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Hello, The Philosopher Moth.
Tropes are storytelling conventions. This mean that they're something that a lot of storytellers have used, and thus, audiences get more information from the story than is just in the words.
Starting a fairy tale "Once upon a time..." is a convention. It's a trope. Most folks who hear or read that as the opening line of a story will guess that it's going to be a traditional Western fairy tale, or something very like one, even if they knew nothing about the story before they read that opening line. That's what I mean by "giving the audience more information than is contained in just the words".
Tropes are, above all, tools. They're neither good nor bad by themselves (although some tropes are negative — that is, they say what something isn't rather than what it is (like Faux Action Girl — she's defined by what she isn't. She isn't an Action Girl even though she presents the appearance of being one at first); or they say something generally regarded as "bad" about the situation or character or setting (A Crapsack World is an unpleasant place to live.)
No, tropes are not something you should try to avoid. Again, like tools. Don't use one you don't need to use, just so you can say you used it, but don't try to avoid using one at all just to say that you didn't use it.
edited 19th Apr '14 3:59:13 PM by Madrugada
...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
Apparition in the Woods
I would put it differently: Tropes are patterns. One notices them in media and sometimes uses them as shorthand to get an idea across. Explicitly writing to patterns tends to result in bland, hackneyed writing, but explicitly writing everything to subvert or avoid particular tropes is its own hobble. Acknowledge that certain recurring concepts exist in fiction, including your own; write characters and stories and settings, not archetypes and patterns and subversions.
I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
TV Tropes isn't about what to avoid. It's just about what is in fiction, the patterns across media. What is a good pattern depends on who you ask. One movie reviewer gave his list of NC - Top 11 Coolest Cliches http://youtu.be/ZYziL5oeyiM
An author tells about what kind of patterns she likes to see in A Rant on Stereotypes, Clichés, and Tropes
Hello all.
So, I'm new to this website. I first saw it after searching for tips on avoiding clichés. And I think is amazing the quantity of information around here. But still, I'm having some problems. I have no ideia if this kind post has been posted before... I tried looking into the FAQ but couldn't find anything similar. And english is not my native language. So... bear with me please.
The concept of trope is new to me. Are tropes something I should avoid when writting? I want to write a basic story, not fiction, not romance. Just something to start. I've always wanted to write but I never got around to do it. It's still unclear to me where I begin reading in this website in order to understand the things I should avoid doing.
I think that cover all that I wanted to know. I probably forgot something... Anyways... If anyone could tell me what to do now I would be really grateful.
PS: My story, if I actually write one, will be in portuguese, so please disregard my english grammar errors. :)
edited 19th Apr '14 3:13:34 PM by ThePhilosopherMoth