Too Many Tropes?

 

I’ve been thinking about tropes a lot lately. That's because I’ve been noodling over a story idea that will be a mystery in a science fiction setting. So which tropes do I use? 

For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, a trope is an element of genre fiction. It can be a theme (corrupt corporations in science fiction) or a plot device (a fake relationship in a romance).

Although there can be overlap between genres, many tropes are fairly genre specific. Science fiction tropes include rogue robots, aliens come to eat all the humans, the dangers of space travel including worm holes, cloning, genetic engineering, and evil scientists with hidden laboratories. 

Among the mystery tropes are isolated locations, a closed circle of suspects, a missing person, blackmail, and a ticking clock. 

Looking at these lists, I can see several that would work well together. I’ve already decided that there will be a robot. Nope. You can’t talk me out of it. The robot is essential. Since I was thinking they would be in the midst of a spaceflight, I think I could layer in an isolated setting and a closed circle of suspects. 

But I was worried about another problem. Can you have too many tropes? 

I was doing some research, and no I wasn’t just avoiding writing. I found an excellent piece by Jane Friedman, Tropes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. She wrote about a problem that she called trope stuffing. As she explained it, this happens when the writer includes every single trope they can think of. They often do this in an attempt to appeal to as many readers as possible. If they list the tropes as themes, this can also help their book come up on as many searches as possible. 

Hmm. I think that as long as the tropes work within my story, I can get by with four tropes – two science fiction and two mystery. There wouldn’t be any point in attempting to trope stuff, because I know my idea will not appeal to every single reader. It is for a middle grade audience, which eliminates an awful lot of people. And it is a science fiction mystery. I’ll have to give it a try to see if it will work. 

But before I can do that, there’s more research to do. 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 60 books for young readers.  

• To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.  

• Click here to find her newsletter.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin on the first Monday of every month. She teaches:

• Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work 

• Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 

• Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 

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2 comments mysteries, Science Fiction, Sue Bradford Edwards, tropes

Why to Write with Tropes

Tropes help readers identify their type of story.

When a reader picks up a fantasy novel, a rom-com, or a cozy mystery, they come to the book with certain expectations. A fantasy reader expects magic. Rom-com fans want both romance and laughs. Cozy readers want to watch someone just like them catch the bad guy. 

Using your genre’s tropes will help you meet their expectations. First of all, you need to understand what a trope is. In short, a trope is a device. Hmm. That’s not very satisfying as explanations go. A trope is a plot element, a theme, or a character type that readers expect to find in this type of story. 

If you are writing a fantasy novel, possible tropes include: 

• A character who is chosen to solve an epic problem or is the heir to the kingdom/all things magical.
• A mentor character. 
• Someone or something indescribably evil. 
• A tarted-up medieval setting. 
• A powerful artifact. 
• A quest. 

Rom-coms have a whole different set of tropes: 

• Friends to lovers. 
• Enemies to lovers. 
• Someone popular/successful falls for someone unpopular/unsuccessful. 
• The makeover. 
• Love triangles. 
• Stuck with each other – think snowstorm, elevator, vital to the company project that must be completed the evening of Valentine's Day. 
• Second chance. 
• Soul mates. 

Cozy mysteries have yet a different set of tropes: 

• Amateur detective. 
• No on-screen violence or sex. 
• Food including what the amateur detective makes but also frequent dining out. 
• The victim was not a nice person. 
• But everyone has something to hide. 
• Pets, pets, and more pets. 
• Quirky locations full of quirky characters. 

If you are looking at those lists and thinking that you can't possibly include them all, you're right. But you should use at least a few. 

After all, they can serve as convenient shortcuts. Fantasies include magic. You don’t need to spend a considerable portion of your word count explaining systems of magic or spell casting to your readers. Readers who pick up paranormal mysteries are ready to believe that the story could include a ghost. And science fiction readers will accept faster than light travel. 

Tropes also increase reader satisfaction. A romance reader who loves enemies to lovers stories will be primed to like your enemies to lovers story. A fantasy reader who wants to root for the underdog will pick up a book about someone who finds out that they are heir to the kingdom. Cozy readers love to try to sort out red herrings and clues as they read. 

When you tell readers that your book is a certain genre, this claim is a contract of sorts. Readers approach your story with a set of expectations. Know what they are and deliver a variety in a story that is all your own and readers will be primed to enjoy the trip from Once Upon a Time to The End. 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 35 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.

The next session of her new course, Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work will begin on March 6, 2023).  Coping with rejection is one of the topics she will cover in this course.

Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins March 6, 2023) and Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins March 6, 2023).

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2 comments contract with your reader, genre writing, genres, reader contract, reader expectations, tropes

When Your Novel Idea Has Already Been Published...

orangeacid (photo on Flickr.com)

What happens when you read the synopsis of a novel, and it's eerily similar to what you've beeen working on for years? This recently happened between two of my students in the WOW! class I'm teaching about writing for middle grade and young adult readers. I gave them an assignment to write a tagline describing their novels and a paragraph introducing their protagonists. After they shared with one another, one student wrote me in a panic.

"XXXXXX's novel (that is already published) is almost exactly like mine. My fiance says that this happens all the time. There are no unique stories. But I'm wondering if all this work I've been doing for years is wasted now. He says it's about my characters more than my plot, but I don't know. What do you think?"

Her distress is completely understandable, but her fiance was exactly correct, and that's what I said. I'm not sure if it's true that there are NO unique stories. But there are a lot of similar story types and tropes, and as I've said on here before, readers love tropes. For example, readers of romance novels want a happy ending. If they like "opposites attract" romance books, then they'll want to see a lot of conflict between the two opposite love interests and then a spark that ignites a love story eventually.

In fantasy, there's often a "chosen one" (CO) and a mentor who sends this chosen one on a quest because the CO is the only one who can fight the antagonist and save the world. Right, Harry Potter?

Some people make it this simple. Stories will fit into types, such as:

• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Himself
• Man vs. God

The literary world asks for comps--titles that are similar to the novel you're working on, so agents/editors/booksellers know how your book will fit in the market. You've probably heard writers say something like, "My book is a cross between A Wrinkle in Time and The Series of Unfortunate Events." 

So, if you ever find yourself in the same position as my student was in--never fear. This is normal. If you know you aren't copying or plagiarizing or stealing someone's idea, then you aren't. You just probably love the genre as much as this fellow author did, and you probably read some of the same books at some point for inspiration. But your writing--your voice, your word choice,  your character development--that will make the story your own! 

Has this ever happened to you? 

Margo L. Dill is a writing teacher and coach. Her next novel writing course for WOW! starts on Friday, November 5. There's still room left. Check it out here. 

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4 comments genre writing, novel writing, tropes

Let's Talk About Tropes and Using Them in Your Writing

I've been a published author since 2012 and have been a reader all my life. I have an amazing critique group who stays up-to-date with trends in books and reads a ton. And yet, when we were at the writing conference 20Books to 50K, we were introduced to the importance of tropes. At one point in the past month, I said, "Tropes! Where have you been all my life?" Heck--I was even an English major.

Maybe you read a lot about writing or have been to a workshop on tropes. But if you're like me and the other members of the Lit Ladies, then these are elements of your fiction that you have probably been including already, but you didn't realize how much readers expected them and how you can use them to help you sell more books.

What is a Trope?
A trope is a common storyline for a genre, such as romance or urban fantasy, that readers expect when they pick up a book in your genre. It does not mean it's a formula or a boring read! It's a story that is similar to others in the genre, like a contract with the reader. Readers expect certain things to happen in this book based on the trope. If you don't deliver, they will not be happy with you!

Here are a couple of examples:

When Harry Met Sally: In this popular movie, Harry and Sally are friends who eventually turn into lovers. That's a trope. It happens in a lot of romance books and movies--even in my first young adult romance, Caught Between Two Curses! When I wrote it and received a contract for it, I didn't even realize I was writing a romance. (Oh, I wish I could go back and talk to that Margo!) I certainly didn't realize that I had a popular trope in there--friends to lovers (although my two teen characters are simply boyfriend and girlfriend by the end). But my book and When Harry Met Sally are nothing alike except for that trope. Some readers and movie watchers only want to read books about friends becoming lovers--and so they will specifically search for all the different stories to find the ways that this trope comes to life.

There are over a hundred romance tropes--it's unbelievable! Here are a few more common ones that you're probably familiar with: enemies become lovers, first love, second chance at love, secret romance, and a love triangle. Knowing your trope can help you read other books with a similar trope (market research) and write marketing materials that catch the attention of readers who are searching for that type of book!

Harry Potter: In this fantasy book, Harry is the chosen one, which is a very popular trope in this genre. Harry is the only one who can defeat Voldemort. Frodo from Lord of the Rings is another protagonist who is the chosen one. Neither Harry nor Frodo have a choice to go on their journeys--they have to go on it. If they don't do it, the evil will not be defeated. But look at the difference between these two fantasies--they have the same trope, but they are extremely different.

Some other common fantasy tropes are the secret heir, the reluctant hero, the lucky novice, and the quest.

So how do you make your trope fresh?
This is a question that successful authors answer time and again--and the answer is really simple. You tell your story in the best possible way you can--with your voice, your research, your unique characters, your humor, and so on. If you know that the chosen one is a common trope, and some very famous authors have done it well, then how can you still use the chosen one in your fantasy but put your own spin on it?

Practice picking out tropes while you're reading--they won't only be in genre fiction. But look at the storylines of the books you enjoy and see if you can notice a common one that you have seen in several other movies or books. You can also do Internet searches like "young adult romance tropes" or "space opera tropes" and read some of the articles that pop up.

As always, write the story that is in your heart. However, if you want to sell it, then also figure out where it fits in the marketplace and part of this is also discovering the tropes you cover in the story.

Margo L. Dill is a children's and YA author who also teaches online courses for WOW! In January, she is offering two courses for novel writers. On January 3, "Writing a Novel With a Writing Coach" begins. Then her brand new class, "Writing Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction: A Study and Workshop" starts on January 21. For more information, click the links or contact Margo at margo (at) wow-womenonwriting.com .

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4 comments 20Books to 50K, fantasy, genre fiction, Margo L. Dill, marketing advice, novel writing, plotting, romance, tropes