help thinking about Skye and vice versa. So across the globe in little New Zealand, Skye hops on a plane to England where they are playing, to proclaim her love to Ritchie - she's decided to go for an all-or-nothing approach. She heads into their concert and Ritchie spots her and dedicates the song to her and after the show, she rushes backstage and they kiss and make up and live happy ever after or for now anyway as this is the 21st century. The story is a modern telling of Cinderella, with musician Ritchie as the prince and Skye the lowly PR worker as Cinderella, Ritchie's bandmates are the Ugly Stepsisters. The inspiration behind the theme is that out of all the fairytales, Cinderella is my favourite with the nice poor girl getting the gorgeous rich guy. The author style that I would most aspire to is a mix between Cecelia Ahern and Sophie Kinsella.
STEPH: Hmmm, just need to toss around a few ideas. How about woman whose mother is desperate for her to marry meets a very eligible bachelor - but he's too stuck up and proud. Or maybe she's a young intern trying to break into the magazine world and has to deal with the boss from hell. Or what about making her someone trying to give up her vices and find love who writes about it all in her diary. Or maybe I should go the paranormal route, which is very popular these days. New girl at school meets the guy of her dreams and finds out he's a vampire. Or the ghost of an aunt comes back to ask her relative to find her missing necklace. Damn, it seems like all the best ideas are already taken. In other words - I've got no idea what I'd write about! I'll leave it to the experts you'll find in our Author A-Zs.
XIUTING: I'd most definitely want to write either something like Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty or Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes. I want to write something that appeals to both teenagers and adults. Basically it's a story about a girl learning about love, through her teen to adult years, relating the different phases of relationships, and how she deals with her parents (apparently they don't love each other but stay in a marriage for the sake of commitment), and how this boy through all her years has helped in her search for the meaning of love. From personal experience, and using inspirations from films and music.