As authors, one of the most marketable aspects our books can be the tropes we include in the stories. Whether it’s a romance trope like the beloved friends-to-lovers story or one of the more infamous tropes like miscommunication, distinguishable plot descriptions like these can help readers easily identify if your book will be appealing to them, depending on if they’ve read similar books before.

So, after that explanation, you would think that the smart thing for me to do is write my books with specific tropes in mind so I’ll be able to better market them once they’re released, right?

Wrong.

I’ve never written my books to fall in line with specific tropes, and I don’t know that I ever will due to my personal storytelling style. Here’s why.

Author’s Note: This is an opinion piece, and what I’m about to write is not the gospel. If you write your books with specific tropes in mind, I support you 100%. This post is just a discussion as to why I, as an individual author, do not write my books based on tropes.

The Sole Reason: I Feel That Writing to Fit a Specific Trope Will Hinder My Creativity

Tropes, in an of themselves, are not a bad thing. I enjoy some tropes, such as the friends-to-lovers style romance I mentioned earlier. I even *gasp* like reading books with love triangles if they’re written in a way that doesn’t make it obvious who we should root for. But, as a writer, I personally feel that if I were to pick a certain trope with the intention of making it the plot of my next book, that it would, indeed, become the plot of my next book. Like the entire thing would just scream the trope from the rooftops, and there wouldn’t be room for anything else.

Am I being a bit irrational here? I mean, I’ve written books before that ended up including tropes, so why would it be such a bad thing to go in from square one with one in mind?

Because, to be honest, sometimes tropes completely take over books to the point the plot is just a vehicle for the trope and has little substance otherwise. The trope, in this situation, becomes the main character and the actual main characters are subject to its whims and have little say about anything else that goes on in their lives.

If you don’t believe me, consider this: why are the main characters’ thoughts in some trope-driven books often so repetitive? In some enemies-to-lovers romances, why are they constantly harping about hating this man when it’s obvious they’re falling in love with him? In some childhood-friends-to lovers romances, why are they reminding the reader on every other page that he was her best friend as a kid and she’d be *devastated* if she lost him if they dated and ended up breaking up?

Because. The. Trope. Has. Taken. Over.

My biggest fear around writing tropes is that, if I were to start writing a new book with a trope in mind, that I would end up falling into the trope’s trap. Instead of putting my unique spin on it and featuring the trope as an aspect of my story, it would end up being the one thing driving the plot forward. This would result in a plot-driven story rather than a character-driven story, and I, being a writer whose style thrives on writing character-driven stories, would be not only putting myself at a disadvantage by not honing my strengths as a writer, but I’d sabotage the quality of the story itself by molding my characters to be good little stewards of the trope so readers’ expectations for the trope won’t go unmet.

What I Would Rather Focus On: Writing Realistic Characters Readers Can Root For

Do you know another aspect within books that can be used to market them? Characters readers love and root for.

Need evidence? Think of The Hunger Games series. People didn’t become die-hard fans of the books because it included the chosen one trope or a love triangle. Instead, they loved reading about Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch (my personal favorite!), and the rest of the characters.

I want to do the same thing with the books I write. Instead of focusing more on following a trope, I would rather zero in on writing the most life-like characters I can. Characters readers see themselves in and relate to. Characters readers would write fanfiction about or stand in line for hours to see a movie for.

I realize that writing according to tropes and writing realistic characters are not mutually exclusive. I’ve read books that excel at both; however, for me, personally, I’d prefer the tropes I include to not be at the forefront of my books. If it were not for our characters, tropes would not be possible. Therefore, I feel its my duty as an author to put more effort into allowing the characters to tell their unique stories, stories God has laid on my heart that are unique to each character, rather than stuff them into the confines of a trope for the sake of marketability.

Again, if you’re a writer who loves writing your books according to tropes, I support you 100%! Write what you feel called to write. This post is just explaining why I don’t write with them in mind for my own books. Neither preference is better than the other, and I’ve read and enjoyed trope-heavy books. They’re just not my personal writing style, and that’s okay. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re a writer, do you write according to trope standards? Why or why not?

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀