Favorite Tropes
Hello everyone and thank you for joining,
Today we are discussing my favorite tropes to be found in fiction. So first of all, what are tropes? Tropes are storytelling devices and conventions by means of which stories are told. Every book ever is built out of tropes. Every move and every TV show as well. In a way, tropes are the building blocks of stories and how they are put together and how well they are executed to determine the outcome of the story. There are many levels to tropes but here I just want to go over the one I particularly enjoy. They can be mixed together, or appear by themselves but I just enjoy them.
Chosen One- okay hear me out before you jump all over me. The idea of a chosen one is a good one. The problem many people have with this trope (including me) is that it is used to justify the lack of character growth, change, and depth. This is not the right use of this trope. The right use of this trope is having the characters struggle to accept their role, do their best to be worthy, do their best to get away from it, grow as a person because their horizons are expended, find new friends and enemies who change their life. In short, this trope can be a tool to help development. There is so much to be done with a person who suddenly has to deal with all that responsibility, and exploring how any given chosen one deal is what makes this trope fun. I also really like the extension of this trope called The Chosen Team or Group. How cool is it to have a group forced together because of destiny and have to learn to deal with and appreciate each other or the world will end? I love it.
Anti-Hero- who doesn’t love an antihero? I love me an antihero. An anti-hero is considered anyone who has more complicated internal and moral issues. Now I don’t consider people who get angry sometimes as antiheroes. I consider them human. But what I do consider an anti-hero is anyone who terrifies themselves and those around them with how close they come to crossing the line, or who has crossed the line for the right reasons. Heroes who don’t want to be heroes or to be heroic. They want to be left alone, or to go to the tavern and play cards. Heroes who would rather watch bad things happen than step in to change. This reluctance and the reasons for it can do quite a bit for characterization work. I also love it when there is growth. I don’t mean that they have to change as people, I just like it when they realize that they are capable of making a change in the world and because of that should put the effort forth to do so.
Enemies to Lovers- I didn’t want to say this because I love all of these tropes but I think this is my favorite. How can anyone resist two people who have a valid reason to hate/dislike/distrust each other slowly because of circumstances grow to care and eventually love each other? This trope is the best thing ever when done correctly. I don't like when the characters hate each other for a silly reason like “when I was five he pushed me into a puddle” I want a valid reason like “our families are mortal enemy for the throne and have been killing each other for hundreds of years” or “our magical powers are complete opposites and we endanger each other's existence.” This kind of thing makes my cold dead heart happy. There is so much growing the characters have to do in order to come to see each other in a different light. It provides so many opportunities for growth. I just love it.
Meet Cute- Oh the meet-cute. It’s the most common idea in the book...book but it works so well. It has elements of fate about it and sometimes you just have to let fate guide you. Now if only real life worked like this. Whether it’s two people bumping into each other at a coffee shop, or a bookstore its lovely. When there is a pet involved it's even cuter. Runaway dog? Perfect. The pet is an instrument of fate. Is angry cat jumping out of a tree? Well, it's an angry instrument of fate. See each other across the room and have the music stop? It is lovely. Get caught in the rain together under one umbrella? Get stuck in an elevator? There are so many ways. It’s a great way to begin a story of two people and in a way, I think you can apply it to friendships as well. What would you call that? Is it a friendship cute? Yeah, I'll work on that. But how great is it if two people become best friends because they spill coffee on each other? I think it could work
Found Family- I know I’ve been saying this the whole post but is there anything better than a bunch of misfits who feel like they have no one finding each other and finding their people? No, no there is not. People finding the people they want to care about and to spend their time with is just so great. They bond through some terrible circumstance, or through being on a team, and those people change their lives. When they are willing to kill and die for each other it’s even better. What’s best is when they are willing to live for each other. I love this trope because it does so much for character exploration.
Forbidden Love- They love each other, but it’s doomed! Drama! Let me explain further, I love this trope when it’s done well and the relationship is developed over time. When it’s done for the sake of having the love be forbidden I don’t care. But when these people fall in love over time and for a reason and there is a legitimate reason they can’t be together, such as a curse or the possible unleashing of a merciless god, I will happily read thousands of pages about the topic. I need to believe these people love each other, and when I believe it I will do everything in my power, my reading power, to ensure they end in a happy place. Or with an ending that is satisfactory to a storyline. I, of course, want the angst too. The longing glances at each other from across the battlefield, or a crowded ballroom I want the secret meeting in dark corners or forests or on boats. I want all the things.
Assemble Cast- As you may have gathered I like reading about the dynamics between people. I adore “assemble casts” in novels. The whole point is to put together people who are very different and watch them learn how to work together to achieve a goal. They usually complement each other with their strengths and weaknesses. This is often found in heist stories because each member of the team is a master in a different skill. I also have seen in on quest stories, and stories set on a ship of some sort. This works great because it really forces the characters to drill into themselves and what they are truly capable of. When they learn from each other and develop new skills as a result of being with their new comrades it’s even better. So many interactions and different dynamics.
Friends to Lovers- Here we have a complete opposite of my previously listed favorite things. But I love this one because it once again forces character growth. Even if people are already friends their dynamics have to change significantly to make them fall in love. Well not change but grow in a different way. Having said that, I have to believe the friendship that existed before and I have to believe the change that took place. I won’t like it if the dynamic turns toxic first, or if it’s forced into existence by jealousy. That does not make it into a romance. True character growth makes it into a romance. This trope is hard to pull off for me, but when it works I love it.
Flaws are Strengths- This one is pretty obvious, of course, I love the thing that allows the character to turn the thing they believe is a weakness into the solution to the problem, or at least a solution to one problem. Or the thing that allows for a different viewpoint. Weaknesses are perceived, every weakness gives a specific strength we don’t think about until it comes into play and seeing that in a book is fascinating and eye-opening for those of us who don’t have that particular ability or viewpoint.
The Prophecy- there is a prophecy and no matter what you do it will happen. No matter how terrible it is and how much people try to avoid it it’s still destined to be. Characters can fight it, accept it, get angry about it but it won’t matter. Watching the way the prophecy shapes the people and how they shape the prophecy provides a lot of enjoyment to my twisted brain. I like straggle and having something forced upon you results in a struggle.
And here we are. Those are some of my favorite tropes and conventions to be found in the pages of literature. I love them individually, but I also love them when they are combined together in various ways. Those kinds of storylines make for my favorite stories. Please feel free to tell me about your favorites and least favorite tropes.
Thank you for joining and see you next time
Anna
