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Common Romance Tropes

If you want to write a romantic short story or novel, it’s vital that you learn the basic love tropes that are a part of the genre, so that you can work with them (or against them) to form a love story your readers will identify with.

Love Triangle. One of the most common tropes of romance literature: three characters are competing for each other’s love, and only two will pair off. This is a favorite romance trope for creating tension, since the reader wonders who will pair off and who will be left alone with their painfully unrequited love. Will she choose the bad boy or the geek? Will he choose the cheerleader or the ugly duckling? Love triangles are the ultimate trope to appeal to “shippers”—readers who like to pick a side and play matchmaker. Example: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008).

Secret Billionaire. A billionaire or member of a royal family is tired of their lavish lifestyle, and they sneak out of the spotlight—and, in disguise, run into someone who treats them as if they’re an ordinary person. Whether or not this leaves them frustrated or entranced, it has a little more pizzazz than the standard “boy meets girl” story—and the end result is often true love. Example: Naked in Death by Nora Roberts (1995).

Friends to Lovers. They’ve known each other since they were childhood friends or they recently met each other, and now things are heating up—even though they used to see each other as just friends, they now see each other as a potential love interest. This trope is popular because we get to see two characters bond with each other as friends first, which allows them to be more open with each other without a physical relationship getting in the way. As their feelings for one another—and the sexual tension—build, we can’t help but want them to get together so we can watch them go from “best friends since high school” to “happily ever after.” Example: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (2012).

Stuck Together. There are plenty of variations of the “stuck together” trope, which is often a staple of romantic comedies: two people trapped in a snowed-in cabin, forced to stay with each other overnight at the office, on a road trip, or even stuck in an arranged marriage. However it happens, this trope will trap two characters—whether they’re sworn enemies or already attracted to one another—in the same place and let the drama ensue. Example: From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata (2018).

Enemies to Lovers. Enemies to lovers is a beloved trope, made popular by Jane Austen in the classic novel Pride & Prejudice: two people who hate each others’ guts (usually for ridiculous reasons) end up overcoming their differences and angst and ending the story with a (spoiler!) declaration of love. The “enemies to lovers” trope often goes hand-in-hand with the “stuck together” trope, since putting two enemies in a room together can lead to some very juicy results. Example: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (1594).

Forbidden Love. One of the most famous love stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, is a classic example of forbidden love: two characters who aren’t allowed to have feelings for each other can’t help but become entangled in a romantic relationship. The things that separate them could range from the family politics in Romeo and Juliet to the bloodsucking problem in Stephenie Meyer’s paranormal romance Twilight. And of course, things will always get more complicated—whether the couple is discovered sneaking out together or with a secret baby after an accidental pregnancy. Example: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (1996).

Second Chance. Two lovers break up and then long for each other. Someone is looking for love again after a bad divorce. Or the hero/heroine’s fairytale turned out to be a nightmare, and now a new romance will give them hope again. The “second chance” trope is where our character missed their chance during their first love and are about to encounter a second. Their next blind date or one-night stand might be the experience that helps them believe in love again. Example: Once in a Lifetime by Harper Bliss (2015).

Soul Mates. The “soul mates” trope is a story about two characters who are meant to be together as each others’ “one true love.” But any story would be boring if everything were going just fine for the couple—that’s why many romance writers that use the “soul mates” trope need to also drive them apart somehow. Whether there’s a horrible misunderstanding or a natural disaster that separates them, soul mates in love stories always find a way to get back together. Example: The Princess Bride by William Golding (1973).

Fake Relationship. They didn’t ask for this. Maybe they’re tired of telling everyone they’re single, or they have to pretend like they’re in love to get out of an awkward social situation. Maybe two characters agree to a marriage of convenience in order to subvert the law or get a better tax break, or a friends with benefits situation to stave off their loneliness. But of course, in many “fake relationship” stories, what began as a fake relationship quickly turns into true love. Example: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (2014).

A trope in literary terms is a plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it’s seen as commonplace or conventional. For example, a trope in superhero stories is a villain who wants to take over the world. The romance genre, in particular, is full of tropes—from Shakespeare plays to modern-day bestsellers, it’s easy to see patterns when you start to look.

Ways Tropes Are Helpful to Writers

Help offer readers things that are familiar. Tropes are popular for a reason—if something has been written about over and over again, there’s a good chance that it’s something romance readers enjoy reading! Popular romance tropes are a great place to start when coming up with your love story idea, because they’re guaranteed to be familiar territory to readers that they’ll enjoy.

Give you a jumping-off-place to innovate. Tropes can be helpful, but a novel made up only of tropes will quickly start to feel stale and predictable to readers. That’s why you need to read up on romance tropes—and then innovate. Deliberately taking a favorite trope and turning it on its head is a great way to put your own unique spin on the genre and keep your readers interested.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

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Commercial Writing

A little guide I made on the most common strategies for authors who want to make a living from their work.

In the past, I pursued writing as a hobby, and wrote about 1,000,000 words per year. However, I’ve decided I want to be a commercial writer.

That is, I’ve decided I would like to (self-)publish and make a living from my writing.

I have read (too much) advice about publishing. There are a lot of factors involved in success, and not all of them are understood.

During my research, I found a few general approaches:

A large volume trumps quality.

Pure Volume (do not recommend)

A Pure Volume approach emphasizes the number of titles released, rather than the quality of those works. 20booksto50K, a philosophy where you try to publish 20 books within a few months in the hope that you will develop a living wage, is an example.

Here, the idea is that a large volume of titles, even of poor quality, is enough to earn a living. People who publish “AI books” are normally pursuing this strategy.

I do not believe in this strategy and do not recommend it.

Give the people what they want, right now.

Write to Market (wish I could)

A popular type of advice for would-be commercial authors is to write in “hungry market”. A hungry market is any genre where there is a large number of readers who purchase a large number of volumes per year (romance) or where there is more interest in a genre, subgenre, or trope than their are writers filling that niche (varies).

What makes it write to market, specifically, is the idea that one should focus on what is popular or becoming popular in your market, and specifically cater to what readers are looking for, above your own personal preferences as a writer.

A writer who writes to market does care about quality, at least to the extent that readers care about it, but they view writing as a craft/job rather than a mainly artistic pursuit.

I really wanted to pursue this avenue, specifically romance, but I kept thinking “I need something for them to do while they fall in love” and ended up creating a story with a romance subplot instead.

Produce an enduring piece of artistic literature.

Magnum Opus

The Magnum Opus writer is focused purely on artistic merit, with no thoughts towards marketability. They are setting out to create a work of literature, a pure embodiment of the craft, so compelling it will be read long after their death.

The magnum opus writer doesn’t care about genre conventions, publishing realities, or reader expectations, though they might know them. Instead, they focus on their story, and the shape, pace, and approach it specifically requires.

Generally, the magnum opus writer struggles to get traditionally published, and usually doesn’t succeed in self-publishing either. They write slowly, or sometimes only one book in their entire life.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Quality Backlist (my goal)

The approach that I’m calling Quality Backlist is the the following factors are of generally equal importance:

Manuscript Quality

Each manuscript should be of the highest quality you can write, given the timeframe you have to write. You should craft the best prose, plot, and characters you are capable of creating so far in your journey.

Evergreen Tropes

The settings, tropes, and topics you pick should be able to maintain interest for at least 10-20 years.

Regularity: You should aim to release books at a regular, predictable pace so your readers know when to expect your next work.

Trad 1x/yr

Indie 2-4x/yr

This allows your readers to develop the habit of looking for your new works at regular intervals.

Serial Nature

While everyone seems to agree that having interconnected books is key, people differ on how to achieve that. Common methods are:

long (5+) series

short series with spinoffs

standalone novels with a shared universe.

Less common options include:

weekly syndication (publish one chapter weekly, ex. webnovels)

novella serials (structured similarly to a tv series)

Focus

Every work under the same pen name should focus on one type of reader experience, including the following elements:

Same or similar sub-genre

Same or similar pace

Same or similar tone

Same or similar approach

In general, you want to be able to say yes to the following questions:

Will 80% of people who liked this book like my previous book?

Will 80% of my current fans like this book?

(This is part of what makes a successful series so good from a reader’s standpoint.)

This kind of focus is important for a few reasons. The main one is that it builds your brand, the kinds of books you are known for.

When someone asks, “hey can you recommend a [your tone] [your pace] [your genre] writer?”, your fans should immediately be able to think of you.

Additionally, when someone likes one of your books, they’ll often search for other things you’ve written. If they are similar, they are much more likely to give them a try.

Backlist Size

You need a good number of works under the same pen name to make a living.

8 is probably the minimum, if you are in a very hot genre or very skilled

12-15 is probably more normal

20 is more likely if the genre is very slow, the content is very niche, or if you have an usual style or approach

The thought process is that each reader who likes one of your books is more likely to purchase another book from you. And the more they like, the more they are willing to purchase. The more titles you have, the more books they can binge through before moving on.

Conclusion

For people who can’t write to market (for whatever reason) but still want to make a living, I think Quality Backlist is the best approach, and the one I’m going to pursue.

Did I miss any general strategies?

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I think this exists for hiding some parts of your fic. Like suppose you only want to show off some dialogue or draw attention to only some points — you hide the rest using this font.

I just found the funniest font ever

Like. What is this. Why is this. Who is the target audience of this?

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