Book Tropes Every Writer Should Know About In 2024
Whether you love them or hate them, book tropes are the themes and plot devices that keep readers hooked in a story. Knowing these tropes can transform your storytelling, making your work more engaging and relatable. But use them poorly and your readers will get bored or even irritated. On the other hand, using tropes in innovative ways allows readers to enjoy familiar elements in fresh contexts.
Let’s explore the essential tropes that every writer should know about.
What Are Book Tropes?
Think of these as trusty, go-to themes and plot devices that readers know and love. They shape narratives and set expectations, making stories both familiar and engaging. Think of the “reluctant hero” who would rather be anywhere else but saving the day, or the “enemies to lovers” romance where love blossoms amidst witty banter. These tropes provide a comforting framework that keeps readers hooked. Master these tropes, and you’ll have readers eating out of the palm of your hand.
The word “trope” has an interesting evolution. It originally comes from the classical Greek word “tropos,” meaning “a turn, direction, or way,” and in rhetoric, it referred to figurative language used to convey ideas effectively. Over time, this concept expanded beyond rhetoric to describe common conventions in fiction, such as recurring themes, character types, and plot devices found in books, movies, and TV shows.
How Do Book Tropes Differ From Literary Tropes?
While book tropes are the familiar plot devices and character types that shape genres and stories, literary tropes are figurative language and stylistic techniques. Literary tropes include tools like metaphors, similes, and irony that enhance the meaning and artistry of the text. Essentially, book tropes are the building blocks of story structure, while literary tropes are the elements that add depth and richness to the writing itself.
Complete List Of Book Tropes
Character Tropes
- The Chosen One: This literary trope involves a protagonist destined to save the world or accomplish a tremendous task. Think Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins.
- The Reluctant Hero: An ordinary person who is thrust into extraordinary circumstances and must rise to the occasion, like Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit.”
- The Anti-Hero: A protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities, is often flawed and morally ambiguous, such as Walter White in “Breaking Bad.”
- The Mentor: A wise and experienced guide who helps the hero, often sacrificing themselves for the protagonist’s growth. Example: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
- The Sidekick: A supportive companion who often provides comic relief or crucial assistance, like Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings.”
- The Love Interest: A character whose romantic involvement with the protagonist drives part of the plot. Often seen in romance novels and dramas.
- The Villain: The main antagonist who opposes the hero, embodying evil or conflict, such as Darth Vader in “Star Wars.”
Plot Tropes
- Enemies to Lovers: A romance trope where two characters who start as adversaries develop a romantic relationship, creating tension and spark.
- Rags to Riches: A popular trope where a character rises from poverty to wealth, often overcoming great obstacles. Think Cinderella.
- The Quest: A hero embarks on a journey to achieve a goal or find something valuable, facing challenges along the way. Example: “The Lord of the Rings.”
- The Journey Home: A narrative focused on a character’s return home, encountering various trials. Example: “The Odyssey.”
- The Undercover Mission: Characters assume false identities to infiltrate and accomplish a goal, often seen in spy novels.
- Revenge: A plot centred on a character seeking vengeance for a wrong done to them or their loved ones. Example: “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
Narrative Tropes
- The Unreliable Narrator: A narrator whose credibility is compromised, leading readers to question the truth of the story, like Amy Dunne in “Gone Girl.”
- Multiple POVs: The story is told from different characters’ perspectives, providing varied insights and adding depth, as seen in “Game of Thrones.”
- Flashbacks: Scenes from the past are interspersed in the narrative, revealing backstory and character motivations, used effectively in “The Kite Runner.”
- Frame Story: A story within a story, where the main narrative is set within another context, adding layers to the storytelling, as in “Frankenstein” framed by Captain Walton’s letters.
Setting Tropes
- The Dystopian World: A sci-fi setting where society is oppressed or controlled, often exploring themes of survival and rebellion. Example: “The Hunger Games.”
- The Fantasy Realm: An imaginary world filled with magic, mythical creatures, and epic adventures, like Middle-earth in “The Lord of the Rings.”
- The Small Town: A cosy, close-knit community where everyone knows each other, often used in romance novels for a charming setting.
- The Haunted House: A common trope in horror, featuring a dwelling inhabited by ghosts or supernatural events. Example: “The Haunting of Hill House.”
- The Isolated Island: A setting that creates forced proximity and survival challenges, often leading to intense character interactions. Example: “Lost.”
Theme Tropes
- Coming of Age: A narrative that follows a character’s growth from youth to adulthood, often filled with life lessons and personal development, as seen in “The Catcher in the Rye” with Holden Caulfield’s journey.
- Redemption: A character seeks to atone for past mistakes or wrongdoings, aiming for forgiveness and a second chance, like Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables.”
- Good vs. Evil: A classic trope depicting the battle between moral opposites, often seen in fantasy and adventure genres, such as in “The Lord of the Rings” with the fight against Sauron.
- Survival: Characters struggle to stay alive against odds, exploring themes of resilience and human spirit, as in “The Road” where a father and son journey through a post-apocalyptic world.
- Sacrifice: Characters give up something valuable for the greater good, often seen in heroic and tragic narratives, like Sydney Carton’s ultimate sacrifice in “A Tale of Two Cities.”
Romance Tropes
- Forbidden Love: A romance genre favourite where love between two characters is prohibited by external forces, creating tension and drama, like the love between Romeo and Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.”
- Fake Relationship: Two characters pretend to be in a relationship for personal gain, only to develop real feelings, adding a twist to the romance, as seen in “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” where Lara Jean and Peter pretend to date.
- Love Triangle: A common trope where a character is torn between two potential love interests, heightening the emotional stakes, such as Bella being torn between Edward and Jacob in “Twilight.”
- Best Friends Turned Lovers: Friends who realize their deeper feelings, adding layers of emotional complexity to their relationship, like Harry and Sally’s evolving friendship in “When Harry Met Sally.”
- Unrequited Love: One character loves another who does not return their feelings, often leading to poignant and bittersweet moments, as Gatsby’s love for Daisy in “The Great Gatsby” is unrequited.
Fantasy Tropes
- The Chosen One: A character destined to save the world, often possessing unique abilities or fulfilling a prophecy, like Neo in “The Matrix.”
- The Magical Artifact: An object imbued with magical powers that is crucial to the plot, often sought by heroes and villains alike, such as the Elder Wand in “Harry Potter.”
- The Dark Lord: An evil overlord who seeks domination, serving as the primary antagonist for the hero to defeat, like the White Witch in “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
- The Quest: A hero embarks on a journey to achieve a significant goal, facing various challenges and adventures, as seen in Percy Jackson’s quest in “Percy Jackson & The Olympians.”
- The Mentor: A wise guide who helps the hero develop their abilities and navigate their journey, like Haymitch Abernathy in “The Hunger Games.”
Horror Tropes
- The Final Girl: The last surviving character, usually a woman, confronts the antagonist and survives the horror, like Laurie Strode in “Halloween.”
- The Haunted House: A dwelling inhabited by ghosts or supernatural entities, often filled with eerie and terrifying events, as seen in “The Shining.”
- The Creepy Child: Children who exhibit sinister behaviour, adding an unsettling and chilling element to the story, like Damien in “The Omen.”
- The Ancient Evil: A long-dormant malevolent force that resurfaces to wreak havoc, often requiring great effort to defeat, such as Imhotep in “The Mummy.”
- Body Horror: The grotesque and disturbing alteration of the human body, eliciting fear and revulsion, depicted in “The Fly” with Seth Brundle’s transformation.
Mystery Tropes
- The Locked Room: A seemingly impossible crime occurs in a confined space, challenging the detective to solve the mystery, as in “And Then There Were None.”
- The Red Herring: A misleading clue that diverts attention from the true culprit or solution, adding complexity to the plot, frequently used in “Sherlock Holmes” stories.
- The Amateur Sleuth: An ordinary person who takes on the role of detective, solving mysteries through wit and determination, like Nancy Drew in her mystery series.
- The Detective’s Confidant: A sidekick or partner who aids the detective, often serving as a sounding board for theories, such as Dr. Watson in “Sherlock Holmes.”
- The Private Eye: A hardboiled detective who operates independently, often encountering moral ambiguity and danger, exemplified by Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon.”
Science Fiction Tropes
- Time Travel: Characters travel through time, creating opportunities for paradoxes and altering history, exemplified by Marty McFly in “Back to the Future.”
- AI Run Amok: Artificial intelligence gains too much power, leading to dangerous and uncontrollable situations, as depicted with Ava in “Ex Machina.”
- Alien Invasion: Extraterrestrial beings invade Earth, often leading to conflicts and exploring themes of otherness and survival, like in “War of the Worlds.”
- Dystopian Future: A bleak and oppressive future society, often critiquing current social and political issues, as shown in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
- Space Opera: Grand, adventure-driven stories set in space, featuring intergalactic conflicts and epic battles, such as the adventures in “Star Trek.”
Conflict Tropes
- Man vs. Man: A conflict where characters oppose each other, often seen in dramas and action stories, such as in “Les Misérables,” where Jean Valjean is pursued by Inspector Javert.
- Man vs. Self: An internal struggle within a character, grappling with their own fears, desires, or moral dilemmas, like Hamlet’s indecision and desire for revenge in “Hamlet.”
- Man vs. Nature: A conflict where characters face natural forces or disasters, often seen in adventure or survival stories, exemplified by Pi’s battle against the elements while stranded at sea in “Life of Pi.”
- Man vs. Society: A character challenges societal norms, institutions, or injustices, common in dystopian or historical fiction, as seen when Atticus Finch defends a black man in a prejudiced society in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
- Man vs. Technology: A sci-fi trope where characters struggle against machines or AI, exploring themes of control and autonomy, like the astronauts battling the rogue AI HAL 9000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
What Is The Difference Between A Trope & Cliché?
Tropes and clichés are often confused, but they have distinct differences that are crucial for writers to understand. Tropes are recurring themes or devices that appear across various genres, like the “damsel in distress” or the “happy ending.” They serve as familiar building blocks that help create a story’s framework and can be subverted to keep narratives fresh and engaging. Tropes are not inherently bad; in fact, they can provide comfort and recognition for readers when used creatively and thoughtfully.
Clichés, on the other hand, are tropes that have been overused to the point of becoming predictable and unoriginal. When a trope is used repeatedly without innovation, it loses its impact and turns into a cliché, making the story feel stale. For example, the “happy ending” is a beloved trope in romance novels, but if every story ends the same way without any twists or unique elements, it becomes a cliché. The key to avoiding clichés is to either subvert the trope or add a fresh spin to keep it interesting. Understanding the difference between these two can help writers use archetypes like “first love” effectively without falling into the trap of predictability
As a writer, mastering book tropes means tapping into what readers love most.
My Writing Advice For Book Tropes
Just as there’s no place like home, there’s nothing like a story that resonates deeply with a reader. Whether it’s recognising a classic good vs. evil theme or relating to a character archetype, readers often enjoy stories with familiar elements.
Using book tropes can be a great way to attract new readers, but it’s crucial to innovate and subvert expectations to keep your story fresh and engaging. Avoid letting your work turn into a dreaded cliché by breathing new life into overused tropes.
In essence, treat book tropes with the same caution Frodo shows the Ring of Power (at least initially). They are powerful tools that can enhance your storytelling, but like all literary devices, they must be used wisely to avoid undermining your work’s originality.