Book tropes

cynic

It's a fact, YA fictions and Harlequin novels cannot survive without tropes. They are made for each other . I could go on and on.... the list is endless.

That said, are tropes limited to romances? What about the other fiction categories (mysteries, fantasy, thrillers, myth-fics). Are tropes a cop-out, an easy way out for an author to churn a book without much effort?

Do share your thoughts. What tropes do you like or dislike?

Mousetrap

I personally dislike the 'chosen one' trope. It's overused and annoying. Half the time, the person is mostly incapable or clueless which makes it all the more annoying. I like Rick Riordan's writing, but it's tiresome af toter a while. That's why I prefer stand-alone YA fiction with unique themes.

Meself

YA novels honestly feel like Harlequin on steroids. There said it.


The "alleged" chosen one is an utter idiot. It's either Mary Sue or Gary Stu. No in betweens and no extremes either. Every novel feels the same with different names to the characters. But what is more surpisurpr is that there are people who buy it. Like seriously, they do.

Meself

^^Talking about a trope .Well I believe it can work if dealt with caution. For example the boom of myth-fic genre in India and their revolution around Mahabharat. Certain novels worked despite treading the same path but treating the story in a little different manner. So yeah it can work but I personally I dislike them. It shows a creative block on part of the writer. Also it points out to the cash grab mentality of the new age writers who write just for the heck of it.

Mousetrap

Meself 27-5-2018 10:31 PM
YA novels honestly feel like Harlequin on steroids. There said it.

Mary Sue or Gary Stu! Lol... Summed it up perfectly.

cynic

Mousetrap 27-5-2018 11:07 PM
Mary Sue or Gary Stu! Lol... Summed it up perfectly.

Ditto. It's like you read one, you read them all.

cynic

Meself 27-5-2018 10:35 PM
^^Talking about a trope .Well I believe it can work if dealt with caution. For example the boom of m ...

Myth fic tropes. Did I understand it correctly? That is an interesting point of view, since a common threads run through them. Most of them have the "chosen one" trope.

jhsurti

Meself 27-5-2018 10:31 PM
YA novels honestly feel like Harlequin on steroids. There said it.

LOL!

metac

I agree, myth-fic is riddled with chosen one trope. Like YA with fish out of water. There are interesting exceptions to this rule. For ex. Leigh Bardugo has done a fantastic job with her Six of Crows, a spin off from her other, more popular fantasy thriller series. She's delivered something absolutely fresh, invigorating and arresting. For me, at least. Her inventive and rich imagination gave me many hours of pleasurable contemplation, and even inspiration.

Mousetrap

metac 13-6-2018 05:18 PM
I agree, myth-fic is riddled with chosen one trope. Like YA with fish out of water. There are intere ...

Do share the six of crows series if and when possible. I'd be really interested to see how it's differently done.

Also, I'd forgotten about the ''fish out of water" and "the bullied one" trope that I see so often in American ya fiction. That's another tiresomely common one.