Since I am both an avid reader and writer, story tropes have made themselves quite apparent to me over time. The moment I learned what story tropes were, I gained the ability to actively decide which tropes I wanted to include or steer clear of when writing my own stories.

So, what are story tropes? Story tropes are plot devices that are heavily utilized across fiction as a whole, or within a specific subgenre(s) of fiction. Story tropes may also be found in world-building, character development, relationships, etc. 

The opinions of story tropes vary depending on the trope, so it can be difficult to separate the good from the bad at times. Below is more information to help you employ tropes in your own writing.

Examples of story tropes

1. The love triangle

Example: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

When a character must choose between two love interests.

2. The “I’m not like other girls” character

Example: Arya from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

When a female lead actively separates herself from the rest of the female species. They don’t want to be like other girls. Typical girls are perceived as lesser-than in their eyes.

3. A character who’s gone missing

Example: Margo in Paper Towns by John Green

When there’s a missing person that a story’s characters are actively searching for.

4. Small towns

Example: Steven King’s Castle Rock that serves as the setting for multiple of his works.

These small towns usually have something interesting to them: captivating residents, a magical element, something eerie, etc. On the other hand, it sometimes acts as a boring place that the main character wants to move away from.

5. The Unlikely Hero

Example: Katniss in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The unlikely hero is seemingly insignificant or mundane until given whichever task deems them a hero.

6. The Reluctant Hero

Example: Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The reluctant hero wants no part of their mission at the start of the story. Like the unlikely hero, they are seemingly mundane, but something special or otherworldly is revealed about them. They are often unaccepting of their responsibility or role at first.

7. The “Bad Boy”

Example: After by Anna Todd

These bad boys are often the romantic interests of well-behaved, soft-spoken females.

8. Enemies to Lovers 

Example: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

This is when two love interests dislike each other at the start of a story, but end up openly loving each other by the end.

why are story tropes used?

There’s a reason these plot devices are considered to be cliche at times. Many are thought to be overused by writers and readers alike.

I believe tropes are used for these reasons:

1. Writers are inspired by work that they read and love, sometimes unknowingly. If you read, coming across tropes is inevitable. These plot devices are often the first things that come to mind when brain storming, since we’ve seen them done so many times.

2. Writers thoroughly enjoy the tropes they use.  There are certainly people out there who adore a good love triangle or reluctant hero. Some writers plan entire stories around a certain trope, fully aware that it’s a trope when doing so.

3. Many books that use them are successful. It’s easy for a writer to see the global success of the Twilight Saga and think love triangles are the way to go. Why not use something people seem to enjoy?

when to use a story trope

There are a few things you can ask yourself when considering the use of a certain story trope:

Am I already using other tropes?

Many stories and novels use multiple tropes, but it’s important to limit yourself at some point. There’s no strict rule to this, but keep in mind that tropes may become more apparent to your readers if paired with other cliches.

A love triangle that involves an unlikely hero is fine. A love triangle that includes an unlikely hero from a small town who’s trying to find a missing person with their bad boy love interest, and is unlike other girls? Probably pushing it.

Am I putting my own twist on the trope?

We’ve seen many love triangles in our day, but we haven’t seen love triangles in every scenario or involving every type of person. An LGBTQ+ love triangle, for example, wouldn’t feel as trite as the usual girl-choosing-between-two-boys subplot. If you’ve found a way to write a trope in a fresh, original way, you should feel confident in your use of it. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with writing something familiar.

Is the trope necessary?

Imagine your story without the trope. Is the story worse? Better? If the trope is pertinent to your story, use it. To practice determining this, try to imagine certain stories you read without whichever tropes they use. Would you remove it if you were the writer?

Do you want to use a trope?

Go for it! 

story tropes to avoid

Story tropes aren’t inherently bad. That being said, there are some tropes that have had their fair share of usage, and now carry a negative connotation.

You want to stray away from using tropes that the majority of your readers might dislike. You obviously have full creative freedom to ignore possible backlash, but it’s important to stay up to date on which tropes readers, agents, and publishers are talking negatively about.

I can mention one from the small list I’ve given above:

The “I’m not like other girls” character

Most people find these characters extremely unlikable and insulting nowadays. Although it may be tempting to make it known that your female lead is unique, putting down the average girl in the process isn’t something particularily admired by readers, and has often been complained about.

An exception: It’s important to note that characters like Arya from A Song of Ice and Fire are exceptions to this. Why aren’t they problematic? Arya is different from the average girl, but she’s within a society that is trying to force that average lifestyle onto her. She’s acting in spite of it.

Where to find opinions on tropes

You may be wondering what other tropes readers hold distaste for. If you’re looking to write and publish stories for the public, you might be interested in knowing what people like and dislike.

Here are two places you can search for discussion about tropes:

YouTube

A large community of YouTube called BookTube is dedicated to book talk. I’ve watched many videos centered around people’s favorite/least favorite tropes. This is a great tool, because you can watch as many videos as you’d like and create your own consensus. Six people said they hate bad boys? Something to consider. Five people said they love a missing character? Good to know.

You can even search for favorite/least favorite tropes within specific genres. Your results may be limited depending on the genre, but the BookTube community is vast, and it’s defintely worth a search.

Here’s an example of one of these videos:

Not only are these videos entertaining, but they offer opinions on multiple tropes at once, and can open your eyes to tropes you weren’t even aware existed.

Book Reviews

Reading reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, etc. is a great way to learn what readers like or dislike in books. The opinions of others shouldn’t sway how or what you write, but having another perspective helps sometimes!

Twitter 

Twitter has its own reading/writing/publishing community, and I often see people discussing tropes they hate and love on there. Just today, I saw three separate people mention tropes they’d like to see more of. You can even join in on the discussion!

related questions