What is Women’s Fiction?
When it comes to writing a novel, there are many genres that a story can fall within. When I first started writing, it felt challenging to box myself into just one. My stories seemed to pull from elements of many genres. As I began to learn more about the world of literature, I gravitated toward stories of strong female main characters on a transformative journey of becoming the person they needed to achieve what they wanted. These stories felt relatable. I consider myself a strong woman that has overcome many obstacles in my own life and when I reflect on my past experiences, I begin to see the growth that came from these challenges. These uncomfortable moments of growth were ultimately invitations to step into the woman I wanted to become. These are the stories that light me up as a writer and as a reader. I share this to say, that you don’t need to get caught up trying to define what genre your novel falls under. Start writing and see where the story goes. It will inherently find a home, but you need a story before you can attribute a genre label.
Women’s Fiction Defined
If you are writing a story with a protagonist on a journey similar to what I described above, then it very well might be a women’s fiction novel.
How is the women’s fiction genre defined? Women’s fiction can be defined as a novel with a main character who is navigating their role in society as they are faced with significant life changes requiring them to transform through emotional reflection and personal growth, which outwardly changes their relationships and surroundings, leading to a hopeful ending. Hello, internal and external struggles!
As women, we still don’t have equal pay and rights, this genre’s title might feel a little off-putting because big publishing houses market these books directly to the female consumer and includes sub-genres like chick-lit, romance, and thrillers. Despite any negative sentiments about the genre title, I find it to be a powerful genre. As women, we navigate a lot in life under the patriarchal ceiling and the more we can learn from each other through stories, the more I believe we’ll move toward equality. I only wish men would read these books to truly understand a woman’s experience. But that is a whole other topic we’ll save for another day.
I identify as a woman who has had to up-level through uncomfortable personal growth multiple times in my life so far, it’s no surprise that these stories resonate so deeply with me. As I wrote in this blog on the science behind storytelling, stories are impactful because our brains literally store the information for future use so we’ll know how to respond in the event we face the same situation.
There is literally a scientific reason why you love to read and write stories!
Women Fiction Writers
If you’re scratching your head and still unsure of what qualifies as a women’s fiction novel, here are a few well-known examples that you’ve most likely read:
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Chocolat by JoAnne Harris
The Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
These women’s fiction books are great examples of strong women taking on life circumstances and coming out better as a result. Was it easy? Nope. That’s what makes these stories relatable. We will all face challenges in our lives from the loss of a job, a loved one, a divorce, or changes within relationships or friendships. All of the authors listed above capture the journey of a woman experiencing phenomenal change which as hard as it is, points her toward a better future.
Additionally, here are some newly released women’s fiction books that may be on your reading list:
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
People we Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca
What I love about this genre is that each story has varying degrees of love, suspense and history. There is no end to the stories we can read for both entertainment and a reminder that we’re all living a shared experience as women.
Writing Women’s Fiction
When it comes to writing a women’s fiction novel, there are a lot of possibilities. If you’re anything like me, you most likely have a ton of ideas and too little time to write all the stories. In fact, I’ve given up trying to count the number of times I’ve gone to start a new novel only to realize there wasn’t enough “meat” to the story to write 80,000+ words.
Here is the process I use to better understand if my story idea has what it takes to become a full-length women’s fiction novel:
Develop a dynamic protagonist.
What are their strengths and weaknesses?
How have they gotten to be where they are and what state is they are in at the opening of your novel? AKA, what is their back story?
What aspect does she want to change or will be forced to change to get what they want?
Define what your protagonist wants (even if they don’t know it yet).
This might include a better job, a new lover, a divorce, parenting, moving to a new city, honoring a parent who recently passed away, etc.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. They could simply want the remote from across the room - Have fun with this!
What cast of characters exists in your protagonist’s life?
Which characters are pushing their to grow?
Which characters does she have a strained relationship with and why?
Which characters will come closer or fade away as your protagonist grows internally?
Define the external struggles your protagonist will face.
This could include challenging family dynamics, divorce, death of a family member, loss of a job, etc.
Define the internal shift that will take place within your protagonist.
Craft your opening hook.
Drop your reader right into the action. Get them hooked to keep reading.
Have fun! Writing is meant to be creative and a place to explore possibilities. No one has to read the first or second draft for that matter. Those are solely for you.
If you are writing a women’s fiction novel, I applaud you for showing up and telling your story! Especially if you are writing your first novel. It is a unique challenge that only the brave creative embark on. The first novel is always the hardest because the honeymoon phase can fade away around the 1/3 mark. We’re creative people who always have a ton of story ideas floating around, it is hard to stay on task. That is why I created Her Narrative to be a place for aspiring women’s fiction writers to gather, learn and write the story they desire to tell.
Throughout my life, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been discouraged from speaking up. I say F that! I have stories to tell and I know you do too. More than ever the world needs women to tell their stories. Your story truly matters. That is why I’ve built a community to help you be successful and come together with other women writers on the same mission to develop their stories into the world.
Want to write your women’s fiction novel with badass writers? Join the free WriteConnect community.
