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4.
FaithfulReader.com: Does Chick Lit have to be funny to work? Explain.
Kristin Billerbeck: Absolutely. I think Chick Lit that isn't funny is simple women's fiction. Chick Lit handles some deep issues. In the secular realm, there are fabulous Chick Lits that deal with the loss of a husband, broken families, sisterly angst, and yet, while dealing with these dark issues, they are still funny.
Sharon Dunn: I do think it has to be funny because that is what the reader is expecting when they pick up a Chick Lit book. They want to laugh. The degree of funny can vary from roll around on the floor, break all your furniture funny, to Mona Lisa Smile funny. But it does have to have a light, humorous element to it.
Laura Jensen Walker: Yes! For me it does. Otherwise it's ANNA KARENINA or "The Young and the Restless." Single with an unfulfilling job, no decent real estate, a maxed-out credit card, and a family who always asks, "How come a nice girl like you isn't married yet?" Without self-deprecating, sassy wit and humor, it would all be way too depressing.
Annie Jones: Hmmm. I wouldn't think so. In fact, to work I think it has to have some level of emotional reality --- it's own kind of poignancy --- that the reader can connect with.
Judy Baer: It doesn't have to be ha-ha, slapstick, sidesplitting funny, but humor certainly plays a huge part in Chick Lit. I like characters who have a great sense of humor, which shows itself throughout the book. Because it is normally written in first person, there's a lot of opportunity to insert that humor into the character's take on things, her attitudes, her experiences. In THE WHITNEY CHRONICLES, Whitney's best friend discovers she has breast cancer and struggles with depression. Those aren't funny situations, but Whitney's sense of humor brightens the most serious moments. I think there should be lightness in a Chick Lit book, and humor is a great vehicle for that.
Tracey Bateman: I think it does. Otherwise it's just reality-fiction --- drama. That has its place in the world of publishing, and I am a huge fan of Deborah Raney and Francine Rivers and Karen Kingsbury, who deal with real issues. But in this genre, you have to laugh. That's what it's all about. You can't be THAT real without either laughing or crying. So you can either write like Deborah Bedford and tackle issues that make your reader think deep and cry, or you can write Chick Lit/Mom Lit, tackle tough issues, and make your reader think deep and laugh. The reader will pick up whichever genre suits her personal tastes.
What I do not prefer is overblown slapstick. And I think some Lit tends to fall into that trap while trying to maintain its humor. I have to watch out not to take the easy way out by doing that. Better, in my opinion, to keep it hilarious, at the proper moments, but real.
Penny Culliford: I believe so. Although serious issues can and do crop up in Chick Lit. Marian Keyes, for instance, writes about addiction in RACHEL'S HOLIDAY, but the ability to either laugh at a situation or laugh through a situation is fundamental. Humour can be a way of coping with difficult issues.
Allie Pleiter: I'd take that a step farther --- it has to be witty. To me, that means it must have a cleverness that goes beyond situational comedy or slapstick. Now, the fact that I think I'm rather funny and aspire to wit may have a lot to do with that point of view, but it's hard to ask an author to be objective…
Robin Jones Gunn: It has to be authentic. The reader has to be able to smile to herself throughout the book and say, "Ha! I've thought that before, too! So I'm not alone in my neurosis!" or "I remember when something just like that happened to my sister on her birthday! Wait until I give her this book!"
Lori Copeland: If anyone bashes Chick Lit and implies that the books are light reading, then they haven't read enough Chick Lit. Stories range from upbeat and light to meaningful --- at times even angry.
Neta Jackson: I should hope so! Sometimes life is so crazy, we either have to cry hysterically or laugh hysterically. I always say, "Choose laughter."
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