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Writer's Discuss - Tropes

  • Member
    July 25, 2017

    Tropes! Believe it or not we use them in every story we write. Hell, even our own lives are filled with tropes. (Seriously, do you know anyone who's not a Deadpan Snarker or a Tsundere?)

    For those who don't know what tropes are, they're essentially a way for us creative writers to convey a concept to the audience without needing to spell out all the details. They are tools to help us in creating a character's personality or set up our stories. Sometimes you might even find inspiration just by reading about tropes.

    ~~~~~

    What kind of tropes do you commonly use in your writing and how do you implement them in your story/character?

    Have you ever had trouble using a trope?

    What's your favorite trope(s)?

    Is there a way you justify the use of a trope? (Example: Character is a Blood Knight, but why is he one?)  

    ~~~~~

    There are thousands of tropes you can use to help build your story. For more information visit: TV Tropes

    Warning: TV Tropes will ruin your life

    Note: This is my first attempt at making a Writer's Discuss. I hope this can be a useful topic for current and aspiring writers to use.

  • Member
    July 26, 2017

    I just found this which would be useful for the less educated writers such as myself.

     

    Types of Trope

    There are many different types of tropes depending on how the meaning is changed. Here is a list of commonly used tropes with a description and examples of each. 

    Hyperbole

    This trope uses exaggeration to get its point across. Examples include:  

    • He’s been here hundreds of times.
    • I’ll die from embarrassment.
    • She has tons of money. 

    Irony

    With irony, a word or words are taken in the opposite way from their literal meaning. Examples: 

    • I just love doing dishes.
    • Your explanation is clear as mud.
    • That cloth is as smooth as sandpaper. 

    Litotes

    This trope understates to emphasize a point and is opposite to a hyperbole. Examples: 

    • That’s not the worst idea.
    • She’s not the most attractive person.
    • I am not a happy camper. 

    Metaphor

    The metaphor compares two things that have very little in common but do share a trait or characteristic. It says something is something else to show what they have in common. Examples: 

    • He is an ogre.
    • You are my sunshine.
    • This school is a zoo. 

    Metonymy

    With the metonymy trope, a word or phrase is substituted for another that is closely associated to it. Examples: 

    • Man of the cloth
    • Red letter day
    • Big brother 

    Oxymoron

    The oxymoron literally means “sweet and sour” and uses words that contradict each other. Often, these are quite humorous. Examples: 

    • Jumbo shrimp
    • Organized mess
    • Worried optimist

    Personification

    This trope gives human attributes to things that are not human. Examples: 

    • The flowers nodded their heads.
    • The pizza disagreed with me.
    • The old car wheezed and complained. 

    Pun

    A pun repeats a word or phrase but means it in a different way. A good example is from Groucho Marx

    • "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." 

    Rhetorical Question

    This is a question that you do not expect anyone to answer. Examples: 

    • How did he get that job with no qualifications?
    • When will they learn?
    • How much longer will this last? 

    Simile

    This trope compares two things that have some things in common. Examples: 

    • Blind as a bat
    • Pretty like a flower
    • Hard as a rock  

    Synecdoche

    This uses a part of something to represent the whole.  Examples: 

    • "Friends, Romans, countrymen: lend me your ears"
    • I just got a new set of wheels.
    • The world is treating me nicely. 

    Zeugma

    This trope uses one verb with two or more words and each time there is a different meaning. Examples: 

    • I left my heart and my luggage in San Francisco.
    • He broke my heart and my car

     

    I'll add a comment later on.

     

  • Member
    January 17, 2018

    I like aphorisms especially. They're really the only trope I know beyond the basics, and the only one I really try to use consistently. Generally I'll avoid character tropes, because those are just a stone's throw away from becoming cliches. 

  • Member
    February 3, 2018

    I've been working on something for a bit that may or may not develop into a story posted here. The protagonist is someone who has gone through an event in their lives that magically removed all memory of their past life and they must gain it back over the course of the story. It's that old "amnesiac" trope. I'll admit it's somewhat difficult writing it like this, I've caught myself using the character's name on more than one occasion.

  • Member
    February 3, 2018

    Ebonslayer said:

    I've been working on something for a bit that may or may not develop into a story posted here. The protagonist is someone who has gone through an event in their lives that magically removed all memory of their past life and they must gain it back over the course of the story. It's that old "amnesiac" trope. I'll admit it's somewhat difficult writing it like this, I've caught myself using the character's name on more than one occasion.

    Hmm, maybe you could make it so that the character's name is the only thing he/she remembers.

  • Member
    February 3, 2018

    A-Pocky-Hah! said:

    Hmm, maybe you could make it so that the character's name is the only thing he/she remembers.

    That doesn't really make sense to me. Given the situation he wouldn't remember a damn thing. This isn't just a bump on the head, it's full on dying and resurrecting crap. Fortunately for me, I planned it so that he learns his name shortly, though those plans might change depending on if I think it could be utilized well later on.

  • Member
    February 3, 2018

    Well I guess you could name him based on what "class" he is. The Mage, or the Knight. Or you could just use the Man until he discovers his name. 

    Another way to solve it is by writing in the first person perspective. You'll avoid the problem of mentioning the character's name, but it might pose other problems in your story in the long run.

    EDIT:

    By the way, Azra Nightwielder once suffered temporary memory loss, and it became one of the key plots in The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey. However, I'm not familiar with how they managed to handle that problem since the game is not available for me to play.

  • Member
    February 3, 2018

    A-Pocky-Hah! said:

    Well I guess you could name him based on what "class" he is. The Mage, or the Knight. Or you could just use the Man until he discovers his name. 

    Another way to solve it is by writing in the first person perspective. You'll avoid the problem of mentioning the character's name, but it might pose other problems in your story in the long run.

    Yep. I've been been writing him and first person and he does have a temporary title that people can use to refer to him until he can learn the name. Right now he's just trying to find his place in a somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar world.