Recently, the Nerdy Chicks conducted a workshop at the New England SCBWI Conference about Creating Chick Lit for Chicklets. Here is a recap of what we talked about…

What is Chicklet Chick Lit?

Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly. Chick lit for chicklets is pretty much the same thing but geared specifically to the interests of a child or young adult audience. The main character of Chick Lit is always a strong female who bucks authority to follow her dreams.

What qualifies as Chicklet Chick Lit?

Not every book with a female main character would be considered chicklet chick lit — this is important to keep in mind. Some books just happen to have female main characters. In this very limited case, just being a girl is not enough.

In Chicklet Chick Lit, the main character’s obstacles and challenges must be specific to gender. The chick lit heroine is very aware of her world and the details of this world will deeply affect her choices/actions.

Let me introduce you to my friends…

In addition to the main character, Chick Lit is often populated by strong secondary characters. Here are some of the archetypes commonly found in Chick Lit for Chicklets:

Now you all know more about writing Chick Lit for Chicklets — we hope you try your hand at this fabulous genre!

(If you attended the Nerdy Chicks’ workshop at NESCBWI and would like a copy of the entire PowerPoint, please fill out the form below or email Sudipta or Kami directly)