Bring on the Tropes

Trope - Something recurring across genre or type of literature. I know plenty of people who give tropes the side-eye, as if they're something faintly stale and stinky. Yet, tropes work because unlike clichés, they resonate. Clichés may once have been tropes, but they've hung around too long and gone a bit rancid. They don't ring any bells of recognition in readers any longer - they just taste off. Tropes, on the other hand, are still sweet.

I know we're supposed to write about our favorite tropes and heaven knows I likes my tropes. But seriously, you know my favorites already. You've read 'em in my books! I'm far and away more interested in YOUR favorite tropes.

We know Sullivan McPig's fav tropes. Zombies and pigs. Fine, fun tropes they are, too.

What about you?
What lights you up?

Doomed, obsessive, forbidden love?
Mad scientists and unintended consequences?
Underdogs?
Farmboy saves the galaxy? Yeah. Okay. That's totally Star Wars. You caught me. Simple trope, right? Well. Thanks to my 7th grade AP English teacher, chew on this: sub the Imperials with Nazis and you have something more than a western in space. And a whole new trope.

Is there a trope you NEVER see but would cry with joy if someone wrote it?

Three Genre Tropes I Enjoy

Three genre tropes I enjoy:

1.) Good vs. Evil. I know, I know, this can be applied to nearly every story one way or another. I generally enjoy clearly marked good and bad guys, so I know who to root for...but a story that comes to mind --and if I recall it all these years later it made an impression-- is called To Reign In Hell by Steven Brust. Basically the fall of Lucifer, but he was innocent, and set up by others.

2.) The Quest.  There is always a bit of mystery in the quest. What does the protagonist learn along the way that was unexpected, and how does that change or affect him in small subtle ways that I as a reader did not see coming...that is something I find quite satisfying because thought I kind of assume the hero will win the day, the fun of finding out how and watching him succeed is enhanced by the fact that the success meant that something more. Examples: Lord of the Rings, Da Vinci Code

3.) The Chosen One.  I mean, duh, it's kind of right there at the head of the Heroes Journey thing and I can be a sucker for this kind of story...IF that chosen one is someone who resonates with me. My series is basically this at its core and because I hate it when this trope moves too quickly I am making sure that Seph has to grow and earn her success. Just because a character is 'the chosen one' does not, to me, mean he/she will win, it means that he/she has --more than others-- the potential to win if they prove they have the character and heart to see it through on every level: emotional, spiritual, mental, physical, etc.

Embracing the Tropes - Love, Not Hate

Spring definitely begins in March here in Santa Fe. I spent a few hours sitting outside reading with my coffee in the sunshine this morning. Lovely!

This week at the bordello, we're discussing our favorite genre tropes. Since we get to pick the genre and I write in three at the moment, I'm talking about one from each. Also, since I'm the topic-kickoff girl, I'll take on the job of defining "Trope," for those who aren't familiar. Particularly because the way we discuss tropes in fiction writing doesn't exactly match the first definition of the word in most dictionaries. Basically a trope is a plot device. Many definitions add in a bit of a sneer, using words like "overused" and "cliché." Amusingly - at least to me - the purveyors of these discussions immediately move to subverting or avoiding tropes. This ignores this one simple rule:

Readers of genre fiction LOVE THEIR TROPES.

I shouldn't have to say this, but I'm going to.

1) This does not make them stupid.
2) This does not make them lazy readers (whatever the hell that means).
3) This does not mean the author is lazy (because, hoo boy, writing books is SO EASY).

A book that takes a beloved trope and runs with it in a fabulous way is a great treasure. Personally, I think all stories exploit tropes (because there are no new plots under the sun, right?). You could name me any book at all and I'll tell you what trope - or tropes - it uses. (GONE GIRL: unreliable narrator; HUNGER GAMES: the chosen one; etc.)

Okay, that's my soapbox. On to the lurv!



Fantasy

I'm going with the Fish-Out-of-Water trope for fantasy. This means a story where a person is plucked from their usual world and immersed in one alien to them. Often these are called "portal fantasies," because the protagonist much travel through some kind of portal to this other world. Oddly, it seems many portal fantasies these days are limited to books for YA and younger. My Covenant of Thorns trilogy is one of the few current adult ones that also includes romance. (Um, very adult. *cough*) I know this because we had a huge Twitter conversation about it - not started by me, but I got roped in, due to a mention of Covenant of Thorns - and most of the books we could think of were not at all recent.

Fantasy Romance

For this one I'm picking the Marriage-of-Convenience trope. This is a staple of romance novels for a very good reason. Two people are thrust into close proximity (lots of enforced situations can count as the "marriage") and must come to terms with each other. It's a classic because the conflict is inherent in the situation (something outside the couple forces them into the relationship) and because the emotional tension is easy to mine. Neither person is allowed to simply walk away when things get difficult. The problem with this trope outside of historical romances is that our modern world allows so much more freedom that it's difficult to come up with believable reasons for a Marriage of Convenience. But in fantasy - Aha! Because fantasy romance gives us room to build worlds and societies, it's a rich genre for playing with this trope. Which is what I did in THE MARK OF THE TALA.

Contemporary Erotic Romance

For erotic romance, my favorite trope is what we affectionately call dubcon, for dubious consent. This is not unlike the Marriage of Convenience and often requires a similarly deft hand and meticulous worldbuilding - even in a contemporary world. With dubcon, the protagonist is caught up in a bargain or situation that pushes them to explore sexual boundaries that they wouldn't have done in the normal course of their lives. This can range from extreme noncon abduction stories to mild dubcon where outside forces conspire to force the protagonist down a particular path. In my upcoming UNDER CONTRACT, the heroine is financially destitute and accepts a bargain from the hero where he pays her for BDSM sex. Again, this kind of trope creates delicious emotional and sexual tension - and keeps the hero and heroine from simply walking away when conflict arises.

I could probably make long lists of my favorite tropes, because there are tons out there. What's your favorite?