Chick Lit Author Roundtable

4. AOTW: Does Chick Lit have to be funny to work? Explain.

Sherrie Krantz: I think so. Chick Lit has to be able to poke fun at the familiar. The best Chick Lit characters always seem to have a self-deprecating nature, even at the most difficult of times. Even if the subject matter is serious in nature, Chick Lit characters are always able to recognize a smidgen of a silver lining somewhere. Like real women, Chick Lit characters always search for a bright side and make great observations.

Donna Kauffman: Not at all. Again, initially these were "struggling city girl figures out her life" stories --- as typified by Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, and appealed to readers because of the heroine's blunt and perhaps somewhat snarky view of her world. She wasn't perfect, which made her human, and her humorous take on life's obstacles made her trials and travails more accessible to the reader. But the genre has grown quickly and has already expanded well beyond those boundaries. The humor found in most of the earlier works is still a common narrative tone, but it isn't a necessity any longer. I was recently fortunate enough to read Karen Brichoux's upcoming book, Separation Anxiety. And while the POV character does have a certain sarcastic wit, the book is by and large an emotional and very moving story. Yet, it still definitely falls within the Chick Lit genre and will appeal to that audience.

Gemma Townley: I love books that make me laugh out loud, but I wouldn't say it's crucial --- having said that, I think it's a lot easier to address issues in a humorous way, allowing the reader (and writer!) to laugh at themselves through a character in a book. Wit is essential, but comedy probably isn't. I think the bottom line is that neither the author nor the protagonist should take themselves too seriously.

Sarah Salway: Nothing works on one level. A book that's just a series of laughs is ultimately boring, equally one full of heart angst. I think there needs to be humour, yes, but that's because women are really funny and so the literature reflects that. Just look around a bar full of men and women and see which groups are laughing the most. I guarantee you it'll be the women nearly three-quarters of the time.

Harley Jane Kozak: I don't think so --- but it always helps. Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles is not Chick Lit. And while (spoiler alert!) this could be because Chick Lit heroines aren't supposed to be executed at the end of the story, who's to say what would've happened if he'd put in just a few laughs …

Jennifer Coburn: For the most part, Chick Lit is funny. The protagonists tend to be self-deprecating, neurotic women who are willing to poke fun at themselves and those in their lives. Yes, I think Chick Lit needs to be light and funny in order to be considered Chick Lit. Insights about life and love are also helpful. If it's not funny, it's contemporary women's fiction like The Secret Life of Bees and White Oleander, which are both gorgeous, gorgeous books I highly recommend. But funny they are not. Nor are they Chick Lit.

Valerie Frankel: If Chick Lit weren't funny, it would be soap opera. The audience (incidentally, NOT married men in their fifties and sixties) thinks their own lives are pretty darn funny. The readers want to relate to the characters in the books they choose, and most of the 20- to 35-year-old women I know (see question number three), think their lives are hilarious. They can't wait to get on the phone with their friends to recount the latest bad date or workplace drama. They trade horror stories like comic gifts. If the protagonist in a novel didn't have horror stories (comic gifts to the reader) and was instead blessed with a charmed existence --- free of folly, misadventure, humiliation, confusion, bedroom snafus and speedy costume changes --- the reader would be bored out of her freaking mind; she wouldn't relate to the character.

Whitney Lyles: Not necessarily. I don't know if this book has been officially categorized as Chick Lit, but The Dive from Clausen's Pier is about a modern young woman facing modern dilemmas with love life and career. There is really nothing funny about the book, but it's very compelling. Whenever I open a book, I want to be moved. I want to laugh or cry. If a writer can stir emotions they've done a good job.

Carole Matthews: Yes. I do think Chick Lit essentially has to be sassy and witty. It also needs to be sharp and edgy. It's looking at life with tongue firmly in the cheek, and using humour to escape from or work through problems is one of the key coping mechanisms for humans. I like my books to be lighthearted and, hopefully, laugh-out-loud, but I like to explore some of the softer emotions too and maybe have a tear or two in there as well.

Alisa Kwitney: I think that Chick Lit, stripped of its cute moniker, is essentially romantic satire. It's a close cousin to romantic comedy, but tends to be edgier, with sharper teeth and fewer reservations about taking a bite out of something. Of course, the secret to all good comedy and satire is that it doesn't have to be funny all the time to work --- in fact, it works better when it allows for some anger and sadness and passion to show through.

Jennifer Weiner: I think it does. Because it frequently deals with heavy topics (the dysfunctional family, the demon boss), humor leavens the brickbats and keeps readers from feeling like they're being bashed over the head with misery, or with morals.

Wendy Holden: Yes, because without jokes and/or wry humour, all that moaning about living in a bedsit in south east London waiting for Mr. Right would just be too depressing. Either that or it would win the Booker Prize.

Deanna Kizis: That's interesting. Let's say I was to write a book for a female audience but it wasn't funny. Would that mean, then, that it's just Lit? I guess if we're going to group these books as a genre, then yes, it has to be funny. Just as a horror book needs to be scary. Plus, you don't want to get too earnest --- there's a "yuck" factor to avoid. Then again, not every moment has to be a whiz-bang laugh riot. That could get exhausting for the reader.

Meg Cabot: Um, to me, a BOOK has to be funny to work. I don't like un-funny books. Life is un-funny enough most of the time. I don't need un-funny in my reading material. They can have un-funny MOMENTS, but the overall tone needs to be funny. To me.

Elizabeth Crane: My idea of a perfect book of any kind balances humor and pain.

Marian Keyes: Yes. It's about real life and I know very few people who don't enjoy a laugh, especially in the face of difficulties --- it's what makes our problems bearable.