Let’s talk: Trope or Nope?

[WistyWrites]

So, as you might’ve guessed by the, ahem, extremely catchy title, I’m going to ask whether or not you like tropes.

So do you like tropes (character or otherwise)?

Personally I like tropes in moderation, or mixed with other tropes.

For example, I’ll have your stereotypical popular blonde girl, and I’ll put it in the blender with the princess who talks to animals trope (if that exists), the weeb trope, and the crazy cat lady trope (legit though—this trope is grade-A). Then ta-da! A cat obsessed, popular girl who can talk to animals and is secretly hoarding thousands of manga, even controversial ones.

Thoughts? And what are your favorite tropes?

[DiegoPalacios]

Tropes are tools......how well they work depends on how are they used.

Personally i think is almost impossible to avoid tropes because there are tropes for almost anything, but when one considers the endless combinations, one can create something memorable.....

[Kaydreamer]

If you were to try to write a story which avoids every trope ever identifies, it'd probably be completely incoherent - if it were even a story at all. The reason tropes become tropes is because they work. And there's a trope for nearly every story and character type conceivable. Have a former villain trying to make amends for his sins? The Atoner. Got a sweetheart of a character who you're going to put through hell to make her grow? Break the cutie. Two characters don't like each other to begin with, then fall for each other once they get to know each other? Enemies to lovers + slow burn. It's not possible to make a character which avoids every single trope out there.

The way you make tropes work, without your story or characters feeling like a tired re-tread of tales already told, is to use them in interesting combinations, or subvert a few, or simply write a character who has a fleshed out and realistic personality despite conforming to a number of tropes. Your example of the cute, blonde popular girl who talks to animals and reads manga is a perfect example of what I mean!

[Oto_Kouda]

I like tropes, but only because I love subverting them.

Sad backstories and tragic death are classic tropes, but to me, tropes are tropes because of how receptive people are to them. Tropes are only as strong as the author's implementation of them.

[diamondactor]

Well, if you really think about it everything is a trope because everything is copied. There are only 4 basic stories. Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, Man vs Gods, and Man vs Himself. It's how you tell the story is what will make or break it. Tropes are 100% fine, but use them well or you won't gather any fans.