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Do you have trouble remembering the difference between Deathbringer the Adorable and Fluffy the Terrible?

Do you have trouble recognizing when you've written a Zero-Context Example?

Not sure if you really have a Badass Bookworm or just a guy who likes to read?

Well, this is the thread for you. We're here to help you will all the finer points of example writing. If you have any questions, we can answer them. Don't be afraid. We don't bite. We all just want to make the wiki a better place for everyone.


Useful Tips:

  • Make sure that the example makes sense to both people who don't know the work AND don't know the trope.
    • Wrong: The Mentor: Kevin is this to Bob in the first episode.
    • Right: The Mentor: Kevin takes Bob under his wing in the first episode and teaches him the ropes of being a were-chinchilla.
  • Never just put the trope title and leave it at that.
    • Wrong: Badass Adorable
    • Right: Badass Adorable: Xavier, the group's cute little mascot, defeats three raging elephants with both hands tied behind his back using only an uncooked spaghetti noodle.
  • When is normally far less important than How.
    • Wrong: Big Bad: Of the first season.
    • Right: Big Bad: The heroes have to defeat the Mushroom Man lest the entirety of Candy Land's caramel supply be turned into fungus.
  • A character name is not an explanation.


Other Resources:


For best results, please include why you think an example is iffy in your first post.

Also, many oft-misused tropes/topics have their own threads, such as Surprisingly Realistic Outcome (here) and Fan-Preferred Couple (here). Tropers are better able to give feedback on examples you bring up to specific threads. We don't discuss Complete Monster or Magnificent Bastard examples; please don't bring them up.

Edited by SeptimusHeap on Jul 17th 2025 at 8:59:01 PM

Catbert Since: Jan, 2012
#301: Sep 29th 2013 at 5:34:39 AM

For Family Eye Resemblance, I just now noticed the following example:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we not supposed to put down fan Wild Mass Guessing down as examples on trope pages?

edited 29th Sep '13 5:34:56 AM by Catbert

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#302: Sep 29th 2013 at 5:46:43 AM

Family Eye Resemblance to me is a trope where members of a given family share their eye appearance (for example, in Septimus Heap the members of the Heap family all have green eyes - since they are Wizards - except for Jenna, who comes from the royal family and thus has violet eyes).

So if the filly comes from the family as Derpy and if the connection is lampshaded at least once, I would list, but without the fan stuff.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Catbert Since: Jan, 2012
#303: Sep 29th 2013 at 6:03:16 AM

I'm not a Brony and have only seen a few episodes, but the example makes it seem like official canon has not established any relationship between the ponies in question. This is simply fan speculation. My understanding of the term "background pony" is that it applies to horses about which nothing is known but the fact that they have appeared in the background.

edited 29th Sep '13 6:04:42 AM by Catbert

crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#304: Sep 30th 2013 at 2:42:37 PM

Which trope is this example?

  • Combined with Inspector Javert in Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu: In one episode, Sosuke and Kaname get chased by an enthusiastic policewoman because they're speeding along on a bicycle, with the cop eventually wrecking her car. Several episodes later when dealing with a serial ponytailer, the pair runs into the same cop, who got into deep trouble for wrecking her car and is now trying to fix her reputation. Sosuke recognizes her and uses his Bonta-kun suit in order to prevent her from identifying him. Of course, this causes her to develop a Zenigata-like fixation on Bonta-kun until the real culprit is found.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
Whitecroc Since: Dec, 2010
#305: Oct 1st 2013 at 1:27:29 PM

On the Steam Train article, the following trope is listed:

To give some context, Steam Train is a web video with two (or more) people playing video games and talking about nothing in particular. My problem with this entry is that Ross's wife is not actually a character on the show, the car is never shown or referenced again, it's an off-hand comment that is not discussed further in the episode, and it's a completely ordinary car that just happens to be the same brand as one in a popular movie series (Back To The Future). The end result is that I feel that this is a bit of a creepy entry — although mentioned on the show, it's a borderline arguable example, and it really only relates to real life information about someone not involved.

Thoughts?

crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#306: Oct 1st 2013 at 1:44:43 PM

Cool Car: If we ever see it, we hope the DeLorean that Ross's Wife has will be one.

Howzzat?

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
Catbert Since: Jan, 2012
#307: Oct 1st 2013 at 1:46:18 PM

Re Cool Car: That sounds like a Zero Context Example to me. Then again, I'm more than a bit confused about the defintion of a Cool Car. Must it be something which is absolutely outside the ordinary, or is it any car that someone thinks is cool?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#308: Oct 1st 2013 at 1:46:28 PM

[up][up]Still gives no context — worse, it contains speculation. Kill it.

[up] If Cool Car is being used for (or worse, is defined as) any car that someone thinks is cool, then it needs TRS stat.

edited 1st Oct '13 1:47:34 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#309: Oct 1st 2013 at 3:55:37 PM

I'm pretty sure the supertrope of Cool Car is just that: people think the car is cool.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
Whitecroc Since: Dec, 2010
#310: Oct 1st 2013 at 4:19:44 PM

The reason I didn't bring up Zero Context Example is that there really is no more context. It's an off-hand comment in an early episode, and it's never expanded on. I guess the example does fail the Where and How, though.

Anyway, nuking it as suggested.

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#311: Oct 1st 2013 at 5:29:45 PM

sorry, strike that 1) The car adds to or establishes that a character is Cool, or 2) is treated or regarded as a particularly cool car within the work That's what it was intended to be.

edited 1st Oct '13 5:34:17 PM by Madrugada

Craver357 Since: May, 2012
#312: Oct 4th 2013 at 7:36:02 AM

Okay. It's been awhile since I last posted on this forum.

My Girl Is a Slut:

  • Tiffany Maxwell from Silver Linings Playbook is this for Pat Solitano Jr.. He learns that the reason why she was fired from her job was because of sleeping with everyone in her office, including women.

“The Reason You Suck” Speech:

  • Christian Bale on Terminator Salvation set gives a 4-minute long tirade to Shane Hurlbut (the cinematographer of the film), calling him out on walking on the set during the filming.
  • Mel Gibson launches a barrage of these towards Oksana Grigorieva (his ex-girlfriend) in eight recorded tapes, ranting about how much she uses him and all the while threatening her. One could guess how well it ends for him.

A Tragedy of Impulsiveness:

  • Silver Linings Playbook: In a flashback that starts the film, Pat Solitano Jr. had catches Nikki (his wife) having an affair with another man in his house. In a jealous rage, Pat begins to beats the man nearly to death. His violent act lands him in a mental health facility as a result.

edited 4th Oct '13 7:36:21 AM by Craver357

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#313: Oct 4th 2013 at 7:37:18 AM

Don't use self-referential statements. "<X> is this." "<X> launches a barrage of these." Just get to the point and say what happens.

For My Girl Is a Slut, the example doesn't explain whether the man approves of the woman sleeping around. This is a required condition of the trope.

For those “The Reason You Suck” Speech examples, those are from Real Life. ROCEJ aside, I don't see a problem with them, other than what I mentioned above.

That A Tragedy of Impulsiveness example doesn't look right. The trope is supposed to be about someone acting out of insufficient evidence, not overreacting to a real situation.

edited 4th Oct '13 7:42:01 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Craver357 Since: May, 2012
#314: Oct 4th 2013 at 9:48:01 AM

[up] Regarding the second example of “The Reason You Suck” Speech, I would change the first sentence to "Mel Gibson lectures Oksana Grigorieva (his ex-girlfriend) in eight recorded tapes".

And how is "<X> is this." and "<X> launches a barrage of these." is considered Word Cruft?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#315: Oct 4th 2013 at 9:49:38 AM

You don't need to tell readers that what you're writing is an example of the trope. It's assumed by the fact that you're writing the example. It's Word Cruft and a violation of Show, Don't Tell.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Craver357 Since: May, 2012
#316: Oct 4th 2013 at 10:41:24 PM

Byronic Hero:

  • The Driver from Drive. Not only did he had multiple jobs as a garage mechanic, a Hollywood stuntman and a getaway driver, but he is also a protagonist without a personal life.

Mood-Swinger:

  • Pat Solitano Jr. himself from Silver Linings Playbook. His abrupt changing of moods is one of his main flaws, in addition to being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder.

Pragmatic Hero:

  • Keller Dover himself from Prisoners. He's willing to do whatever it takes to finds what happened to Anna (his daughter) and Nancy Birch (her friend). When Alex Jones is released by the police without evidence, he kidnaps the man in question in order to get the information out of him.

Tantrum Throwing:

  • Detective Loki from Prisoners smashes his keyboard onto his desk at one point in the film.

edited 5th Oct '13 6:56:22 AM by Craver357

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#317: Oct 5th 2013 at 7:09:04 AM

Byronic Hero:

  • The Driver from Drive. Not only did he have multiple jobs as a garage mechanic, a Hollywood stuntman and a getaway driver, but he is also a protagonist without a personal life.

There is a lot more to Byronic Hero than what you listed here. I don't see enough evidence to demonstrate that it's an example.

Mood-Swinger:

  • Pat Solitano Jr. himself from Silver Linings Playbook. His abrupt changing of moods is one of his main flaws, in addition to being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder.

"Himself" is Word Cruft.

Pragmatic Hero:

  • Keller Dover himself from Prisoners. He's willing to do whatever it takes to finds what happened to Anna (his daughter) and Nancy Birch (her friend). When Alex Jones is released by the police without evidence, he kidnaps the man in question in order to get the information out of him.

Again, lose "himself".

Tantrum Throwing:

  • Detective Loki from Prisoners smashes his keyboard onto his desk at one point in the film.

Could use more detail, like why he does it.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#318: Oct 5th 2013 at 7:32:43 AM

To expand on the problems with your proposed example of "Byronic Hero". Nothing in what you've written give any indication that he's a

charismatic characters with strong passions and ideals, but who are nonetheless deeply flawed individuals who may act in ways which are socially reprehensible, and whose internal conflicts are heavily romanticized. Some of their attitudes and actions may be considered immoral, and their bad actions may be as numerous as those which are heroic, but never are they evil just For the Evulz; some are portrayed with a suggestion of dark crimes in their past, but never enough concrete details to establish that they actually kicked the dog.

All you say is that he has (had?) several jobs, which is irrelevant, and that he "has no personal life" which is contrary to the description. Byronic Heroes aren't flat characters with no personal life, they are "charismatic", and have "internal conflicts" and "strong passions and ideals".

edited 5th Oct '13 7:36:21 AM by Madrugada

Craver357 Since: May, 2012
#319: Oct 5th 2013 at 8:26:12 AM

[up][up] @Fighteer: So why is using himself/herself (especially when the character in question is a protagonist) considered Word Cruft?

[up] @Madrugada: Explain to me how does having no personal life or having a past that is not mentioned disqualify a character from being a Byronic Hero?

edited 5th Oct '13 8:33:37 AM by Craver357

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#320: Oct 5th 2013 at 10:55:54 AM

It doesn't necessarily disqualify the character.

But simply saying "he has no personal life and his background is unexplained" doesn't say anything about why he is. Read that section of the description I quoted in my last post. Then please tell me how your example indicates that he shows any of the characteristics listed there.

What you've got is something like listing "Action Girl: Celia has long hair and rides a motorcycle." It may be true, but it's not an explanation of why that particular trope applies to her.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#321: Oct 5th 2013 at 12:25:40 PM

"Himself" is a relative pronoun. It is only used in relationship to other pronouns.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Catbert Since: Jan, 2012
#322: Oct 5th 2013 at 12:41:20 PM

Actually it is reflexive, but you are right in saying that the use to which you are responding is incorrect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_personal_pronouns

Craver357 Since: May, 2012
#323: Oct 5th 2013 at 5:14:27 PM

[up][up][up] @Madrugada: Okay. I just need to elaborate on the Byronic Hero example.

  • The Driver from Drive. A reclusive, mysterious man who has a few minor criminal connections, due to working as a getaway driver. But deep down, he has reserves of anger and darkness within him. His backstory is explained in the novel, though it is only suggested in the film.

[up][up] @Fighteer: I'll just need to elaborate on the example regarding Tantrum Throwing.

  • Detective Loki from Prisoners throws his stuff off his desk to smashes his keyboard in frustration, because his interrogation of Bob Taylor (the suspect) ends in the suspect's suicide.

edited 5th Oct '13 5:16:01 PM by Craver357

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#324: Oct 7th 2013 at 7:17:09 AM

Craver, that example for Byronic Hero still doesn't identify the particulars of the trope in any way. And you need to run that second one through the Help with English thread.

edited 7th Oct '13 7:17:29 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Craver357 Since: May, 2012
#325: Oct 7th 2013 at 7:51:39 AM

[up] In that case, the Byronic Hero example regarding Drive doesn't count as an example anyway. I think I'll just drop it together.


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