Tropes have been under heavy discussion recently in the fiction writing community.
However, it seems that the definition of “trope” being used in recent discussions is a more modern definition of the word.
Dictionary.com has this to say about all of the possible definitions:
Although a little confusing, the definition of a trope differs slightly depending on the context in which it is used. In a general sense, a trope is a moment when a word is used metaphorically or in another figurative manner. However, the more common understanding of the word trope is as a literary concept meaning the repetitive use of a word, plot device, theme, image, or figure by an author. This repetitive use is not limited to a single work or novel or even a single author. The repeating nature of a trope can even be the same figurative use of a word, theme, image, etc. from different authors.
The repeated metaphoric or figurative use of a word, image, or another literary component that becomes a trope does so because it is an effective figurative use of an image or theme. Tropes can quickly orient a reader to better understand a character or interpret the significance of a particular plot point. Tropes are useful if handle correctly, but tropes can become tired and too familiar, at which point they change into a cliche.
It therefore appears that the current discussion of the concept of a “trope” is focussed on the use of plot devices or themes by authors in fiction, which is number 3 in the definition above, rather than the older definition based in rhetoric.
The one thing that I totally agree with in all of the above verbiage is that repetition of tropes more than a small number of times reduces them to cliche.
Unfortunately, the standardization of many dramatic novel and TV series formats has rapidly led to tropes becoming cliches, and in many cases, very tired and tedious cliches at that. An excellent example is the “mistaken suspect” cliche drama device in murder “Whodunit” episodes. In a majority of those episodes, the initial murder suspect is never the person or persons who turns out to actually be the murderer. This allows for all sorts of drama and tension to be spun out in the episode, particularly when the cliche is combined with it’s Siamese Twin – the Incompetent Police Officer cliche, where the officer or officers become convinced, on the basis of only a cursory review of evidence, that they know who the murderer is, and who then (in a neat piece of gasp-inducing drama) often arrest the innocent party and jail them. Now the smart investigator gets to untangle the mess, free the innocent person(s) and identify the real guilty party. End of program, the good guys win, the bad guys are off to serve their just punishment, and we all retire to bed feeling good about humans for a short while.
There is also a complementary and often-used cliche of the layperson who turns out to be smarter than the police. Pretty much a stock character, even a star in some series.
If you detected a smidgeon of impatient boredom on my behalf with those cliches…well, you are right.
When it comes to writing erotic fiction, alas, we have an equally bad set of cliches that long ago became standard fare in stories, novels and movies. The cliches usually revolve around two underlying assumptions about most of the story characters (1) they are all desperate to have sex (2) there is little in the way of conventional boundaries. This is convenient, since it allows for the exploration of all manner of encounters that in real life are not only illegal but messy, such as incest. Combine that with some classic stock characters such as the naughty secretary, the randy mother, the sexually-charged step-daughter, the Daddy domme, and the cuckold, and the story plots immediately write themselves.
The list of stock characters on which to hang a predictable storyline is almost endless.. The naughty secretary. The randy mother. The sexually-charged step-daughter. The Daddy domme. The cuckold. The scary busty seaside landlady of English saucy postcards. GILFs, MILFs, DILFs, teen students. The rich guy with a kink (hello, 50 Shades of Gray). Most of the resulting stories are the equivalent of that type of predictable humor where the scene is about 3-4 minutes long, and if you are smart, you can predict the punchline after 90 seconds or less.
However, the situational cliches and stock characters are useful, despite one reading the first 100 words and mouthing the exasperated “not this one again”, because one can easily (for instance) spin out 4000 words of smut and filth based on a male boss railing his secretary over the desk at lunchtime. Nice time-limited little tale of naughtiness. A single cliche can basically generate a book chapter. Hence their enduring popularity in erotic writing.
Myself and my alter ego Belem Knight have discussed this cliche-ridden landscape. What we have agreed is as follows:
Rupert Ramsgate books and stories will try to steer clear of as many obvious cliches as possible. Notice “as possible”. There may be some tropes, and even one or two cliches. However, we must remember that the original set of cliches has probably had some connection to actual real-world events, so the scenarios are not out of the realm of reality. Rupert is going to try and stay away from the really obvious stuff, however. Rupert’s view is that characters need to develop and appear in books (or disappear) organically and as part of the process of life, and people in real life are a lot more interesting than their occasional involvement in a classic erotic scenario.
Belem Knight hemmed and hawed when I said that he should try to steer clear of tropes and cliches. He said “I will try, but no promises”. Which, I think, means that his stories might contain more tropes and a few more cliches, when compared to mine. We shall see.