Does Chick Lit have to be funny to work?
It doesn’t have to be ha-ha, slap-stick, side-splitting funny but humor certainly plays a huge part in Chick Lit. I like characters that 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.
