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Let’s Chat About Bookish Tropes
It was about time for a post discussing tropes considering that they’re so prevalent in the writing of books.
What is a trope?
A trope shouldn’t be confused with genres or sub-genres.
Let’s take an example:
Fantasy is a genre. Fantasy encompasses various sub-genres, including High Fantasy and Dark Academia.
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Now these sub-genres are characterized by certain elements and these amazing elements are called tropes.
Have you ever come across a film or literature in which two characters initially despise each other, but as they begin to understand each other on a deeper level, their defenses crumble, and they eventually develop a love for one another?
Well, that’s a famous trope used in multiple genres in terms of romance. Its called Enemies to Lovers.
How a trope is used
I often rely on Merriam-Webster’s definition of a trope when I need to clarify it for others.
A common or overused theme or device or cliché
Merriam-Webster Definition
But in my opinion, tropes are good clichés because they hook readers and compel them to read a book.
Whenever I need to suggest a book to a friend, I frequently encounter the limitation of simply categorizing it as either Fantasy or Mystery. If I genuinely want my friend to be enticed to read the book, such descriptions tend to fall short.
This is where tropes come in. I’ve seen very frequently that people respond positively to tropes.
Their eyes sparkle when I say “Oh this is a Mystery Novel set in winter, and it has a bit of a Slow Burn romance”. Bam! They’re hooked. And then, I can rant and rave about the novel.
Forms of tropes
Tropes can now be found in countless different forms.
Certain tropes in storytelling involve character pairings, like enemies becoming lovers or friends becoming lovers. Others revolve around specific situations, such as forced proximity or mistaken identity.
Additionally, certain essential aspects of the plot can serve as tropes, like the inclusion of pets (Yes! Pets can be a trope) or the use of time travel, among others.
Various tropes often make references to different seasons, such as winter or autumn.
All of these options simply assist in narrowing down what one wants to read.
This is especially helpful if you’re a mood reader and want to read something that connects to your emotions and feelings.
Misuse of tropes and trope marketing
Certain genres, such as romance, heavily depend on the use of tropes. It is indeed true that not all books make use of tropes.
However, with the use of booktok and bookstagram being on the rise, tropes are being used heavily, and sometimes, unnecessarily, to market books.
This is called Trope Marketing. And it sometimes turns off readers from books.
There’s a reason for this.
Let’s take a House of Salt and Sorrows, for example (This is just a hypothetical scenario to help you understand. I’m not saying this has actually happened to this book, but it happens to certain novels).
Instead of describing its fantastical aspects—that it’s a 12 dancing princesses retelling with a dark twist, it’s eerie, it has ghostly visions—it’s only described as having a Slow Burn romance.
Sure, romance is important. I love romance too. But that’s not all a fantasy novel is about, is it?
But if I had a romance novel, I wouldn’t mind it being described as Enemies to Lovers or Friends to Lovers, so long as I get other aspects of it to be spotlighted as well.
Tropes, if used carefully, can boost a novel’s success. Do you search for specific tropes when looking for books to read? What do you think about trope marketing?
