Before anyone grabs the pitchfork they’re using as a bookmark for their literary tomes, let’s talk tropes. No, I do not write my books to suit the tropes. I write the story first, then sit back afterward and go…

Which trope does the book belong to? It can feel like looking for misplaced keys. Or covering your eyes and throwing spaghetti at the wall of terms, hoping one will stick.

But the overall results may surprise you.

What Are Tropes That Suit The Story?

Tropes are like a:

  • motif
  • theme
  • plot pattern in the story
  • recurring elements
  • cliches
  • archetypes
  • character patterns and predictability

With so many stories being published daily, we see lots of repetition in plots and themes, that tropes are now a marketing tool for authors.

Why?

Because it lets readers know what they’re getting. That’s the bottom line.

As humans, when trying something new, we tend to hesitate. So offering readers that sense of familiarity—like a trope they know—will help them decide to buy or banish your book because of that trope.

Tropes – Vs- Trigger Warnings

‘Trigger Warnings’—that’s different. Trigger warnings dance along the fine line around trauma and aim for the shock factor, especially in Dark Romance.

While tropes tell you what the story may be about… Hopefully, without giving too much of the plot away. Meanwhile, trigger warnings tell you what to be careful of.

And yet, some trigger warning types (based on their repetition in books) are also becoming tropes.

Confused? Well, let’s dig deeper…

Types Of Tropes?

There are so many stories out there; nearly every story published today fits one or more tropes, and they come under different category types. We could get into the whole high school science drill that no one listens to, and those technical-schmechnical names I don’t even remember for the answers, but basically, the types of tropes deal are split into sections. They are:

Character Tropes:

Like the morally grey hero, such as the grumpy detective who is a borderline alcoholic trying to clear his name. What about the introverted librarian who’d rather read than deal with people? Hands up who can relate.

Plot and Theme Tropes:

Love triangles, ghosts and humans living together. Or it’s simply about beating the bad guy determined to destroy the planet—like in every superhero comic out there. Almost. Or it’s that detective trying to clear his name and get sober.

Setting Tropes:

Small town + ranch/farms/stations = cowboys. Right?

What about mysterious manors and how they make for awesome gothic stories that you’ll find in almost every vampire book.

But you can also have cottagecore for cozy comfort, or witchy cottagecore for, well, witches’ cottages with hanging herbs and a cute cauldron simmering some magic.

Genre-Specific Tropes:

Just to show you tropes exist everywhere, here’s a quick peek at other genres:

  • Romance: Fake dates, enemies to lovers, poor girl gets rich prince/mafia overlord/ Ceo/ Billionaire
  • Fantasy: Some dark and dastardly lord is trying to destroy some magical jewel or has bewitched a kingdom, and someone—usually the chosen one from some prophecy (which is lately a 16-year-old girl with arms thinner than twigs leading an army of hardened warriors)—has to save the kingdom. Sound familiar?
  • Science Fiction: Planet invasion, or theft of resources/spice, etc., and if you’re lucky, some great interstellar politics.
  • Crime: Cops and robbers. Right, so now our favourite detective is being framed and has to save himself (like actually shave and sober up), catch the bad guy, buy a new suit, and will end up kissing some girl along the way. Still with me?
  • Action/Adventure: Some misfit, or some lower person in society (maybe the drunk detective’s bar stool buddy) is on a last-minute mission to rescue a damsel in distress from a burning house—or that detective—that usually involves getting dirty, sweaty, and a few grunty-grunts that don’t involve foreplay.

Most Popular Tropes?

There are way too many to count, and more are being invented and reinvented as more books are published daily.

To not disappoint, we could skip back to our childhoods and tap into the fairytale tropes we all know that may have started the tropes trend for:

  • Orphan, or motherless, child that leads into…
  • Mean stepmother who is either a witch or has one on speed dial
  • They marry/kiss/fall in love at first sight (the first of the insta-love trope)
  • And then the usual flip from rags to riches, and where the princess helps run a kingdom like a trophy wife. Oh, and let’s not forget the singing, the dancing, and talking animals we all secretly wished would come and clean our houses.

So let’s whittle down that list for those who matter… my readers.

Most Used Tropes In Romance

Enemies To Lovers:

Who doesn’t love it when they hate each other—the snappy dialogue, the tension, the hate sex.

Forbidden Love:

If done well, the conflict of this trope adds delicious power to the story, making the HEA all the more sweeter. Unless your name is Romeo or Juliet.

Soulmates/Fated Mates:

Pretty much the same trope for all paranormal werewolf-shifter novels out there, in a way? I guess. Does that include most fairytales, too?

Damsel in Distress:

This is where the man/woman needs rescuing.  It can be as simple as a woman needs a guy to change her car tyre—not because she doesn’t know how, but she just had a manicure. Can you blame her?

Some More Common Romance Tropes:

  • Love Triangles
  • Friends to lovers
  • Fake date/pretend relationship or marriage
  • Workplace romance
  • Forced Proximity
  • Fish out of water
  • Second-chance Romance
  • Grumpy/Sunshine
  • Opposites attract
  • Slow burn
  • Ugly duckling
  • Cinnamon roll/Labrador hero – it’s a new one for the non-alpha good guy who’s nice. Like really nice. He’s the kind of guy to take home to your mother, where he’d fix her plumbing, mow the lawn, and help her plan the lighting system for Christmas next year to beat the neighbours in best Chrissy display everrrr.

And the list for tropes goes on and on and on into the hundreds!

So, For Forget Forever’s Tropes – With Director’s Commentary

It’s why you’re here, right? For this standalone novel, the tropes I share below, while offering the ‘director’s commentary’, will help you make an informed decision. Strap on a seatbelt, sugar, and let’s do this…

  • Ghost x Human Romance (Haunted as in like ‘Boo‘.)
  • Slow Burn (We’re talking super slow burn, because she can’t touch him! Like how will they ever…?)
  • Forced Proximity (Hands down, my most darling of the romance tropes, as this allows for an unrushed intimacy to deliciously develop between the couple.)
  • Protective Possessive Hero (Hell, yeah! And yet it’s somehow a hot trope.)
  • Family Curse (And it’s a doozy!)
  • Witty Banter and Clashing Personalities (Nnap and sass! Bring it on.)
  • Grumpy x Snippy (No sunshine here, but the one-liners this librarian drops are so worth the read. Is this where I warn you that some snort-laughing may occur?)
  • Beauty and the Beast Vibes (Remember that fairy tale?)
  • Mysterious Manor (Ooh, just imagine the moody vibes.)
  • Cottagecore Meets Dark Academia (differing décor=magical atmosphere + smarts.)
  • Bookish/Librarian Romance (For those book lovers, get your annotation stickers out for this one.)
  • Forbidden Love (Why? Well… you’ll have to find out, won’t you?)

So, dahling, this is my way of rolling out the red carpet so you can slip into something comfy, to kick back for some well-deserved me-time, and download this book today >>

While you’re there, see if you can find any new tropes to add to the list.