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A literary trope is a recurring theme or motif. Common in books and movies, the are often specific to genres. They can either be very entertaining or very boring; there’s no in-between.
Used in moderation, tropes can be powerful and captivating devices in a novel. Tropes can be fun, as we said, but their overuse can lead to them being pointless clichés and make your story too predictable. You know how you open a book, and you see certain phrases and sentences, and you think, “Yeah, I know EXACTLY what’s about happen”? That’s probably not a good sign.
So, in anticipation of #NaNoWriMo season, we’ve taken stock of some of the tropes that we often come across while reading.
If you’re the kind who’s bored of these tropes, you’ll know what to eliminate. If you read genre fiction for the guilty pleasure, then you can use our list to reminiscence. Either way, let’s steam on!
#1: Love Triangles
Okay, let’s start with the classics. I mean, I don’t even have to explain this one. It’s the oldest story in the world (yes, explaining a cliche with another cliche is decidedly the way to go about this). Perhaps the most popular of romantic tropes, love triangle typically involves an entanglement of three or more lovesick folks. The possibilities are abundant…
