Can I interest you in a trope?

Posted byjenniferannerainesPosted inJen's ChatTags:, , , , ,

Tropes are a feature of romance novels, whether the novels be sweet, spicy or dark.

Sophie Pembroke suggests a trope is a plot, theme, device or character used so often that it has become a convention within the genre.

I’ve heard category romance editors argue that you have hooks and tropes, with the hooks relating to characters and settings and the tropes as plot devices.

By this definition, character hooks include the perennial favourites of military, royalty and billionaire. Once upon a time it was millionaires, but hey! Apparently, millionaires don’t rate anymore. Some characters seem to be perennially popular, like single or widowed parent, cowboys and medicos. In more recent years firefighters and sports stars have been added to the list—something to do with muscled bodies perhaps? There’s also chatter about numerous bad boys, outlaws, mafia, and motorcycle club president. Breaking the rules is seemingly also hot.

Setting hooks include rural or small-town romances, Texas specific romances, hospitals, or exotic locations where you might find the stray sheikh or prince. For some readers, it’s the setting that emotionally resonates or appeals.

Tropes, then, are plot devices, such as working together, accidental pregnancy, marriage of convenience, fake relationship, forced proximity, snowed in, second chance, emotional scars to name a few. Just as some people have favourites, others hate particular tropes to the extent they won’t read any, for example, enemies to lovers, or accidental pregnancies—what’s with that in this day and age is their question? I have to admit I have a secret baby, actually toddler, in Taylor’s Law, but the now dead mother chose to keep the father’s name a secret which was only revealed at her death.

Often romance writers just use the term tropes. We talk about tropes, we use tropes as shorthand to market and promote books, and create new tropes to appeal to new or different audiences, think age gap, cinnamon roll hero, only one bed or golden retriever.

A trope isn’t a formula, whatever the naysayers of romantic fiction might think. It’s a lure to tickle your reading tastebuds. Good authors upend tropes or give them a twist.

I recently heard Michelle Pennington deliver an online lecture, Trope Up Your Scenes. Michelle talked about character and plot tropes and the common scene tropes that serve as the building blocks of plot or character. For example, if your trope is fish out of water, there’s a good chance you have a scene that involves an elaborate dinner party with the full cutlery setting. She used various movies as illustrations of different scene tropes. So, tropes are serious business.

N. N. Light’s Book Heaven commented that my novel Masquerade “is a mash-up of a few tropes but has a comedic vibe throughout”. My shorthand description is “a masquerade, a road trip, a steamy attraction and Kate and Liam discover the steps they took to protect their hearts might break them”.

A road trip is a good way to put people together. In this case, Kate and Liam are also working together, but they’re each an identical twin, and Liam was the only one of the four not aware of a billboard campaign featuring Kate and his brother. So, essentially Masquerade includes some forced proximity, workplace romance, with a dash of enemies to lovers, topped off by the decision to just have a fling.

Grace Under Fire is a combination best friend’s brother, boy next door and prodigal returns. Planting Hope blends tragic pasts with one character who must stay and another who needs to go, working together, a hint of second chances and passion galore.

Romance Writers of Australia’s 2024 annual conference is called Trope Actually. It’s in Adelaide Wednesday 12-Sunday 18 August. Unfortunately, I’m unable to attend, but if you’re lucky enough to be present, you’ll be able to ask any question you’ve ever had about tropes. N.B. An excerpt of Masquerade—Choosing Family Book 1 is included in the Conference Anthology, which is added to every participant’s goodies bag.

Note: Getting my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) together:

ARC readers get advance copies of new releases with the request to post an honest review on one of the major sites, for example, Goodreads, Bookbub, Apple, Amazon, Kobo or Barnes & Noble.

If you’d like to be an ARC reader for  my upcoming books you can sign up to Booksprout, where you’ll have a choice of my books or the books of other authors.

Alternatively, you can contact me directly via the contact link on my website. Let me know a little about yourself. I always post the blurb for my next book on the My Books page of my website, so have a read of that and see if my books interest you.

By agreeing to be part of my ARC team, you are in no way obligated to leave a review on any site, although I’d appreciate it. I welcome all reviews, good or bad, as long as they are honest.

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You can also contact me directly via the contact page on my website if you have any other questions.

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