People like to hate on tropes, but there’s a reason that they’re popular. They work for people. You tell somebody a story has an “enemies to lovers” romance subplot and they will either immediately read it or put it on their “never-to-be-read” list. A lot of them center around relationships, or even around the place the story takes place. Some people love a specific genre because they love a specific trope that seems to happen in every single book of that genre.
Fantasy? You’re probably going to get the traditional hero’s journey, a chosen one, or a damsel in distress (which doesn’t actually have to be a woman). Mystery? Suspicious butler characters, the downtrodden scapegoat, and the obvious villain who probably didn’t end up doing it. Romance? Enemies to lovers, slow burn, and miscommunications.
Obviously, there are a lot of others! The ones above are merely scratching the surface.
To be a writer that writes for your own enjoyment, you should know what tropes you love and which you really can’t stand. Why? Because you’ll have more fun.
Sure, how you write the story your working on should certainly be based on what’s best for the story being told. But if you can’t stand a certain trope, maybe don’t go down that road while writing your story? You’re not going to have a good time.
What are my favorite tropes and do the show up in my writing?
Honestly, I absolutely love tropes. I love the cliche being done in a new or clever way. I think it’s one of the reasons I’ve been non-stop-reading romance novels lately. I KNOW the trope I love will show up when I sit down to read certain ones. It’s comforting.
- Slow Burn
- Rivals to lovers
- Fated mates
- Protective S.O.s (not possessive, very different)
- Found family
I have a lot of favorites 😛 I think the important part of writing tropes is to make sure you have at least one that you’ve identified and are able to weave into the plot accordingly. A story might not have ALL of your favorite tropes in one go, but having at least one makes it more fun to read or write.
So identify your favorite tropes. If you’re going to have them in your story anyway, you might as well know what they are.
Happy Writing!
Rachel
Subtle Stories 