Kate has an intriguing question for us this round:
As a reader and/or a writer what are some of your favorite fiction
tropes? Are you sucker for secretly in love with best friend type
stories, stories set in mysterious boarding school stories, stories
that contain time travel, or something else entirely? As a writer how
do you try to give the tropes you tackle in your own books a fresh
spin?
Here are a few of my favorite tropes:
Mysterious/magical houses
Families with a magical talent (especially interesting if we get to follow several generations of the family)
Historical settings with a magic twist
Unicorns (yes, I know, I know....)
Ensemble stories with several main characters
Stories that take place in a setting I'm familiar with
Just because a story has one or more of these tropes doesn't mean I'll enjoy reading it; it also depends a lot on the story, characters, and writing itself.
How do I keep these tropes fresh when I write them? By combining them or putting them into a new setting. For example, my short story "The Book of Beasts" puts one of the above tropes to a logical but unconventional use. (You'll have to read it to find out which one.)
Check out Christine's blog tomorrow to learn what her favorite tropes are.
I guess I don't think in terms of tropes. David posts them every week and it's never one I have used. (Although I can see them in my books, the first one more easily than the other two.)
ReplyDeleteOoh, I like some of your favorite tropes, as well. I especially like the idea of following a family with special powers through several generations. I have a few story ideas that use this trope, but they are in the idea folder for now. Maybe it'll be time to dust them off next.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Sandra!
I guess sometimes it can be hard to see your own tropes, Alex.
ReplyDeleteKatrina, you'll have to let me know when you write those stories!
Love the unicorns trope! I think that one needs to be used a little more often!
ReplyDeleteKate, I'm glad I'm not the only one who misses unicorns!
ReplyDeleteLove your tropes, I really like books about magical families as well. And yes, I am also a fan of the Unicorn, although I like Unicorn stories that stray from the standard myth. I even like my Unicorns dark! :)
ReplyDelete