Tag: tropes

Categories
Romancing Your Story

A Trope with a Twist

Readers, particularly romance readers, love stories that feel familiar—shorthand for they use tropes—but also seem new and bring a surprise. As writers, how do we craft novels that deliver on all counts?

There are several strategies to writing fresh stories that still feel as comfortable as a warm sweater on a cold day. Let’s look at just a few:

Twist a Common Trope

Enemies to Lovers is a popular trope that can have several variations. The hero and heroine can dislike each other for their personal points of view, such as in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have different worldviews and values which lead them to disagree about virtually everything. Or the protagonists can actually be friendly personally, but enemies professionally, such as in Mr. and Mrs. Smith who are in “love” but also rival assassins. Or in Two Weeks Notice, Sandra Bullock’s and Hugh Grant’s characters were different both personally and professionally but finally realized their differences attracted them to each other and made them compatible.

Combine Tropes

Another Sandra Bullock movie, The Proposal, combined Enemies to Lovers and Fake Relationship, with a dash of Forced Proximity. Ryan Reynolds (along with all of Bullock’s other employees) hated her because she was rigid, mean, and cold. She needed a fiancé to avoid deportation. He agreed to her proposal to pretend to be in a relationship because of what she could do for him professionally. One element of that movie I appreciated was the change in Bullock’s appearance. As she grew to care for Reynolds and his family, she softened. She let her hair down (literally), and she dressed more casually.

Another great combination, Forbidden Love (Romeo and Juliet) plus Forced Proximity (Green Card) guarantees sparks on the page.

Unfamiliar Settings

Sticking with Sandra Bullock (and why not?), let’s talk about The Lost City. Set on a tropical island, both Bullock’s and Channing Tatum’s characters are out of their elements and forced to work together to escape the crazed billionaire who’s kidnapped Bullock’s romance novelist character. There’s also a Forced Proximity combination with Loretta (Bullock) and Alan (Tatum) on the run together.

No matter the tropes you choose to combine, there are some things to keep in mind:

  • Characters. They should always have great backstories and motivations that work with the trope. For a Second Chance story, both protagonists will have shared memories with emotional layers. Use those emotions to help your reader connect with the characters.
  • Conflict and Resolution. The conflict should be genuine, not something that could be resolved with a discussion. It needs to stem from who the characters are and what they believe. The resolution should be a result of growth and lessons learned.

With the many, many romance tropes available to writers, the combinations for something new and fun yet familiar are nearly endless. To paraphrase a current credit card commercial, “What’s in your Trope Wallet?”

Pull it out and put it to work.

Carrie Padgett lives in Central California, close to Yosemite, but far from Hollywood, the beach, and the Golden Gate Bridge. She believes in faith, families, fun, and happily ever afters. She writes contemporary fiction with romance. She recently signed a contract with Sunrise Publishing to co-write a romance novel with New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hauck that will be published in 2022. Carrie and her husband live in the country with their high-maintenance cat and laid-back dog, within driving distance of their six grandchildren.

You can find her online at:

Categories
Romancing Your Story

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:

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Tropes: How to Make Them Credible, Not Cliché

You could probably name tropes from your favorite books and movies without hardly thinking about it. There’s the Reluctant Hero, the Chosen One, the Mentor, and the list goes on. As you read that list, characters probably came to mind.

But what goes into creating a trope that’s not cliché? Fantasy and Sci-fi are so popular it’s easy to fall into cliché’s without even realizing it. Today we’ll focus on two tropes and how to use backstory to make them compelling, rather than cliché.

The Reluctant Hero:

Frodo Baggins is a standout example of a reluctant hero. He never intends to take the ring to Mordor. But he ends up doing so and saving Middle Earth. Here are some questions when considering his backstory:

  • Why was Frodo reluctant to start on his heroic journey?
  • What about his character, prior to starting his journey, foreshadowed his heroism?
  • Did his reluctance show strength, or fear?

From the start, we know Frodo dreams of leaving the Shire. He spends hours in the woods, dreaming of other places. But when it comes down to it, he realizes what he has and wants to keep it.

However, he’s willing to sacrifice for his family, which is foreshadowed very well in his interaction with Bilbo. His reluctance makes him empathetic.

The Chosen One:

Harry Potter is a quite literal example of this, as the prophecies in the series talk about a “chosen one.” He was marked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and from infancy, his life is set on a path to heroism. Here are some questions to ask when considering whether his backstory makes his trope credible:

  • Does Harry live as if he is a chosen one?
  • Do his family connections lay a strong foundation to uphold him as a chosen one?
  • How does he mentally accept or reject his trope?

What’s so endearing about Harry is he doesn’t realize how famous he is. He doesn’t know he’s important, and he doesn’t realize his family backstory. A lot of his character arc is him working through his reality and trying to embrace it. This makes it credible.

When it comes to your trope…

Before deciding on your trope, ask yourself if your plot and characters lay a credible foundation. To do so, feel free to use the following questions:

  • Will your protagonist look like your chosen trope because he or she is created as one by you, the author, or as a result of their life situation?
  • Do their natural mannerisms reveal them as your chosen trope (reluctant hero, chosen one, etc.)?
  • Do secondary characters play into the credibility of your trope?

Best wishes, and happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Romancing Your Story

A Romance by Any Other Name

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other word would smell as sweet …

Or, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, a romance by any other name would read as sweet. Or would it?

Not only is the romance genre full of sub-genres (romantic suspense, spicy, historical, contemporary, Inspirational, paranormal, erotic, fantasy, time travel, Gothic, Regency, LGBTQ, romantic comedy, and so on), but we also have the tropes, defined as commonly used (some would argue over-used) themes.

Friends to lovers. Enemies to lovers. One-night stand to true love. Secret babies. Soul mates. Second chance loves. Reunited lovers. Love triangles.

Tropes are used because they’ve proven their worth. They’re popular and they work.

Some classic friends to lovers stories would include Emma by Jane Austen and the movie When Harry Met Sally. Enemies to lovers’ stories are The Taming of the Shrew by our Mr. Shakespeare and Pride and Prejudice by Miss Austen, and I’d include the Katherine Heigl movie 27 Dresses.

The best second chance at love book I’ve read is The Five Stages of Falling in Love by Rachel Higginson. It’s the story of a young widow and mother of three finding love again and is framed by the five stages of grief. Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis (the title is a pretty good clue to its trope), is another good second chance book.

Secret romance and fake romance are tried and true tropes in Hollywood. The Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds movie The Proposal is an excellent example of the fake romance, with a nod to enemies to lovers.

But why do genre, sub-genre, and trope matter?

  • They help you stay focused on the story you started out telling
  • They help you formulate your pitch and query
  • They help your editor/agent/reader know what to expect when they read your work

I’m sure I’m not the only reader who picked up a book based on the back-cover blurb expecting one kind of story then discovering that what was between the covers was an entirely different kind of story. Or started a book that promised to be a feel-good, funny romp that took a dramatic and unexpected dark turn.

Did the author lose their way? Did they not know the story they were telling? I’m not sure. But having a firm grasp of their genre and trope may have prevented the bait and switch.

My Work in Progress (WIP) has a secret baby trope. I know some readers hate and refuse to read secret baby stories. They think the woman has no excuse for not telling the man he’s going to be a father. Ignoring the fact that we’re talking about fiction, not real life, I spent a lot of time thinking and brainstorming about how to answer that objection.

It finally came to me, as all my most brilliant ideas do, while out walking. My protagonist, Frankie, was born to an unwed mother who constantly told Frankie she’d ruined her mother’s life by being conceived. When Frankie got pregnant, she refused to ruin her boyfriend’s life with an unplanned pregnancy and sent him off to college without her, had the baby, and gave her up for adoption. My story begins twenty years later when the daughter’s adoptive parents have died, Frankie has given her a job to keep a roof over her head, and no one knows their biological relationship. Then the father comes back to town.

Genre: Contemporary

Trope: Secret baby

Take a minute to think about your WIP. Assuming you have your genre dialed in, what trope does your manuscript fit most closely? I’m not saying you need to change anything in your story, just that knowing your trope may be helpful as you craft your story, your pitch, your synopsis, and your query.

Because your story, that beautiful rose, deserves a description that raises it above the wildflowers.

Carrie Padgett lives in Central California, close to Yosemite, but far from Hollywood, the beach, and the Golden Gate Bridge. She believes in faith, families, fun, and happily ever after. She writes contemporary fiction with romance. Carrie and her Stud Muffin live in Central California with their cat and dog and within driving distance of their six grandchildren.

You can find her online at:

Twitter: CarriePadgett
Instagram: carpadwriter
Facebook: WriterCarriePadgett
Amazon Author Page: Carrie Padgett