BIG STORIES, SMALL BOOKS Workshop handout1
TROPES!
Story shorthand for a concept that readers will understand and recognize instantly
Accidental pregnancy: Could be the result of a one-night stand, a fling, or other type of relationship. This pregnancy may initially be the adhesive that keeps these two together, but by the end of the book they will have fallen in love.
Across the tracks: This is your Pretty in Pink story, where the outcast meets the socialite. These two will have to overcome criticism from family and friends, and meet each other halfway in order to make it work.
Amnesia: The hero/heroine has been in an accident, for example, which has left him/her with no memory. Now he has to get to know his family, friends, and former or potential lover in this new scenario. Goes well with a redemption plot, and allows the hero and heroine to exist outside of his or her flaws.
Baby on the doorstep: Instant family! This couple can have several variations: secret baby reunited with dad, widowed mother, adoption, or marriage of convenience, for example. This couple will have to overcome the conflicts that go with being a family, and decide if they can make it work in the end.
Bad boy/Bachelor/Playboy reformed: This hero has a reputation and it precedes him. Whether he’s trying now to overcome it, or realizes in the beginning of the story that he’s going to have to work hard to change it, his goal is to have a clean reputation so he can win the heroine’s love. Most often the hero is fighting issues rooted in childhood – rejection or abandonment – or a traumatic event and that is the motivation driving his playboy behavior.
Bad girl/rich boy: Whether she’s always been a rebel, or is trying out a new (possibly temporary) lifestyle, she’s either out to snag herself a rich man, or inadvertently gains his attention. Her flaw is usually lack of self-esteem or she has something to prove. These two will have to either change or find a middle ground to make this relationship work.
Bait and Switch: Where she/he forms a relationship with oneperson to get the attention of another but falls for the bait in the end. The hero/heroine has to pretend to be somebody else (i.e. the hero pretends to be his twin brother in order to achieve something), and falls in love while keeping up the ruse. The reader has to be in on the ruse—this is not a scenario in which we trick the reader.
Best friend’s older brother:Hero sees heroine as his kid sister’s best friend only. The heroine drives the conflict by deciding she wants the hero and goes after him. Hero does everything he can to resist her.
Blackmail: The hero/heroine is holding something over the other’s head to get what they want, whether it’s a material object, or time/favors from the other person.
Boss/Employee: The hero is the owner of the business where the heroine has taken a job. Whether she’s the overlooked assistant or the woman he hires to get closer to her, the workplace is the adhesive that initially brings them together.
Enemies to lovers: No doubt about it—these two are at opposite ends of an argument, and neither will stop his/her crusade until they get what they want. But somewhere along the way, no matter how hard they try to avoid it, their feuding turns to romance.
Fake engagement: Similar to a marriage of convenience, only the hero/heroine have no intention of letting things get that far. What they believe they have is a temporary relationship, put in place to get something the need, whether it be financial gain, revenge against an ex, or recognition.
Fling: So many possibilities with this one! Whether it’s a one-night stand, weekend fling, or a summer romance, this relationship is meant to be short-term…but turns out to be completely opposite when the hero and heroine realize there is far more to it than sex. The fling is the inciting incident and is used best with a primary or secondary trope.
Friends to lovers: This can be BFFs since high school, next-door neighbors, coworkers…anything along these lines, where the hero and heroine are friends and realize that what they’re feeling is far more than platonic. The conflict driving this trope is both parties feel if they admit how they really feel about one another, it will ruin the friendship or they’ll be rejected.
Forbidden love: This is your Romeo & Juliet, star-crossed lovers trope. Perhaps the heroine is the daughter of a senator and her hero is the son of the senator’s political opponent. Or maybe the hero and heroine work for opposing companies, and could be accused of espionage if their romance is found out.
Forced Proximity: Characters are trapped together (in a snowed-in cabin, an airport during a storm, a broken elevator, an airplane…) and pass the time in romantic ways.
Girl/Boy next door: The hero/heroine who grew up living next door, usually quite wholesome and somebody who never ventured past “friend” status. This is an excellent friends-to-lovers or bad boy hero setup. In any case, the person who was there all along is suddenly catching the other’s interest in a way they never have before.
In love with the nanny: The single dad hero has to keep up his demanding work schedule, but has hired a nanny to take care of his child(ren). This woman is likely living under his roof, and it’s only a matter of time before the relationship goes from professional to romantic.
Marriage of convenience (MOC): A marriage of convenience has the power to pull two people together who probably never would’ve considered it otherwise. But one or both characters NEEDS something, and the only way they can get it is to get married. Characters will likely establish rules (no sex, end date, etc.), and as they fall for each other begin to break them, one by one.
Matchmaker: The hero or heroine begins trying to set up two friends, but ends up falling for one of them. Sometimes he/she will already have acknowledged feelings for this person, which can tie into a love triangle trope.
Mistaken identity: Whether intentional or not, the hero or heroine is believed to be somebody else, and has to maintain that identity in order to get what he/she wants or to win the other’s love.
Older brother’s best friend: When it comes to his best friend’s younger sister, the policy has always been a strict “Hands off and nobody gets hurt” one. But something has made it impossible to ignore his feelings for her anymore, and sparks are flying all over the place.
Opposites attract: What would happen if a rancher fell for a vegan? Or a brainiac fell for a fashionista? These pairings will have to overcome conflicts that arise from their personal beliefs, as well as potential opposition from their friends and family.
Redemption: This hero or heroine screwed up, but he/she is working on mending fences. Whether they’re proving themselves to an old love, or to everybody else while winning over a new flame, this plot centers around emerging bigger and better than before.
Reunited lovers: This could be your high school/college sweethearts who had to break up to pursue individual career goals, go to war, sow wild oats…you name it. But for whatever reason fate has brought them back together, and now they have to readjust to older, wiser versions of their old selves.
Right under your nose: While the heroine is trying to gain the interest of another man, the hero is present but not yet on her radar, even if he is attracted to her. By the end of the story, the heroine will have realized that he’s been the one she wanted all along.
Road romance: This couple is taking a road trip cross-country! This has so many fun possibilities, because you can combine it with opposites attract, fling, or high stakes adventure, for example. Whether they start the trip loving or hating each other, by the time they hit Park, they’re going to have to decide just how they’re going to make it work.
Secret baby: This goes hand-in-hand with the Reunited Lovers trope! The baby could’ve been the result of a fling, one-night stand, or long-term relationship. Despite what broke them up, the heroine realized that for the good of herself/the baby/the hero that she would have to keep this baby a secret from the hero. (Must have altruistic reasons!)
Ugly duckling: Usually the heroine is the ugly duckling, and this is the story of her transformation from the girl everybody overlooked to the woman who everybody can’t help but notice. We’re going to see not only a physical transformation, but one of internal growth, as well.
Unrequited love: A romance in which one person is in love with somebody who doesn’t love them back. The “unloved” (typically the heroine) can be in a pursuit to win the other’s affection, or may stand by and watch as the person she loves pursues another. But in the end, the object of her affection will realize her feelings and return them in kind. (Need a good reason why unrequited – lack of trust, broken.)
*List courtesy of Liz Pelletier and Entangled Publishing