Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
As a writer, the idea that hits you and gets you to write can come as a great character you just have to know more about, or as a situation you want to see go all the way to the end. Some ideas can take you through the 400 pages that are typically called for; some may burn out at 250. Just give it a try and see what happens.
Step2
Whether your someone who has to plot every detail including the end prior to actually beginning the story or a someone who likes to fly by the seat of their pants and wing it. There are a few things to focus on that pertains to women's fiction.
Step3
Be sure to have a sympathetic not a pathetic main character. Walk that line especially when doing a coming of age piece on a woman who technically should already be of age. This isn't chick-lit; so she's probably over 30. If she's too strong, the need for the growth disappears. If she's too weak, you run the risk of annoying your readers.
Step4
Women's fiction by Jodi Picoult tackles hard issues that touch society with a woman at the forefront of the story. She adds some mystery and suspense. But your women's fiction can also be closer to a comedy with drama thrown in.
Step5
Elizabeth Berg makes the ordinary touching. Not typically a historical, do try to take the everyday scene and make it bigger and more over the top. No one wants to read about doing the dishes. Smashing every dish in the kitchen, however, is something all together different.
Step6
As with any novel, there must be growth. Your main character has to either grow internally or have something externally happen to her. Your best book will have both. They call them growing pains for a reason so the growth should not come easy.
Step7
If you have a cast of thousands in your novel, be sure to keep the focus on the main woman. Best friend books are great for dealing with several issues but just don't lose sight of who is moving the story.
Step8
What makes women's fiction different from romance? The ending. In women's fiction, it is not unusual to have no happy ending. Romance may be sprinkled throughout your story; but it isn't what is at the heart of the book. The ending does not have to be where the woman finds her prince--if she was even looking for him in the first place.
Write It!
Novice 
Comments
gatorgirl182 said
on 8/29/2008 Great tips for anybody seeking to write! Thanks!
TMcElligott said
on 7/1/2008 Hi there!
If your goal is to ultimately make a sale with your writing then looking to those who have gone before can always help! Thanks for reading!
choate said
on 7/1/2008 Excellent advice in your comment too! Checking how similar books on Amazon are categorized is what any author should do when they're not sure about their genre.
acole said
on 6/11/2008 Great info. Thanks! I'm a beginner and am thinking of writing a book, not on "women's fiction" necessarily. Do you suggest writing an e-book or going for the published deal?
TMcElligott said
on 5/2/2008 Hey there, thanks for the comment, sorry it's taken me so long to respond!
Everyone uses a little bit of their own life and experiences in some way in their writing. I wouldn't worry about labeling it until you've finished writing the story you want to write and are ready to try and sell it, be it either to an agent or a publisher.
One thing that might help is to read books that seem similiar to your storyline. You can easily see at amazon as to how it is labeled and go from there.
Good Luck!