i would never…

[Rexenm]

There are plenty of tropes, and lines to cross, in story telling. I know marginally I have cross many wires on my way to now. But, what are those things you never wanted to see, in your own prose -but a plot devise?

 

[pmmg]

Is the question here like....Crud, here this trope, and I really dont want to use it, but gosh darn it, its the only thing that works in my story, guess I'll use this trope?

My answer is No, it have not done that. Other than on writing sites like this, trope is not even in my vocabulary.

 

[Avery Moore]

Yeah, I'm also not 100% sure what the question is here. It sounds like the question is, "Are there any tropes that you never wanted to use, but ended up using anyway?" In which case, the answer is no. I don't think there are any tropes that I would just automatically rule out altogether, because I think that ultimately, any trope can work if it's written well.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Honestly, our storytelling isn't that organized. We never have tropes in mind when we're building a book. It's all about the story. Other people can point them out to us, later. Kind of like literary criticism, only perhaps a bit more concrete.

 

[Dylan]

There are plenty of tropes, and lines to cross, in story telling. I know marginally I have cross many wires on my way to now. But, what are those things you never wanted to see, in your own prose -but a plot devise?

Ah, the dreaded tropes we avoid like the plague in our own writing! For me, it’s the **deus ex machina**, nothing kills tension faster than a random, unexplained solution. Also, **insta-love** feels lazy, and **overpowered protagonists** with no flaws can be boring. But hey, as a plot device? Sometimes you gotta bend the rules to make the story work. It’s all about balance.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Ah, the dreaded tropes we avoid like the plague in our own writing! For me, it’s the **deus ex machina**, nothing kills tension faster than a random, unexplained solution. Also, **insta-love** feels lazy, and **overpowered protagonists** with no flaws can be boring. But hey, as a plot device? Sometimes you gotta bend the rules to make the story work. It’s all about balance.

This is funny, because we're three books in, four and five in the hopper, and so far we've had "insta-love," protagonists so OP they don't even know it, and we've had a "deus ex machina" wandering in and out of all three books, fully active and engaged, and no one has noticed. That reveal is going to be funny as hell.

The reason we've been able to pull this off is we keep things simple. I'm notorious for streamlined descriptions and hiding important bits in plain sight. They'll fall into the background until we need them, and not before.

 

[Mad Swede]

There are times when I get sick of hearing the word "trope". There's a distressing tendency to think of creative writing in terms of the tropes one should or should not use in any given part of the story. And that's not to mention plot devices, structures and all the other supposed tools needed to write what so many critics consider to be a good story I worry that we're scaring potential writers away, when what we should be doing is telling them to write.

And that's a long winded way of saying to Rexenm that I never think in terms of tropes, lines not to be crossed or anything else. I just write what seems right for the moment in the story.

 

[pmmg]

To me, trope is a word that diminishes all we do. I don't write in tropes. I write stories, and I am proud of them. I never reach into some grab bag for a template to reuse. I think the word should be discarded. I think it has the illusion of meaning something when really it fails always to be accurate. It seems to me like one of those jargon terms that make one feel connected to the craft, when really it is incapable of hitting the mark. I'd rather let that be a fluff term used by readers. I don't like seeing it from authors.

Yeah, patterns repeat, and everything has been done before, but we are writing our hearts, not putting together a set of legos from a set of tropes.

 

[Devor]

I've got one, but I won't say exactly what it is. I specifically wanted to avoid a certain character trait so that my heroes could be closer to ordinary people. But as the ideas came together, I needed to give the character agency in the plot's backstory. This trait was the only way this character could be just a little bit responsible for what other people are doing on the page. So I had to go with it.

 

[Dylan]

This is funny, because we're three books in, four and five in the hopper, and so far we've had "insta-love," protagonists so OP they don't even know it, and we've had a "deus ex machina" wandering in and out of all three books, fully active and engaged, and no one has noticed. That reveal is going to be funny as hell.

The reason we've been able to pull this off is we keep things simple. I'm notorious for streamlined descriptions and hiding important bits in plain sight. They'll fall into the background until we need them, and not before.

Haha, that’s brilliant! Hiding tropes in plain sight and then flipping the script is such a clever move. Streamlined descriptions and subtle setups make the eventual reveal even more satisfying. Can’t wait to see how readers react when they finally catch on, sounds like it’s going to be epic!

 

[Dylan]

There are times when I get sick of hearing the word "trope". There's a distressing tendency to think of creative writing in terms of the tropes one should or should not use in any given part of the story. And that's not to mention plot devices, structures and all the other supposed tools needed to write what so many critics consider to be a good story I worry that we're scaring potential writers away, when what we should be doing is telling them to write.

And that's a long winded way of saying to Rexenm that I never think in terms of tropes, lines not to be crossed or anything else. I just write what seems right for the moment in the story.

Totally agree! Overthinking tropes and rules can suck the fun out of writing. At the end of the day, it’s about telling a story that feels right to you. If it works for the moment and the characters, that’s what matters. Keep it simple and let the creativity flow, no need to box yourself in with labels. Just write!

 

[Dylan]

To me, trope is a word that diminishes all we do. I don't write in tropes. I write stories, and I am proud of them. I never reach into some grab bag for a template to reuse. I think the word should be discarded. I think it has the illusion of meaning something when really it fails always to be accurate. It seems to me like one of those jargon terms that make one feel connected to the craft, when really it is incapable of hitting the mark. I'd rather let that be a fluff term used by readers. I don't like seeing it from authors.

Yeah, patterns repeat, and everything has been done before, but we are writing our hearts, not putting together a set of legos from a set of tropes.

Writing is about heart and creativity, not just piecing together pre-defined patterns. Tropes can be useful for analysis, but they shouldn’t box in the storytelling process. Every story is unique, and focusing too much on tropes can strip away that magic. Keep writing from the heart, that’s where the real connection happens.

 

[pmmg]

I've got one, but I won't say exactly what it is. I specifically wanted to avoid a certain character trait so that my heroes could be closer to ordinary people. But as the ideas came together, I needed to give the character agency in the plot's backstory. This trait was the only way this character could be just a little bit responsible for what other people are doing on the page. So I had to go with it.

Thing is, characters take on the role of the most interesting person, and the most interesting things start to happen to them. If they are not, you ought to be writing about someone else. For this reason, I've floated at times the really, every MC is a Mary Sue. Somehow they just have to be the ones to do the things. I cant imagine the goal of making MC's who just blend in could get very far.

 

[Devor]

Thing is, characters take on the role of the most interesting person, and the most interesting things start to happen to them. If they are not, you ought to be writing about someone else. For this reason, I've floated at times the really, every MC is a Mary Sue. Somehow they just have to be the ones to do the things. I cant imagine the goal of making MC's who just blend in could get very far.

Yeah, lead characters do have a way of attracting attention. I wasn’t hoping they’d be ordinary people who blend in, so much as ordinary people who stepped up. But it just didn’t work that way with the elaborate needs of the plot when looking backwards at the reason each character is where they are. Compromising on that made the plot a little simpler and the character actually a little deeper.

 

[Rexenm]

I suppose it is a danger sign when tropes take over. It is the same with other forms of writing, nonfiction and fiction, maybe a broader term. I needed to realise that art forms are more difficult than other forms, and become niche. (I don’t know weather that is another way of saying nice, but that is the tall and short of it.)

At the end of the day, natural selection comes into tropes, and also mettle. If you can’t show what you know about everything on a page, then some kind of lesson is surely approaching. Be it discretely, rather than a trope.

 

[Fidel]

There are plenty of tropes, and lines to cross, in story telling. I know marginally I have cross many wires on my way to now. But, what are those things you never wanted to see, in your own prose -but a plot devise?

Oh, hell yes—we all have those "nope, not in my prose"** plot devices that make our teeth itch. Here are mine (and maybe yours too?):

1. The Convenient Amnesia
"Oh no, I forgot the critical thing that would solve everything… until Act 3!"
-Why it’s cursed:** Feels lazy. Real memory loss is messy; plot-amnesia is just a stalling tactic.

2. The Miscommunication Trope
"If they just TALKED for five seconds, the story would END."
- Why it’s cursed: Frustrates readers more than it intrigues them. (Unless it’s *dramatic irony*—then it’s delicious.)

3. The Villain Monologue
"Let me pause my evil plan to explain it in detail!"*
- Why it’s cursed: Unless your villain is *theatrical* (Joker-style), it’s just handing the hero a cheat code.

4. The Chosen One… Just ‘Cause
"You’re special because… uh… prophecy?"
- Why it’s cursed: Feels unearned. Give me a flawed chosen one who struggles with destiny.

5. The Fake-Out Death
"Surprise! They’re alive… again… for the third time."
- Why it’s cursed: Unless there’s a brilliant twist, it kills stakes. (Looking at you, Supernatural.)

6. The Insta-Love Cure
"My trauma/darkness is magically fixed by ~love~."
- Why it’s cursed: Real healing isn’t that simple—and love shouldn’t be a band-aid for poor character arcs.

7. The "It Was All a Dream"
"JK, none of this mattered!"
- Why it’s cursed: Feels like a betrayal. (Unless it’s Lynchian and intentional—then it’s art.)

But… Sometimes They Work
The trick? Subvert them. Make the amnesia devastating. Make the miscommunication hurt. Make the villain’s monologue a psychological trap.

 

[Rexenm]

I was asking, because there is no gun violence in fantasy, and I call it the metal slug. If you have a steam punk world, then maybe it would be okay. But the magic revolver? Kinda rare.....It becomes a different court, when you have the metal slug.

You type gun, and suddenly, alas, metal slug. The whole scenario has changed, and I think it is different for writers, then readers.