Writing Tropes Novels & Stories

But the man, still clutching my collar, asks: “What is, then, your story?” – and I feel so terribly helpless, because I don’t know what my story is! This is how aspiring authors fall into the trap. The inescapable trap of dream-sequences. Often, knowingly. The one in italics you have just finished reading, is perhaps a trap for me. I don’t know yet. But I feel it has a strange hegemony. It controls every idea, thought and dream which slither within my brain tissues. And that is how it connects to all that I think, I dream, I yearn for. It is like the first LED bulb in a string of decorative LED-lights blinking in a rhythmic loop. Forever.

So naturally, everyone hated her. And now… I was her. Rude. 4. I, on the other hand, have a functioning brain, sass, and an anime obsession. And that makes all the difference. Because here’s the thing: I know every trope. The useless noble girl who gets reincarnated? Been there. The magical world where mana = power? Yup. The misunderstood villainess arc? Absolutely. The fake marriage with a brooding duke who secretly has trauma and abs? Yes, please. I know how this plays out—and I’m not letting them kill me off in Chapter 3 this time.

It sat there innocently enough, but the way the light caught its nib made it look like a needle poised over the fabric of the world. "You're saying," Rowan began, leaning back and swirling a goblet of wine he hadn't touched, "that we are characters. That my father's death, my exile, and Kieran's 'beast' nature were all... creative choices made by someone in another world?" "Worse," I said, tearing off a piece of crusty bread. "They were tropes. You were designed to be the 'Golden Rival' who loses the girl and goes mad with grief. Kieran was the 'Brooding Alpha' who learns to love through possessiveness. It wasn't just a story, Rowan. It was a formula."

"It's totally stupid. It's basic human decency to be polite to everyone, including your subjects." Okay, I had to steer this away from making it a touchy subject. "That's the trope of the book. There are several tropes in literary writing and this is one of them. Where she meets the arrogant Prince who thinks she's not up to his standards but ends up falling for her when he sees her for who she truly is and changes his idea of people. The characters develop for the better so it's a win win situation." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's a stupid trope."

I wasn’t drafting a master novel where everyone hit my favorite tropes on cue. I was setting *rules.* Baselines. Edges of a sandbox other people would build in. I thought of the Game—how it had written “STANDARD TRAGIC ENDING” across whole shelves and then forced lives to fit. How it had taken my fear and called it fondness. How it had tried to turn Corvin into a weapon, Jax into a soothing voice for the slaughter, Selene into an artist of pain. Whatever I wrote now had to do the opposite. Make room.

I hope you all stick with me for future projects. I'd like to know more about books you would probably like to read from me: The genre, trope, all that. Do you prefer Werewolf? Billionaire? Or Mafia?... Or a combination? Rich boy poor girl? Enemies to lovers? Rejected trope? How do you like you male leads? Strong, controlling? Nice? Cold? Ruthless? Cruel? Over the top? How do you like your female leads? Feisty? Demure? Kick ass? Soft?

"But you actually read romance?" "Strictly yours." "Fine. Tropes. Take my last book—the alpha was a mechanic and the omega was high-ranking pack royalty. Total class divide. That's a trope." "Got it." "Standard fated-mates stuff. Rags to riches." Finn nodded against Val's shoulder. "Makes sense." On screen, the main character spilled his drink all over his clothes while sprinting to deliver a beverage to his demanding superior. "Hey, you could run a fake mating scenario like this movie. That's a massive trope, right? Say one of the players needs to look settled for the front office."