What are genre tropes in novel writing & why do they matter?

All genres and modes of storytelling use tropes. You’ll find them in movies and novels. Contrary to what you might think, using a trope does not make your writing boring or repetitive. Instead, tropes are one of the basic ingredients for your story. They can fuel the premise of your story or help you out in the middle of your book if you use them wisely.

What is a trope?

Good storytelling often involves tropes. This is true for movies and novels. A trope involves a recurring idea or theme that is uniquely explored in your story.

Tropes act as the baseline for the story, much like ingredients for a recipe. You can make a variety of different baked goods using the same basic ingredients, such as flour, sugar, and eggs. You can use those ingredients to make cakes, muffins, pies, and cookies. And then there are a myriad of types of cookies and cakes to choose from. And instead of regular wheat flour, you can use almond flour for a distinct flavor of the same basic dish.

You get the idea. It works the same with tropes in your story. A trope is not a formula to help you write your book. It’s more like a starting point, and even books using the same trope can be (and should be) completely different stories.

Maybe you like the damsel-in-distress trope. But modern movies often find the damsel very capable of defending herself. Just think of the movie “Tangled”.

Skilled writers explore tropes in depth, master them, and put their own spin on them. Just think of Harry Potter. The orphan who turns out to be the chosen one to fight an evil force is not new. Yet, J. K. Rowling tells the story in a way we can relate, root for Harry, and still be surprised by what’s happening in the book.

Common examples of tropes

Every genre has its own sets of tropes. There are hundreds of them, some more popular than others. In mystery, you’ll often find the red herring trope. In thrillers, you’ll have incompetent police, except for the one detective who was paying attention. In romance novels, you’ll find marriage-of-convenience to be a popular theme. In horror, you’ll recognize the abandoned building or haunted house.

Some tropes are genre specific, and other tropes can be found across genres. For example, the fish-out-of-water trope can be used in any type of story. It involves a hero who’s put in an environment or situation he knows nothing about. You’ll also see the coming-of-age trope across genres. It’s represented in Harry Potter as well.

Why tropes resonate with readers

If the word ‘tropes’ gives you a bad feeling, it’s because you might confuse it with clichés. Clichés are overused concepts. Tropes are beloved stories your readers enjoy. They’re not the same thing.

Readers are familiar with tropes. They actually crave them when they’re reading a book. We want familiar things, but not exactly the same as before. We want a story we enjoy (a trope), but we want it to be slightly unique. Using tropes in your writing can help your reader root for your characters sooner and enjoy the book, even if they don’t realize you’re using tropes.

How to incorporate tropes into your writing

I recommend researching the tropes for your genre, whether you’ve already started your novel or not. When you search for tropes, you’ll likely get an extensive list to work with. There are probably some tropes you dislike (don’t write them) and some you find yourself drawn to. Explore your favorites and think about how you could use them in your story.

Sometimes, you’ll find an overused story idea for a specific trope. For example, in romance, there are the enemies-to-lovers or forced-together-in-confined-space tropes. In both, you may find a scene where they have to share a bed for whatever reason. That one-bed scene is extremely fun to read and write, but to avoid sounding cliché, put your own spin on it. Maybe instead of a bed, they’re sharing a tent in the rain. I trust you can come up with your own version of sharing a bed that feels exciting and new to your reader while still reminding them of the underlying trope.

Use tropes for marketing

When you utilize tropes in your story, remember to use them for marketing as well. As you probably know, there are millions of books available for sale. The biggest hurdle to your success (after you write a great story everyone wants to read) is to overcome obscurity.

Use your story’s tropes in the keywords for your book. You can also use the trope in the title or subtitle of your book. I’ve done that with my romance novels. For example, one of them is “The Perfect Match”, and its subtitle is “A Matchmaker Romance”. This lets readers know instantly what the book is about. If they hate matchmaker romances, they’ll pass on it. But if they like the trope, they’ll look at the blurb to see if the book interests them.

If you enjoy writing a specific trope, you can write an entire series around it or even create a collection of stories following the trope. Some readers will only read books using a specific trope. That’s just their ‘drug’. And when you make it clear what your book is all about, it’s easier for readers to purchase it and read it, and ultimately, enjoy it.