Generally, we have been taught that creativity takes time and that there is a process to creative output. Even so, I would say that in my experience, creativity has seemed like a mystical endeavor that is only accomplished by very special people. “The Process” is rarely seen by those outside of it and instead output seems “natural,” as if there is something inherent to that person and their abilities. In this way,  being creative can seem frustrating.

In high school I enjoyed visual art class. I went out of my way to take a class every year until I graduated, even striking a deal with my mother to remain in French classes (which I was very bad at). I had romantic dreams of being a “starving artist,” creating my deeply talented, renowned works in my loft/studio/ apartment in a re-purposed factory/barn/Victorian attic. I would have torrid love affairs and probably have a small drinking/drug addiction that would only add to my brilliance. But even with all that dreaming, I knew I didn’t have the natural talent that seemed to pass genetically from one artist to their children. Or at least that was the message I received from my ninth through twelfth grade art teacher who, when going down the class list, would announce that “talent is in the room” whenever a local artist’s child was on the roster.

I lack confidence in my own work and strive for perfection, which often leads to a desire to avoid any work that I can not automatically perfect. My avoidance has culminated in years of procrastination and last minute work. I have learned to work under pressure or only when fancy brings me to creativity. This has put a strain on my academic creativity and no where has it been more obvious to me than in the last year.

Grades are not the most important factor to me in academia but I can use them to realize how being aware of my process has changed my output. I am still a procrastinator, but I am also a “do nothing” creative. I was once told by a very wise mentor that a large part of the creative process is “doing nothing.” At the time, this was a great excuse to the procrastinator in me. It may look like all I’m doing is browsing the internet for hours or playing video games or hanging out with friends, but really I’m being CREATIVE. I would then find myself frantically researching/writing the night before something was due, swearing to never do it again… until the next time.

No, my “do nothing” is more nuance now. “Doing nothing” means that I have actually done reading. That I have researched. That I have spoken to other people about my ideas. That I am thinking through my ideas so that when I do sit down to write a paper or presentation, it is there. I need the pressure of a deadline, I work well under that pressure so long as the “do nothing” was productive.

I am learning to have more confidence in my work and to let go of perfectionism. To be honest, the last minute deadline writing is another way that I avoid issues with my desire for perfection. If it has to be out of my hands at a certain date and time then I am happier to just let it fly out in one go. That way I don’t have to fuss over it or stress over it. I am an editor while I write so instead of having a full document then going back, I often spend a long time on single sentences or words as I go along. Perfectionism drives me crazy and so I walk this line of stressing myself out and just letting it go. I don’t think I’ve perfected it yet (ha!) but I am more aware of it.

I still worry that I am not a brilliant as I want to be or should be and I have a hard time not comparing myself to others. This Importer Syndrome, feeling like you’re not good enough, is a tough nut to crack. But I think it is just another part of the process. I think being creative has a lot to do with sharing one’s self and that can be intimidating, even paralyzing. I’m working on not being paralyzed anymore and taking the risks that come with opening yourself up.

Are you a procrastinator? Perfectionist? What is your creative process?

I am happy to share that my proposal for my major research paper (MRP) was accepted over the holiday break! This means that I am officially writing about chick lit for grad school. Now I am in the middle of compiling the next step, which is a full bibliography for this 50 page monster I will be writing. I have a pile of really cool books. Although chick lit is still new in the real of academic research, there were a lot more books or anthologies than I thought there were. Additionally, I have chosen to look through the lens of postfeminism and confessional writing so the books keep getting more and more interesting. My school library is connected to three other universities so most of the time I have to put a call in for the books to be delivers… I love getting the emails that tell me they have arrived!

Other than my MRP I have had some interesting classes including a class on cosmetics and aesthetics that lead me to writing a paper about “pornification,” advertising, and postfeminism based on this image:

Now this term I am taking two film classes, one about digital cinema that has us watching films like Jurassic Park and talking about Star Wars. I kinda love grad school!

So, I’ve been thinking about this blog and my abandonment of it. I have been thinking how maybe my outlook needs to change for it at the moment. Because I want to start updating again but I know I don’t have the time for the kind of updates I used to be doing like reviews. So, for now, I’m loosening the concept of this blog. I want to talk about my MRP as it moves along and I will be reading books related to chick lit, obviously, so I will keep it in this realm. I hope that writing entries as I go will help keep me on track and be interesting for anyone reading. Maybe I can get things moving along on here again so that I can stop feeling compelled to write “I’m sorry I haven’t written” posts like I used to apologize to my diary for not writing when I was 8 years old.

I will leave it at that. Now, I am off to mark 50 midterms. The fun never stops!

For Lauren Tate, a high-powered TV producer, sex, lies, and scandal make for a great movie-of-the-week, but when she becomes the target of a smear campaign, even the most salacious of Hollywood’s tales can’t compare to her real life drama. With her soon-to-be-ex-husband leading the effort to sully her reputation, and her former assistant threatening to snatch her hard-earned position at Timeless Television out of her hands, Lauren’s perfectly planned life quickly begins to unravel at the seams. 

Clawing her way back to the top of the TV food chain is no easy task, especially in an industry where backstabbing is a sport and gossip is a full time business. But Lauren learns just how cut throat showbiz can truly be when the hottest scandal in Tinsel Town turns deadly and the Hollywood hunk who’s stolen her heart is missing in action. Can she salvage her career, her reputation, and her love life? Or will Hollywood be the death of her?

I am pleased to have been invited to participate in another great Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour for the fabulous Lucie Simone! Simone’s tales of self discovery and love in the seemingly fantastical land of Hollywood bring characters that are down to earth and delightfully quirky.

In Picture Perfect, Lauren Tate, although a high powered Hollywood executive, knows where things are at in the world of glitz and glam. She knows that image can make or break a career and it is best to stay out of the gossip newspapers and blogs. But when her equally high powered husband serves her divorce papers Lauren’s judgement gets fuzzy, especially when it comes to handsome young actor Jack.

Simone’s writing style falls in line with her Hollywood setting, creating scenes and characters that I can imagine acting out for a film or TV show. What is especially interesting about Picture Perfect is the murder mystery twist part way through. I think the scene that best illustrates the juxtaposition of chick lit glitz with the murder mystery grit is the humours exchange between Lauren and her stylist, Giles, as he dresses her for her trip to the police station for questioning. Fashion and appearance, even in the event of a murder accusation, remains the utmost of importance!

Lauren is a fun and often relatable character. Although at times a bit heart breaking, her relationship to food and her body is one that I think many people can understand and yet it doesn’t define her by any means. I did have a hard time getting into her sudden connection with Jack but like his persistence towards Lauren, Jack quickly becomes an accepted character (although I did remain suspicious of him for most of the read).

Picture Perfect is a delightful read with little twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing like a Law and Order marathon. Be sure to pick this up for a fun read.

Rating: 4/5

Once again thank you to Samantha at Chick Lit Plus for organizing the blog tour and thank you to Lucie Simone for including me!

Check out all the ways you can connect with Lucie! And I highly recommend that you do because she is a super cool lady!

Well folks, it certainly has been awhile. My posting abilities have followed a slow decline with an ultimate halt in the last couple of months, my most regrettable moment being that I claimed I would blog through all of May, even declaring a theme and then NOTHING.  For this I feel I owe it to you (whoever might still be out there) and myself an explanation of what has been up and where I plan to go from here. Because bottom line is, I still love this blog and the things and people it has brought to me and I still have a lot to say on the topic of chick lit.

First, I have to admit that going back to school kicked my ass. September to April was full of classes, reading, writing, and working most evenings. Rightly so, these things are important and ate up my time. When enrolled in full time studies as well as working part-time, there is little room for personal reading let alone blog tour/review requests. I have Wonder Woman syndrome where I enter into things believing I can do it all. It is taking me a long time to learn where my limits are. However, at the very least, I am pleased to know that I remain passionate about my goals and projects. I just have to learn how to balance them and when to say no to certain things.

Secondly, on top of everything I have been dealing with some personal struggles since the beginning of this year. I have had to come to some tough truths and make some life altering decisions. Some days have been better than others and several weeks back to back were worse. I am learning it takes time to process this information and to emotionally heal and so much energy has been placed into that, especially over the last couple of months. I am glad to know I have a wonderful support system, which has made a tough time bearable. As I continue to work through things, I am feeling less stuck and so I want to taking up my passions once more.

Finally, I am going through a major transition this summer. Since all the final paper work is signed and mailed, I can shout my exciting news from the internet, I AM GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL! I have been accepted to a year long English Masters program based on my proposal letter talking about chick-lit. This is what I set out do last year so it is thrilling to know I have accomplished this goal!  So now, my husband, cats, and I , have to pack up and leave the city that we have lived in for over ten years. This feels huge. Because even though I am ready for the change and want to start a new chapter in my life, it is also scary. I am leaving behind amazing friends, a city that helped me grow up through my 20s (I just turned 30 last weekend), and a community of people that I know I can depend on. I am positive I will find all these things in my new city, but the unknown is always a little frightening, right?

Wow, that is a lot, eh? So where does that leave Bitch Lit?

I want to keep going and I want to keep sharing, especially as a year of focused study begins for me. But I know time will be tight. So I have come to a few conclusions:

1. I can no longer accept review requests on a regular basis. I have met some amazing authors and read stories that have stuck with me and I will cherish those literary moments. I am sad to let go of taking on review requests, but this is what is going to help free up time for my stack of personal and academic reading.
2. I am going to make a point of posting once a week. It might be sporadic for awhile as I try to figure out what day I would prefer so please feel free to sign up for email updates or follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook. Posts will still include reviews of books I have read but mostly I want to start focusing on articles about chick-lit and women’s literature.
3. I am going to make a point of updating Facebook and Twitter daily. As we all know these forms of social media are a little less intensive than blogging every day, so I think no matter how busy I am, there can be time for Twitter.

I hope this clears up some things and that you will join me as I reboot and re-explore chick-lit and blogging. If you have any pointers, suggestions, or thoughts on topics you would like to see on Bitch Lit, please let me know! I love hearing from you folks!

Image from Toothpaste For Dinner. 

All my term papers are handed in and final exams written. Now I spend my days sleeping, re-watching Sex and the City, and discovering that there is an apartment somewhere under the month old dirty laundry and mac n cheese boxes.  Thankfully, I also get to come back to the pile of books that have been waiting to be read. Finally, I am just in time for International Chick Lit Month!

Last year Chicklit Club, Chick Lit is Not Dead, Chick Lit Central and Novelicious dubbed the month of May Chick Lit Month to highlight the goings on of chick lit authors and fans. I am excited that Chick Lit Month is back for 2012! In honor of this prestigious month I have decided to dub May Confessions month at Bitch Lit.

I had the good fortune of reading Sophie Kinsella’s Confessions of a Shopaholic for one of my English classes this year and loved every page of it! Confessional writing is a predominate theme within the chick lit genre and I plan to explore the uses and implications of it while I dive into my TBR pile.

So, dear chick lit fans, what are your Confessions suggestions and what aspect of confessional writing would you like to hear about?

Meet Helen. Smart, successful and obliviously trapped. For the past six years, Helen has given her life and her heart to her cushy corporate finance job and to Mark without question. However as the Recession sweeps the Nation, she is one of many left unemployed and with the burning question of what does she really want in life.

Recession Proof is a debut novel for anyone that has settled in their career and relationship but has discovered that what really matters in life is living it.

From the moment I heard the title of Kimberly S. Lin’s novel, I was excited to read it. I have read articles about the turn chick lit has taken into “recession” lit so I was interested to see how new novels are changing the glitzy, affluent chick lit backdrop in the face of unemployment. It seems that the death of chick lit has been trotted out because of Tough Economic Times suggesting that mindless consumerism is all the genre had to offer.

Recession Proof illustrates how this is not true. It follows Helen through her personal struggle in discovering herself while finding a career (and man) who she connects with. I could identify with Helen as she wrestled with familial expectations for her career and relationship. I think the desire to please parental/mentor figures even in the face of our own happiness is something that many people can relate to.

Helen’s six year relationship was one that, although I personally have not experienced, I could understand it. The reality of remaining in a holding pattern where things aren’t awful but they aren’t good either is recognizable. I also really appreciated how Lin keeps Helen aware of her own apathy. Like Helen will be shocked that she is even saying some of the things she does to her best friend about her relationship.

Although there are some time jumps that feel abrupt, the novel has a nice pace that I was able to engage in and read in a single sitting one evening. Recession Proof tackles a number of tough issues including job loss, unhealthy relationships, death, pregnancy, and parent/adult child relationships in a down to earth fashion without overblown drama which continues to keep the novel in the relatable instead of fantastical realm.

Recession Proof is an optimistic tale of a woman who, on paper, seems to have it all figured out but learns to be true to herself. I think a little optimism is what this piece of “recession lit” offers and keeps true to what chick lit has served to readers all along.

I enthusiastically recommend Recession Proof, check it out in various e-formats   and paperback: Amazon (eBook, paperback), Barns & Noble (eBook, paperback), Smashwords.

Rating: 5/5

Thank you to Amanda at Chick Lit = The New Black for organizing a fantastic (and huge) blog tour! Check out Recession Proof‘s tour page for more reviews and guest posts from Kimberly Lin!

You can also check out Kimberly’s website and online magazine! Also follow her on Facebook and Twitter

I don’t often “do cute” but when I do, I revel in it.

But as I step outside and start down the street to catch a bus, my gleefulness is quickly replaced with unease. With every step carrying me closer to the busy main road, questions, frustration, and anger build in my head:

Maybe I should have worn a scarf to cover my cleavage? Do my boobs seem bigger? Maybe I should have put on leggings. Is this actually slutty instead of cute? What if someone says something? Why didn’t I just wear jeans and a t-shirt? …Stop thinking these things! You are a strong, powerful woman who has every right to wear what she wants! How many Take Back the Night’s have you walked in? Didn’t you make signs and scream at the top of your lungs against slut-shaming at last year’s SlutWalk? Aren’t you a feminist?

…but really, maybe I should have worn leggings…

As I stand at the bus stop I am acutely aware of male heads turning to leer as they drive by. I wonder why they can’t keep their eyes on the road. At one point a car load of men scream and catcall out their open windows as they speed away looking for other women to harass. All at once my skirt seems too short, my legs too long and bare, my breasts too big and exposed. In an attempt to refocus, I share a disgusted look and heavily exhale with the other women at the bus stop. One woman mutters, “jerks,” under her breath. What else can we do? Welcome to Spring.

“Undeterred, the brash trainee smiled at [Sydney] in a manner that was openly flirtatious, causing an unexpected ripple of battle fatigue to skip over her usually impenetrable surface. Men could do and say anything they wanted to you, she thought, a sense of helplessness washing over her anger. And ultimately, what recourse did women have? Every day she had to endure being repeatedly leered and jeered at when all she wanted was to get to the gym or the drugstore to get her Xanax. She was powerless to prevent random street harassment, something that infuriated her to no end…” (excerpt from Feminista by Erica Kennedy)

Many times harassment happens so quickly there is no time to respond. Often, I feel so shocked that I have just been reminded of my place in the world as a sexual object that I am left stunned. Did he really just touch me? Was that really just said to me? Why does he think he can look at me like that? This is quickly replaced by anger.

The experience described in Erica Kennedy’s Feminista spoke directly to how I have felt while being harassed by men. And, as far as I know, is the most direct comment about street harassment in chick lit. Because I believe that chick lit deals with many different women’s issues, I thought it was a bit curious that concepts of street harassment in this literature is hard to come by. I have no evidence as to why this is, but I might speculate that this type of harassment has become such a part of women’s daily lives that it is hardly something to be mentioned as a problem… even though, in my experience, it leaves women feeling objectified, degraded, confused, powerless, and angry.

It is time for this to change. This week is International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Street harassment is defined as:

Unwelcome words and actions by unknown persons in public which are motivated by gender and invade a person’s physical and emotional space in a disrespectful, creepy, startling, scary, or insulting way.

Feminista‘s Sydney wondered, “what recourse [do] women have?” Well, thanks to movements like Anti-Street Harassment Week, Hollaback!, and SlutWalks there are lots of ways for women and men to take action against harassment.

Hollaback! was started in 2005 as a way for the focus of harassment to be shifted onto the harasser and away from women. The idea was that instead of ignoring the unwanted behavior, women could take out their cellphone camera (as these new-fangled cell cameras were all the rage!), confront their harasser by taking his picture and posting it to the Hollaback! blog, therefore publicly naming men as harassers. When I discovered this website soon after it started, it was like being given a tool. Suddenly, I and others had something we could DO. Something to take our power BACK.

For me, whenever possible, I like to take the direct route and name the unwanted behavior. I tell men they are being sexist, or racist, or homophobic. Speaking up makes me feel powerful. I attempt to remain as safe as possible, but I have even physically placed myself in the middle of men physically harassing women because I refuse to live in a community that turns a blind eye to this behavior. I think this is a shared sentiment after so many people across the globe picked up the anti-harassment and anti-slut shaming message of SlutWalk Toronto and took to the streets with it.

Please check out the websites listed and learn what you can do to end street harassment. There are a number of suggestions on what women and men can do. StopStreetHarassment.org includes information on what bystanders can do as well. This isn’t just a woman problem, this is everybody’s problem and it will take all of us to put an end to it. We have the power.

Now as I step outside in my summer dresses I am reminded of the “My Short Skirt” monologue from the Vagina Monologues and these lines become my mantra:

My short skirt is not an invitation
a provocation
an indication
that I want it
or give it
or that I hook…

…My short skirt, believe it or not
has nothing to do with you…

…My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women’s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina’s country…

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share your own story of street harassment in the comments and how you have dealt with it. Also, if anyone has any other chick lit street harassment references, please let me know!

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References and Resources:

• StopStreetHarassment.org
• Meet Us On the Street (sign the pledge and make your action today!)
• Hollaback!
• SlutWalk Toronto

Since starting this blog and diving into literature in the last year or so I have been thinking about my life experiences with fiction and imagination. As a girl I loved to read. I can remember keeping a flashlight under my bed so that after my parents tucked my sister and I into bed (oh the days of sharing a room!), I could continue to read under the covers. 

At that point I loved mystery novels. I devoured every yellow hardcover Nancy Drew in the public library and even started ordering missing books from the series through inter-library loan. I wanted to be a detective, independent but loyal…always with friends by my side and a special someone who was supportive but not dominating. Equality. Freedom.

In addition to Nancy Drew, I loved the Baby Sitters Club series, which also illustrated a group of girls who were smart, supportive, and independent. Madeleine L’Engle books circulated in and out. My favorite book being A Ring of Endless Light which dealt with death, faith, and navigating teenage relationships. Also, one of the “boyfriends” was a marine biologist and so main character Vicky swims with dolphins. At this point in life I thought all marine biologists got to swim with dolphins… So I was going to be a marine biologist.

By teenage-hood, reading started to drop off for me. Being a teenage girl did a number on my self esteem and body image. I become more interested in dreaming about a relationship than I did most other things. Using your brain was stupid. Math was hard. But English teachers are relentless and I had to at least read a little bit. I can remember being fascinated by Shakespeare’s more tragic woman characters. Reading Lady Macbeth’s parts aloud in class seemed liberating and Ophelia’s madness was clearly Hamlet’s fault. Looking back, I think it is interesting how even in these moments I was still desperate to have a woman character to identify with, even if she was crazy.

Instead of books I began to watch more movies, of which I must admit, lead me down some less empowering avenues. It isn’t to say that there are no strong women in film and television, but I do believe that the mainstream late 90s and early 2000s were less than stellar for girls and women. I was a teenager in the heart of Girl Power! What makes my current chick lit project so interesting to me is that as a 20-something I looked down on the chick lit and chick flicks of the 90s and 2000s because as I was living that time, I was the mindless consumer of what I thought their message was… Get a boyfriend/husband and then you’ll be happy. It’s not until I started looking at some of these things critically that I actually started to appreciate them.

As I woke up to my feminist identity I began to cling to any female character that I could identify with… and this is when I was introduced to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the universe of Strong Female Characters that writer/director Joss Whedon creates. I love Buffy. I love all the women in the show. I love all the men. I love the story lines that deal with female empowerment, oppression, and liberation as well as issues of sex, love, abuse, death, addition and the power of friendship, family, support, and forgiveness… all the while illustrating girls and women as sources of strength and individuality.  And of course at this point, (age 25) I wanted to be a teenage vampire slayer.

Since my feminism and Buffy, I am now hungry for strong women. I seek them out. I want to point them out. I want to read against the text or against social concepts of these women being negative. I want to celebrate them. I want to defend them. I write papers in defense of the knowledgeable woman who ends up dead at the end of novels. I cling to depictions of non-sexualized women in media. I end up in arguments with my partner about the merits of a weak script/smaller distributed films with amazingly powerful woman characters in them (*cough* Haywire *cough*).

Reading more is opening up my world of strong female characters once again. We all know that the chick lit stereotype is that of vapid, weak women but the more I read the more I realize this isn’t true. Books offer complex women who can be explored. My desire for identifiable female characters, at least for me, is satiated through novels about and by women. What is lovely about chick lit is that many of these women do have silly, un-perfect moments and I get that.

So, I clink my wine glass to yours in celebration of Strong Female Characters as I click over to my Word document to start another paper in defense of chick lit.

While I’m doing that, how about you let me know what SFC you most identify with.

I’m super excited to read these books! Oh what is that? I have three papers and a midterm to write instead? Ugh. But the pink! The pretty! I’d much rather be reading that.

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The Girls by Lori Lansens

Born during a Southern Ontario hurricane in 1974, twins Rose and Ruby Darlen were extraordinary from the start. Now approaching thirty and facing a time of change, Rose decides to write their shared story – of adoption, alienation, love and an on-going search – with Ruby adding her touching two cents and unintentionally revealing long-hidden truths. Through their incredible bond, which is both physical and emotional, The Girls show us that connection is the most important human trait of all.

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As well as Chick/Women’s Lit Classics . . .