OMG, I’m Soooo tired of reading these same tropes and clichés. They’ve been used and abused well past the point of beating that poor horse to death. (Uh oh) Nothing new or original under the sun? (Oops!) We’re doing this again, are we?
Trope, as in commonly used theme or device–
Cliché, as in phrase or expression used for the gazillionth time into ad nauseum.
Well, is it a trope or a cliché? Has the trope been used so many times it’s beyond predictable? Past the point of boredom? Then it’s a trope that has become a cliché!
I’ve gathered a few “just off the top of my head” (chuckle), that is really beginning to set my teeth grinding (adding insult to injury). (A triple!-don’t get me started.)
Dump the Tropes:
- Damaged female protagonists – with or without ginger-colored hair and all male protagonists over 6′ and hunky.
- Capable female protagonists suddenly incapable or worse in the presence of the 6′ hunk (see #1).
- Bad boy sheriff – but always gets his man even if he has to fight the whole town to do it.
- Back to the old, small home town–couldn’t wait to get away–come crawling back.
- Cop in love with the criminal–because they aren’t really guilty, you see.
- Cop with troubled past, abuses alcohol and his connections, still gets his man (or woman).
- The old love triangle–who to choose, eenie, meanie…
- Insta-love (’nuff said)
- The average, normal everyday guy (girl) who turns lucky and wins the big one–whatever that is.
- The ugly one who turns beautiful. (Took their glasses off?)
- Dystopian–depressing, just flat depressing.
- Conspiracy theory but there’s one in the world (the protagonist) who can see and solve it.
- The evil one, well, mostly evil until…
- Secret witch, magician, possesses magical powers
- Bad, abusive childhood, one parent household
- Super conflict between male/female resulting in “heated arguments” that result in protagonist passion.
- The nerd with IT that can invade any computer or the kids with more tech-savvy than their parents.
- Children with witty mouths obviously smarter than adults.
- Vampires, zombies
- Amateur sleuths who must solve the case because the police can’t (or won’t).
- The amnesiac, can’t remember or won’t?
- Only child discovers they are the long lost relative of a maga-rich uncle (aunt?).
- The crotchety old mentor who turns sweet and nurturing. (see #21)
Of course, along with the tropes, I began gathering overused clichés (in addition to the above):
- He/she scrubbed her fingers through his/her hair–used his/her fingers to rake her hair.
- Grabbed an errant strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear.
- Is that all you got?
- I’m just doing my job.
- What part of [fill in the blank] don’t you understand?
- Did I just say that out loud?
I know you can add many to the above lists. I actually found a website that listed almost 700 clichés not to use in your manuscript (or that are found in the books you are reading). These clichés are getting mighty tired for those of us reading the books. Going forward, can we avoid these like the plague? (Oops.)
There was a recent meme discussion that Shanah of Bionic Book Worm circulated that she included in her Top 5 Tuesday for October. You may wish to catch a few of those as well. I’ve also gleaned a number of the above suggestions from The Writing Cooperative by Zoe Nixon. Lively discussions! Do you have your particularly egregious list as well?
©2018 V Williams 
Rosepoint Publishing 
Great collection here. Sometimes I wonder if the trope is overused to the point of mind-numbing repetition, or whether it is a proven winner in the past that might be again. I guess avid readers recognize them more where an occasional reader might delight in them.
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Absolutely, Lynne, gotta be proven winners and occasional readers wouldn’t recognize them as such. I must admit, however, to currently reading a K-9 mystery that is long on a well-used trope, but am enjoying the author’s style of writing and, of course, it’s about dogs. 😍😍
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Hahaha… I can’t think of anything I’ve read in the last couple of years that didn’t use one of these! But that said, once it’ well done I’m cool with it 😉
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Yes, and they can actually be well done. Easier to swallow then. There have been a few I’ve read lately that haven’t, but they do seem few and far between any more. 🙄
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Well, I would probably have to stop reading. 😀 I often wonder how authors come up with new ideas and stories because there are only so many. I do not really like Sci-Fi or a lot of fantasy, so read a lot of romance and cozy mysteries which feature many if not most of the tropes you mentioned. Some like the love triangle, insta-love, woman losing all senses around a man bug me a lot but the others, I am not tired of yet.
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Yes! And I try to avoid romance, tho cozies seem to include more or less anyway. Historical fiction, yeah, Action-adventure, yeah, but at least they aren’t usually soppy females if they are in an action-adventure. Like my motorcycle buddies used to tell me, “man up, Gin.” ha the good ole days…😊
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Number 2 is probably my MOST hated!!!! I just want to scream “grow a spine!” at the book like a cave woman 😂
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Yeah! except that they had a spine and then it went bye-bye??! wha hoppen?? 🙄
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Exactly!! They’re all bad ass and determined with a goal in mind and then “ohhh loook! Ocean blue eyes! I must melt into a painless puddle now” 😂😂😂😂
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What is left??? LOL!
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HA! Good question, but I guess most answers would lie in literary fiction. I have read a few lately that have not contained an oft-used trope (or is that redundant?) One was a short story that had an astounding conclusion that hit hard. I enjoy action and adventure besides thriller, and it is perhaps the latter rather than the former that contain the larger number of offenders. Can you offer a recent read without one?
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No not off hand! Although I am reading The Traveling Cat Chronicles presently in that definitely does not fall into any of those categories, but it is not a thriller either!😉
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I love the title–that’s great! And I can tell it wouldn’t fall into those categories. No, I don’t always stick to thrillers, more all over the board with a few exceptions that I list on my submission guide page, but then have been known to violate that as well (no porn or vampire tho). 🙄
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I switch it up quite a bit too but I’d say most romance and thrillers follow a trope, although the one I’m currently reading I have yet to see it, I will let you know! 😉
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Oops! Mia culpa then, huh? If I’m going to buy into thrillers I’ll have to accept the tropes. I’ll just grit my teeth and enjoy. 😅
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Hahaha lovely overused tropes. Loved your analysis… Don’t bang head too much Gin. We love you too much
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ah, sweet Shalini, thank you 😊
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I’ll try again… 🤣 Number 8 and 9 are bad for me. I loved the Twilight Saga, but the love triangle drove me nuts. ❤ Great post!
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yes, thank you, and hate to admit it, but romance in a book just sorta shuts it down for me.
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I think my comment went to spam? 😂
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no, it didn’t, but i’ve been having inexplicable problems from word press lately too.
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Me too! I suppose it’s the app. 🤣
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they’ve been messing with it again (subtle changes) and algorithms, impossible to discern.
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Number 8 and 9 are the worst! 😂 I loved the Twilight Saga, but love triangles drive me nuts too. Great post! ❤
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