Tropes Are Not Bad, Best Examples?

Tropes Are Tools points out that even the least palatable tropes can be used well. But wading through giant lists of examples trying to pick out the ones that are noted for being unusually good, that's frustrating. Is there a page, or could we make a page, that compares and contrasts working (good writing) examples to the general (bad writing) versions that pervade media?

For example, the top five modern best uses of Deus ex Machina. And I don't mean "modern" as in Shakespeare. How these pulled it off and didn't seem to be out of place in the story.

I'm writing a crossover that heavily features Dream of the Endless, who's literally more powerful and longer lived than gods in that reality. He's got reason to be interested in the main character and to be invested in what happens to him.

I'll have to figure out why he stays out of the way instead of going "Hey, I can do this faster and easier" and seeking out the Plot Coupons on his own, because the alternative is "Hey, this mortal managed to locate all the Plot Coupons before the King of Dreams could hunt them down," which is too much coincidence for my blood.

But the main concern for me right now is, given the way I've envisioned the ending, I think it will read as a DEM. And I'm not sure I can avoid that impression, because Rule of Cool is making that scene sound awesome in my head. So I need to look at DEM moments that actually worked, and compare them to the norm.

So is there an existing page that does something like this? Or can that be made somewhere?

If you're going for a top five uses or something, you're going to end up with something like the Most Triumphant Example pages, but those are mostly gushing and/or a popularity contests. We don't really have that kind of analysis page, though.

What a "good" use is is subjective, and it's probably best to do your own research to see what fits you and your story best. For specific tropes, you can also start a discussion about it in Trope Talk or perhaps Writer's Block, depending on what focus you want.

edited 23rd Dec '15 4:36:17 AM by AnotherDuck

Deus ex Machina in the modern world is usually going to work best when for comedic effect. Doesn't sound like that fits your tale.

You can lay a foundation for its use in drama, though. You are, after all, the Deus that dispatches the machine. Or at least, you control that deus.

Imposing a Fetch Quest on a mortal usually has to do making the mortal exhibit his fealty, which apparently gods need. That, or it forces the mortal to develop some attribute; bravery, prowess, charity ... all that heroic jazz.

You say your G has an interest established. Maybe causing the Fetch Quest to occur causes developments in the mortal that your G wants more than he wants whatever snaring all the Plot Coupons gets. The final Deus ex Machina essentially reveals that it wasn't so important, getting the prize, as it was to go for the prize in a certain way.

Anyhow, that was the thinking behind most of the Greek play Deus ex Machina conclusions. Should still work, given a foundation in the story.

edited 1st Jan '16 9:03:08 AM by eyebones

I would say that tropes like Idiot Ball and Took a Level in Dumbass can have the effect in making more rounded and interesting characters. Mistakes and bad choices is also at the heart of building tension.

Anyway, yeah, the idea of a page listing top best uses of a trope wouldn't really work. It would just be a subset of the existing example list on the trope definition page.