Create Your Own Chick-Lit Novel!

Using the principles of the Aristotle 8-point story arc and combining various tropes of the chick-lit genre, you, too, can build a plot outline for a pink-covered trade paperback in no time at all!

This could be an invaluable tool for those of you who got a late start on NaNoWriMo. Or, print out the ideas, cut 'em up, and draw them at random for a fun trash-writing exercise! Who knows, maybe you can be the next Helen Fielding, Jennifer Weiner, or Jane Green!

I. Stasis

Your protagonist works as a(n):

• __ indeterminate "high-powered executive" of some sort
  
• __ newspaper/magazine columnist
  
• __ publishing/media drone
  
• __ personal shopper
  
• __ socialite

Your protagonist's looks could best be described as:

• __ Average, but cute, with one flaw she hates
  
• __ Gorgeous and perfect in every way
  
• __ Doesn't think she's pretty until some guy tells her she is
  
• __ A little on the heavy side (but don't worry, she'll lose the weight and be pretty by the end of the book)
  
• __ Secretly pretty, but her true beauty is masked by her lack of style (i.e. bad shoes)

Your protagonist's personality could best be described as:

• __ Spunky, plucky, irrepressible, and adorably neurotic
  
• __ Book-smart and too serious for her own good
  
• __ Fabulous, especially her shoes!

II. Trigger

Your protagonist gets dumped by the love of her life, who (check all that apply):

• __ cheated on her with her best friend
  
• __ cheated on her with her worst enemy
  
• __ is actually gay
  
• __ left her at the altar
  
• __ was her boss
  
• __ was obsessed with his high-powered job
  
• __ was obsessed with his shiftless hobby that he pretended was a job
  
• __ spent all her money
  
• __ got caught trying on her shoes

III. Quest

In order to nurse her broken heart, Protagonist (check no more than three):

• __ Moves to a new apartment or city
  
• __ Returns to the flyover state of her origin, with hilarious results
  
• __ Takes up a new hobby, with hilarious results
  
• __ Attempts to find a new boyfriend using such means as personal ads, and goes on lots of dates with hilarious results
  
• __ Drinks and parties copiously at clubs that were cool five years ago, with hilarious results
  
• __ Works out and diets, with optionally hilarious (but noticeable) results
  
• __ Gets a makeover, with optionally hilarious results
  
• __ Meets and dates a guy she initially thinks is great
  
• __ Meets a perfect guy who adores her, but for some reason she won't date him despite his persistent attempts to woo her
  
• __ Buys a lot of designer shoes

Her primary sources of support along the way are (check no more than three):

• __ Her cadre of best girlfriends
  
• __ Her best gay boyfriend
  
• __ Her best straight male friend who's secretly madly in love with her
  
• __ Her coworkers and/or boss
  
• __ Her eccentric-yet-lovable parents
  
• __ Her cat, dog, or other pet which she treats like a human
  
• __ Alcohol
  
• __ Designer shoes

IV. Surprise

The following unexpected events occur, disrupting Protagonist's new life (check no more than three):

• __ Protagonist is led to believe that the new guy she's been dating is a jerk.
  
• __ Just as her resolve begins to wear down, the perfect guy that won't leave the Protagonist alone appears to be a jerk and/or appears to give up on her.
  
• __ The old guy Protagonist was dating at the beginning of the story reappears and wants her back.
  
• __ Constant shoe-shopping has caused Protagonist to amass large amounts of debt.
  
• __ An absolutely gorgeous yet completely evil (and possibly also stupid) antagonist appears to threaten Protagonist's job, budding relationship, pets, and/or shoes
  
• __ A primary source of support disappoints the Protagonist by dating someone she likes.
  
• __ A primary source of support disappoints the Protagonist by disapproving of her behavior in some way, whether they are right or wrong in doing so.
  
• __ A primary source of support disappoints the Protagonist by chewing on her designer shoes.

V. Critical Choice

Faced with surprises, the Protagonist must make a crucial decision or several:

• __ Which guy, of multiple suitors, to choose?
  
• __ To keep the old job or strike out on her own with newly discovered talent?
  
• __ What kind of pink cocktail to order next?
  
• __ Which pair of designer shoes to buy?

VI. Climax

As a result of the Protagonist's choice, one or more of the following happens:

• __ Protagonist loses her job.
  
• __ Protagonist loses the Perfect Guy.
  
• __ Protagonist loses the friendship of a primary source of support.
  
• __ Protagonist falls into wave of self-pity and junk food and balloons to a size 6.
  
• __ Protagonist drinks herself into a Cosmopolitan stupor.
  
• __ Protagonist ruins a very important pair of shoes.

VII. Reversal

Where she was happy in her job/relationship/friendship/shoes, Protagonist is now:

• __ Unemployed
  
• __ Single
  
• __ Friendless
  
• __ Fat(ter than before)
  
• __ In need of a new drink
  
• __ Barefoot

VIII. Resolution

After some serious moments of soul-searching, Protagonist comes back out on top. All antagonists are thwarted and personal demons confronted. She has now found her true professional calling as:

• __ A pet groomer
  
• __ A teacher
  
• __ A small-business owner
  
• __ A VIP at the rival company to the company she used to work for
  
• __ A non-drone in publishing/media
  
• __ A writer
  
• __ The wife of somebody very wealthy
  
• __ A shoe buyer
  

And, of course, perfect romance with:

• __ The boyfriend she was with at the beginning of the story, who has now reformed.
  
• __ Her best male friend, for whom she realized deep feelings just before it was too late
  
• __ The perfect guy who's been chasing her all along, who isn't a jerk after all
  
• __ The guy she initially thought was great, who isn't a jerk after all
  
• __ A deus-ex-machina love interest who appears out of nowhere at the last minute
  
• __ Her boss
  
• __ A shoe salesman

(Disclaimer: Management has never actually written a chick-lit novel, management just reads a lot of them. Management assumes no responsibility for declines in productivity or quality of writing that may result from employing "Create Your Own Chick-Lit Novel".)

(Extra thanks to Sharon for her input and suggestions as I composed this fun little exercise.)