7 votes

Let's talk about tropes!

Posted by pekt
Tags: fiction, ask.discussion, tropes, genres

I have a friend who recently started reading fiction books for the first time since he was a teenager. It's been great recommending him some books, and he is currently exploring different genres to find ones he likes with a goal of one book a month this year. I was chatting with him about his reading today and this got me thinking about the books I enjoy and associated tropes of different genres.

This made me think it might be fun seeing what my fellows tilders think about tropes in books.

  • Do you have any tropes in books that you love?
  • On the flip side, do you have any tropes that you can't stand?
  • Are there any novels that execute these tropes well/poorly?
  • Do you find yourself enjoying tropes being subverted?
  • Anything else trope related you want to chat about!

3 comments

  1. [2]
    nic
    Link
    The hitman with a heart of gold! (I have almost zero standards when it comes to fictional hitmen) The writer. Who writes. About writing. But he can't write. He has writers block. Then something...

    Do you have any tropes in books that you love?

    The hitman with a heart of gold! (I have almost zero standards when it comes to fictional hitmen)

    On the flip side, do you have any tropes that you can't stand?

    The writer. Who writes. About writing. But he can't write. He has writers block. Then something whacky happens. But he also wrote that wacky thing. But he can't stop writing about it, he is consumed by the need to write his own story.

    Are there any novels that execute these tropes well/poorly?

    The Shining by Stephen King
    Misery by Stephen King

    Dangit, I loathe Stephen King, but he is the only one who writes about writers... well.

    Do you find yourself enjoying tropes being subverted?

    I enjoy anything that fools you by subverting any preconceived notion. But I dislike plot spoilers. So I wont list anything here.

    4 votes
    1. Queresote
      Link Parent
      If you are willing to step outside of books, the Alan Wake series of video games execute the writer trope excellently.

      The writer. Who writes. About writing. But he can't write. He has writers block. Then something whacky happens. But he also wrote that wacky thing. But he can't stop writing about it, he is consumed by the need to write his own story.

      If you are willing to step outside of books, the Alan Wake series of video games execute the writer trope excellently.

  2. Queresote
    Link
    I enjoy chiefly two things: Passing of the Torch: (especially of a physical object being gifted as a way of showing a transfer of ideals or responsibilities) The literal Chekov's Gun: An innocuous...

    I enjoy chiefly two things:

    • Passing of the Torch: (especially of a physical object being gifted as a way of showing a transfer of ideals or responsibilities)
    • The literal Chekov's Gun: An innocuous situation, character, or story element that later comes to have significant impact on the story. It gives more enjoyment upon reread to notice these clues left by the author.

    I do not enjoy trope subversion that I feel is "cheap" or when it belittles the genre. In my mind, subversion is by its nature a critique of the trope it subverts, so overt "you thought I was going to say ___" that you'd find in books such as YA novels feels gross.

    1 vote