Have you ever heard of tropes? If you're planning on writing a romance novel, this is the word that you want to familiarize yourself with. Perhaps you are a new romance author and you want to try to write your very first novel. You have a great idea because you just finished up a couple of romance books and you feel that you have a good grasp on what you want your first book to be about. But you may realize that this is a huge challenge because you need to think outside the box. The reality is you can't write what someone has already written and you can't follow a cliché storyline.
This is exactly what a trope is.
Tropes are essentially things that are cliché in writing, such as common storylines. In romance, there are many examples of how a distraught woman will feel safe with a man. Another trope is the idea that the young woman, almost like Cinderella, relies on a man to come rescue her because she isn't of the same social status as him. There many ways to disguise this kind of narrative but there are several clichés when it comes to plot.
Tropes can be your friend
While many editors and publishers will look at tropes as being something negative, they can actually be your friend. When you're doing research for your novel and reading other romance authors' works, you want to try to identify these tropes so you don't fall into the same trap as other writers.
By being able to identify a trope, you can analyze it to see what you can do differently.
Knowing how to spot these cliché storylines can help you figure out ways to write stories that are unique, refreshing and nothing like the traditional storylines that you have seen so many times.
Using other genres as inspiration
If you find yourself going into the same old routine when it comes to romance writing, start by reading other genres.
You can find inspiration in other works, including real-life literature, crime stories, and even comedies. You can even borrow one of the storylines and turn it into a romance by changing just a few things. This way, you're not starting with a romantic trope and you can modify the storyline to make it a story that you feel has never been told before.
If you are planning on submitting your work to a publisher, it would be interesting to see if you can create something that is really unique. If you have a social circle of romance writers and authors, you could always ask them for advice.
What do you think about plots that are clichés? Do you enjoy reading the same idea over and over again with different characters in different struggles?
