Should Your Romance Contain a Trope?

In case you’re unfamiliar with the word trope, let’s define it. A trope is a character trait or plot line that has become commonplace. If you read romance, you’ve seen quite a few romance tropes. Some of the most common are: the love triangle – two men competing for the love of the same woman; forbidden love – (this one goes all the way back to William Shakespeare and his classic Romeo and Juliet), where the boy and girl are forbidden to love one another due to parental stipulations, or differences in status (he’s rich, maybe in line for the throne, and she is a commoner or comes from a family with no wealth); Mail-Order Bride; marriage of convenience; and the list goes on.

Now that you know what tropes are maybe you have a favorite romance trope or maybe you don’t like tropes because you prefer a unique romance story. No matter what you think of them, tropes are popular. Recently tropes have been getting a lot of attention. Therefore, including a trope in your book could be helpful in obtaining readership. That doesn’t mean your trope has to be predictable and “just like all the rest”.

If you’ve submitted any queries or studied what agents and publishers look for in a query, you’re aware that one of the questions an agent or publisher wants answered is: how is your story different from those already published in the same genre?

So, if tropes are so popular and used so often, how can you use a trope and still have an original story?

There are several ways, but the first thing you should do is become familiar with the popular tropes. For instance, a current popular genre is fairy tale Retellings. If you haven’t read any, this may be a good place to start to see how an author takes a popular trope and puts their own spin on it. I recently read The Rose Princess by Ivy Hollins, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and Ivy had several unique plot points that made her retelling distinctive, such as the Prince and the beauty having a unique link years before they first meet. This story was just as enjoyable as the original fairy tale.

When you consider which trope to use in your story, consider your purpose for using the trope. Are you using it because you know it’s popular and has been successfully used in lots of other romance stories? If this is your reason, you should reconsider.

Instead, start by considering how you want to present your story or what you want your character’s values or point of view to be. Then consider how to use the trope by putting your own spin on it. Think about how the trope will best serve your story. Use your own voice and your own plot. You can also use a bit of the expected before surprising them with your own unique details to create fresh characters and an unexpected twist to the plot.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

• Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26
• Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer