The term “trope” comes up a lot both in creative writing spaces and amongst readers online. If you want to be a published author, it’s important to understand what tropes are, the role they play in your writing, and how they might impact the way you market your book.
Tropes can be highly contentious, both from the perspective of readers and writing critics. While you’ll never appeal to everyone, the key is to always put your own twist on the tropes you incorporate into your work.
What Is a Trope?
In short, a trope is a commonly used plot device. They give you that, “I’ve heard this story before” feeling—for better or worse.
One of the most well-known examples is the Chosen One trope. You’ve almost certainly read a story where the main character is destined to save the world. Usually there is some sort of prophecy involved, and often the Chosen One has magical powers that are unique in some way.
There are thousands of variations of the Chosen One trope—Percy Jackson, Legendborn’s Bree Matthews, and the Pevensie siblings from The Chronicles of Narnia are all “Chosen Ones.”
Tropes are an integral part of most genre fiction. The fantasy, science-fiction, romance, horror, and mystery genres all have their own tropes that experienced readers can recognize.
Tropes are also closely related to cliches (an overused plot device that feels predictable and unoriginal) and archetypes (a typical representation of a person or object).
Archetypes are often used to bolster tropes. For example, the wise old mentor character is an important element in the training montage trope.
Cliches, on the other hand, you could also call “tropes gone wrong.”
Are Tropes Bad?
Like most things, tropes have their good and bad qualities.
There are some writers and readers who vehemently oppose the use of tropes. They believe that incorporating them into your fiction means your work is unoriginal.
In my experience, these folks are usually confusing tropes with cliches, and have climbed up on their high horses to say they don’t like tropes because they think that makes them better than other writers and/or readers.
In actuality, tropes can be extremely effective in a couple of different ways. First, they’re a useful marketing tool.
Labeling a book with a certain trope can help draw in readers who are familiar with that plot device and enjoy it. This is a quick, easy way for authors and reviewers to communicate what might be appealing about a book to a certain audience. It functions as a kind of shorthand for the book community.
There are also many ways to incorporate tropes into your writing to enhance it, as long as you don’t rely on them too heavily.
How to Use Tropes Effectively in Your Writing
Using tropes requires a careful balance between reminding readers of the plot device you’re calling on and still giving them something new and exciting to enjoy.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when working with tropes.
Incorporate Tropes Intentionally
Ultimately, the trope should serve your story, not the other way around.
If you incorporate tropes just so you can say that your story has them, but they don’t help further your plot, character development, world building, or themes, they’ll likely fall flat.
Avoiding this pitfall is a matter of approaching your project by thinking about your plot and characters first. Once you’ve established those, you can think about how specific tropes might heighten the suspense, add a new dimension to the conflict, or reveal something important about your protagonist.
Tropes that don’t add value to the narrative often feel forced and slow down the pacing. When you’re revising your work, this is something you can look out for to determine if the trope is effective or if you’d be better off cutting it from your manuscript.
Subvert Your Readers’ Expectations
While many readers have tropes they love and look for in the books they choose to read, even the most dedicated fans will become bored of reading the same plot over and over again.
Using tropes but subverting readers’ expectations of what will happen next keeps your work feeling fresh and original. You reap the benefits of hooking readers in with something familiar, then keep their attention by surprising them with something unexpected.
For example, perhaps a secondary character ends up saving the world instead of your Chosen One protagonist. Or your characters who have concocted a fake relationship to accomplish their goals don’t end up falling for each other, but for other people.
Don’t Slack on Character Development
Writing engaging characters is important in any piece, but when you’re incorporating tropes that may come off feeling a little stale to some readers, giving them something else to invest in is even more crucial.
Simplifying your plot through tropes gives you more space for character-driven writing and internal conflict. However, that means you have to nail your character development. A predictable plot plus flat characters is a recipe for a boring story.
I’ve shared character development tips on the blog before. If I could boil it down, I’d say the most important thing is to have a deep understanding of your characters’ motivations. Knowing why they do what they do is the best foundation for making them feel real to readers.
Lay a Foundation for Your World Building
World building is an important but often tricky aspect of writing. Even if your story is set in the real world and not on a distant planet or in a magical realm, you still have to bring the setting to life in much the same way.
There are two main world building techniques: info-dumping, or weaving details into the narrative and expecting readers to pick up on them.
Info-dumping is often looked down upon, but it can be a valid strategy and it’s possible to do it well. However, if you want to avoid info-dumping but also don’t want readers to potentially feel lost in your story, using tropes can be a way to quickly bring them into the world of your story without having to over-explain yourself.
If world building is something you find challenging, tropes can provide a place to start. Having a framework to work off of may help jump start your creativity by relieving some of the pressure that comes with starting from scratch.
It requires balance and careful thought, but when used with intention, tropes can attract your ideal audience and elevate your writing to give them a reading experience that is both familiar and surprising at the same time.
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