Fantasy Tropes

"I know what is good when I see it." - Sherlock Holmes

No story is truly original. There, I said it.

Every story draws upon the linguistic and literary traditions of their culture. There are commonalities between stories and, often, direct allusions to well-known historical and fictional information. This is not a bad thing. Readers want something that feels novel whiel still being grounded in something universal or

What is a trope? A trope is a storytelling convention that helps readers relate to the material. It's familiar and easily-recognizable. It might be a plot trick, a narrative structure, a character archetype, or even just an idiom or phrase.

Tropes I Love

#1: Hard Magic Systems

Got a cool magic system? I'm in! I love when the magic is defined with regulations and boundaries. I especially love when there is a scientific bend to it, using principles of physics or chemistry or biology to inform those rules.

Brandon Sanderson is, perhaps, the most well-known hard magic system writer. And it's definitely his superpower (along with his ability to write copious amounts of words in one day). Sanderson may not have flowery prose or super nuanced characters, but his world-building and magic systems shine.

Some of my favorite hard magic system books:

• All Sanderson Cosmere books (Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Tress & the Emerald Sea)

• The Powdermage trilogy by Brian McClellan

• The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

• The Founders trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett

#2: Enemies to Lovers

This one speaks for itself, am I right? No, please don't give me the less violent rivals-to-lovers version. I'm all about real enemies. Like, daggers to throats please. Especially good when the male character is morally grey. Just saying.

It's a trope that is (dare I say?) overdone these days. And it's honestly pretty hard to write well. Getting the pacing right while still making the plot and romance believable is tricky. But when it's done well, it's *chef's kiss*.

Some of my favorite enemies to lovers books:

• The Nightborn Duet by Carissa Broadbent

• The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tamsyn Muir (kinda, sorta, it's complicated)

• Hades x Persephone by Scarlett St. Clair

• Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

• ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas

• The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

#3: The Rag Tag Adventurers

Such an old-school trope but such a good one. You know the books I mean -- where there is just a gang of random individuals trekking through the wilderness to save the world. There might be a prophecy. No big deal.

There is something so nostalgic about this trope, and I want to see more books with this!

Some of my favorite rag tag adventurer books:

• Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

• Belgariad series by David Eddings

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

• The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

• The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

• Realm Breaker trilogy by Victoria Aveyard

#4: The Rogue/Assassin Archetype

I'm such a sucker for a rogue/assassin. I think maybe it all started with playing Baldur's Gate as a child. Or video games in general. Either way, this archetype is my entire personality when they are on page or on screen.

• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

• Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

• Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

• Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

#4: The Anti-Hero (or maybe the Villain)

I love a good villain. I love them even more when they are the anti-hero. I love them the most when they are the love interest.

What can I say? Gotta love the bad boys (and girls).

• Victor from Vicious by V.E. Schwab

• The Darkling from the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

• Quentin from the Magicians by Lev Grossman

• Tea from The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

• Logan from The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

• Baru from The Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson

Tropes I Don't Love

Disclaimer: these tropes are NOT bad tropes. They are just not for ME.

#1: Pregnancy

Not for me, thanks. I don't mind if a character is pregnant in a story, but I don't like the pregnancy trope -- using it to instill some sort of overprotective bullshit from the MMC or to create some sort of plot drama.

I especially hate when the character has a baby in the epilogue. Don't ask me why. I just ... really don't like it.

#2: Fated Mates

Do I love ACOTAR and other fated mates books. Yes, I do. But I think they would be good if we just rid of the whole fated mates trope. It does nothing for me except somehow excuse character's erratic or bad behavior. Also dislike when it leads to overprotective bullshit from the MMC. Seeing a trend here?

#3: Chosen One

Sigh. This is such a nostalgic YA trope for me. Again, I don't immediately hate the book because of this trope, but I just don't love it anymore. Harry Potter is the most blatant example, of course, but I find that I struggle to read stories where the 16 year old protagonist is the only one who can save the entire universe.

I mean ... have you met 16 year olds? I'm 33 and you don't want to give me thats kind of responsibility. But here we are trusting only the 16 year old to defeat the evil villain? Not buying it.

Final Thoughts:

Tropes are a great way to think about whether or not you'll like a story. But they aren't the only important thing. Tropes can be overdone, badly done, or done super well and you still might not like the story.

Remember, no story is for everyone!

If you are interested in seeing my writing journey or learning some insider details about my current work-in-progress (Project God Hunter), follow me over on Instagram @aspauldingauthor. I bet you can guess a few of the tropes that I might be adding to my manuscript :)