One of my favorite genres is contemporary women’s fiction. But, what is it? How do you define this genre? Is women’s fiction another term for romantic fiction?
According to Wikipedia, women’s fiction is defined as: “an umbrella term for a wide-ranging collection of literary sub-genres that are marketed to female readers, including many mainstream novels, romantic fiction, “chick lit,” and other sub genres.”
Lisa Craig wrote a very thorough article about the difference between women’s fiction and romance. In her article, she states “Women’s fiction, however — like the women who read it — has evolved to include subjects and themes that range far beyond romance.” Many women’s fiction novels that I’ve read deal with very serious issues, including domestic violence, infidelity, death, disabilities, infertility, pregnancy, divorce, etc. The list could go on and on. I feel that women’s fiction is fundamentally different from romance. Romance, generally, has a hero and heroine who find each other and work through some issues before they decide they want to be together forever. There’s usually always a happy ending and the hero and heroine live happily ever after. That’s my opinion, in a nutshell. I know a lot of romance does have elements of women’s fiction. However, I define romance and women’s fiction differently. If the relationship between the hero and heroine is secondary to other plotlines, then I would define it as “women’s fiction”. If the relationship between the hero and heroine is what drives the story, I would define it as “romance”. I’ve also noticed that the romance genre contains many more love scenes that a women’s fiction novel. The scenes go on for many pages and contain more detail than what I normally find in a women’s fiction novel.
A question I asked myself recently after reading the amazing book, Between Friends
To answer this, I’d have to say it parallels real life. I like to see how characters deal with a situation that *I* might find myself in. Another reason is the author The author’s ability to engage the reader, drawing you into the story and making you feel like you are a part of it. I get so engrossed in these books that I feel as if the characters are my friends. I feel their ups and downs as if I’m really experiencing the situation in real life. If the author has the ability to make a reader feel that connected to the story, he or she is truly talented. I love emotional stories. I love reading about relationships between friends and families. They are more true to life and I think that’s why I enjoy them so much. I could actually picture these situations happening. There isn’t always a happy ending. The stories can be tragic. BUT, it’s the journey of the characters; the resolution at the end that drives the story and keeps me turning the pages.
I recently came upon an interesting article entitled: Why is women’s fiction so miserable?
I don’t feel that women’s fiction is miserable! It’s emotional and really makes you think about true-to-life issues. A lot of this genre comes from real life stories. I found this article interesting and you may, too!
All in all, I love this genre and I can’t get enough of it. What is your favorite women’s fiction novel? I’m always looking for suggestions! Let me know if you read this genre, as I’d love to find others who enjoy this as much as I do!
Well, I think the assertion that women's fiction is "miserable" is narrow-minded. We all read books for a number of reasons. People who are more attracted to the guarantee of a happy ending would, honestly, probably be happier reading the "romance" genre because that genre typically comes with a happy ending (that statement isn't intended to be derogatory in any way; I actually read and appreciate books of all kinds).
Although I hate generalizations, as a rule, I'm going to go ahead and say this: my problem with "genre fiction" books (like those classified as romance) as opposed to more mainstream, less specifically categorized women's fiction is that I don't *usually* find as much literary value in the genre fiction. Genre fiction has a tendency to seem somewhat formulaic, all the way down to the happy ending. And while a good writer will work an excellent plot, intriguing characters and other crafty elements into that formula, I still find myself occasionally craving something a little thicker. Which is not to say that there's no value in genre fiction; I believe that there's a LOT of value in it. I just don't always find it satisfying on an emotional or intellectual level.
This is my opinion, of course, and there are always exceptions to the rule.
I respect writers who write for themselves and tell the story that THEY want to tell. I definitely realize that it's a business, but come on….it's also an ART. If a writer wants to write a "humorous" book, as the person in that article discusses, and nobody likes it….well, as long as they're satisfied with it, then I'd say mission accomplished.
I've thought about this a lot too, Jen! I do think there's a big difference between regular women's fiction, which is why I always refer to what you're talking about as contemporary fiction or contemporary women's fiction. It's my favorite genre too for many of the same reasons you said. It's real life. I, too, feel like I could know these women or they could be my friends. It deals with real issues, etc. It's sort of therapeutic in a way to be able to relate to other women in real life situations so I know that's a big part of it as well. I like other women's fiction like chick lit and there is a time for those too. Those tend to be more fun and have happy endings. I love reading about girls in their 20's living it up in NYC and having fun (reading one like that right now, hehe) but I always fall back on contemporary fiction. I'm not a big romance person at all though.Whenever I've thought about writing, I've always focused on contemporary fiction too. I guess we just naturally like certain genres more. Some of my favorites in this genre are Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, and Barbara Delinsky. What's ironic, though, is none of what I consider my favorite books are in this genre! (though there are some I remember more than others)
Thanks for this excellent post too! I also read a lot of contemporary women's fiction – I guess I just like stories written by women for women which deal with topics I can relate to. I also enjoy these because because they entertain me as well as make me think. Oooh, I couldn't possibly choose a favourite, but some of my favourite authors are Sophie Kinsella, Jodi Picuolt, Marian Keyes, Alexandra Potter, Jenny Colgan, etc.
Which authors would YOU recommend?
I love Kristy Kiernan, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Ann Hood, Lisa See, etc. I could go on and on! There are so many!
Thanks for the comments so far!
I actually think women's fiction doesn't necessarily have to be written by women. I recently read and reviewed A NOTE FROM AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE by Bill Walker and I LOVED it! I would actually put it in the women's fiction genre. I highly recommend it!
Ummm, would it be bad form to just pop in here and say THANK YOU?!
Kristy!! I'm honored to have you pop in here! Feel free to pop up any time! LOL
I feel honored that you took the time to come here and respond! 
Kristy!! I'm honored to have you pop in here! Feel free to pop up any time! LOL
I feel honored that you took the time to come here and respond! 
'Cause I can relate to them
'Cause I can relate to them
I am very into the work of Winterson, Kristy Gunn, Penelope Fitzgerald, A S Byatt, Anita Brookner, Banana Yoshimoto, Fan Wu for example-these are all great contemporary female authors but do they write "women's fiction"?-maybe Brookner and Yoshimoto do -need to clarify a bit more what we mean here by women's fiction-very interesting topic and post
What a wonderful topic. Honestly, if I had come across this topic a couple years ago, I would not have had anything of significance to add to this discussion. But after taking countless women's lit and feminism classes, I feel like I can really talk about women's literature in an informed way. I think that there is a huge difference between women's fiction and romance. There might be elements of romance in women's literature books but that doesn't make the two genres synonymous. I think that women's fiction has a lot to do with just what it says: women's issues. And these issues aren't fluff: they are very really for a lot of women. Any book that attempts to tackle even one of these issues is embarking on an ambitious endeavor as is anyone reading them. They do illicit a certain emotional response, but for me at least, it's not because the seek to inflict any kind of pain or unhappiness on the reader but because they ring so true to life. The fact that these works of fiction reflect the truths that we see in our own lives, they inevitably affect those brave enough to read them. And isn't that why we read? So we can be affected…that's why I read.