TROPE TIP: Rags to Riches--Historically, this was called the Cinderella trope. However, in modern times more characters than dispossessed princesses are allowed to experience being swept out of poverty or misery into great wealth and privilege, #Tropoholic #TropeTips

TROPE TIP: Cross-cultural/Interracial/Interethnic--Trope Trap...Your H/h seems patronizing, judgmental, or belittling of the love interest’s world of origin. It’s okay for villains in your story to come across this way, but not the good guys. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

TROPE TIP: Accidental Pregnancy--in the middle of the story, conflict builds over how the accident happened. Blame may fly between hero, heroine, and possibly between secondary characters and the hero/heroine. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

HOLIDAY FLING--Key Scene: the grand farewell, often a love scene, but always poignant or bittersweet—in the last moments before the clock on the visit/vacay runs out. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

TROPE TIP: New Readers tend to find their favorite tropes and begin to niche down more tightly in what they purchase to read over time and find their favorite tropes. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

ON THE RUN/CHASE--adjacent tropes to this include Road Trip/Adventure, Hero/Heroine in Hiding, Running Away From Home, Dangerous Secret, and Redemption...all of which are in my romance trope books! #Tropoholic #TropeTIp

FISH OUT OF WATER/COWBOY IN THE CITY--Although this is often a comic trope, it can just as easily be a completely serious trope of displacement and the struggle to make a place for oneself. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

TROPE TIP: Commitment Phobia--It’s possible the cause of the H/h's commitment phobia is external, meaning some outside event, person, force, or situation has caused this character’s internal fear of commitment. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

Makeover--The untransformed hero/heroine is perfectly acceptable as they are, but this character is too insecure, self-conscious, or lacking in self-esteem and confidence to pursue the love interest before undertaking a makeover #Tropoholic #TropeTip

SHY HERO/HEROINE Trope in Action: The movie, Rocky #Tropoholic #TropeTip

FORBIDDEN LOVE---The main characters have an immediate romantic spark. They may or may not know when they meet that theirs is a forbidden love. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

DIVIDED LOYALTIES --think about...When will you reveal to your audience that this is a doomed relationship? Will it be at the same time you reveal it to the love interest or at a different time? #Tropoholic #TropeTip

TROPE TIP--Everywhere we look we see tropes in action—from cartoons we watched as little kids, to literature taught in schools, to our entertainment #Tropoholic #TropeTip

ACROSS THE TRACKS/WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS: The hero and heroine meet. While this might seem obvious, for this couple, the fact of their meeting is unusual for one or both of them. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

FOLLOWING YOUR HEART--TROPE IN ACTION...movie, The Devil Wears Prada#Tropoholic #TropeTip

LONG DISTANCE ROMANCE--The possibilities for introducing this couple, establishing a relationship, and then separating them or keeping them separate are endless. Have fun and feel free to come up with something novel, creative, and clever. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

BEST FRIEND'S SIBLING/SIBLING'S BEST FRIEND--Trope in Action, book, Twisted Love by Ana Huang #Tropoholic #TropeTip

INTERNAL TROPES – These are the tropes of personal affliction: the wounds, fears, and personality traits that form obstacles to love inside the hearts and minds of your story’s hero and heroine. #Tropoholic #TropeTip

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