Overusing Tropes Can Be Dangersous

A trope, by definition, is the use of a figurative language. In other words, authors would use a trope to get across a meaning, different than what the literature language would mean. But, within literature, tropes have taken on a new definition. Writers will often hear professionals talking about common tropes as being, reoccurring motifs or cliches within stories. Some of those common tropes we have seen can include (but not limited to):

• Millionaire hotty heroes
• Lost loves regained
• Arranged marriages
• Unknown baby stories
• Overheard conversations
• Ugly duckling stories
• Marriage of convenience
• etc.

Unfortunately, for the romance industry, many authors have missed the point when it comes to tropes and doing one of two things. Either A) they are assuming the trope is a template to the entire story; or B) believing if one trope is good, more is better.

What writers need to understand is that using a trope is fine, but misusing a trope (or multiple tropes) does result in a story that sounds formulaic. This will also lead to stories that come across sounding very forced and unnatural.

We see this a lot in series romance. Authors have this assumption that a particular series line has to have a plot that is constructed 100% around those tropes. Take, for example, the Harlequin American line. When you read the description, you can see how easily an author can fall into the trap of overusing tropes:

You love small towns and cowboys! Harlequin American Romance stories are heartwarming contemporary tales of everyday women finding love, becoming part of a family or community—or maybe starting a family of her own.

But here is the thing. The real element that makes a story great for the American line is the second part of that description. "...heartwarming contemporary tales of everyday women finding love, becoming part of a family or community - or maybe starting a family..." The comment about the small towns and the cowboys would be the trope elements, but this does not mean it IS the story.

Digging deeper into the submission guideline information further supports that the tropes DO NOT make the story:

• Central romance is driven by the hero's or heroine's (or both) desire to be a part of a family or community
• Stories showcase the comforts of home and a sense of place – particularly the charm of small-town America and the ruggedness of western locales
• Must be set in the USA
• Western heroes and heroines are very popular – cowboys (ranchers, rodeo riders), law enforcement (sheriffs, deputies, Texas Rangers), etc
• All stories must feature strong family elements such as pregnancy, young children, blended families, etc
• Warmhearted stories offer a range of tones, from light humor to drama
• Level of sensuality is low to moderate
• Word count of 55,000 means stories must be fast-paced and plot-driven

Stories showcase comforts of home
Strong family elements such as pregnancy, young children...

Please note, there are suggestions of certain tropes (cowboys, ranchers, law-enforcement) but this does not mean you have to incorporate all of these.

When we talk about using tropes, we are basing these ideas around common themes market research is showing that the readers like and gravitate to.

The thing to remember is the trope does not make the story. As seen is this single submission guideline, it is the theme that creates the story. It is the theme and the message that dictates the plot you want to use and the characters that you want to tell that story.

How to Craft The Perfect First Chapter - Question from a reader.

I have a question.
Is there a magic formula to writing the "perfect" first chapter?
I'm editing...again. Wrote the synopsis. The story is good --has potential. But I'm not sure the opening pops. I just keep writing it and re-writing it, over and over again, trying to make it better. Hoping for great. Help!
Is there a formula for writing a terrific first chapter that does its job of making the rest of book compelling to read but does not overload; such as so much percent back story, so much percent hints of the future, so much percent character development, so much current action, etc.
Or am I dreaming?
I know you must have discussed this before, but is there a chance for a review?

I have to say, I do love it when an author asks a question that is so easy to answer.

NO!

Well, I guess my work is done for the day...

I guess I can't do that so let me go on.

First of all, as I have stressed here over and over again, there is no formula for anything we do in writing. Everything we do, each plot, each character, each conflict, all are created on a case by case basis. In other words, what works for one story or one author is not going to always work for someone else. 

As for the first chapter, the best advice I can give is to turn the story around and think about it as a reader, and not as a writer. From the way you have framed the question, it is clear you aren't thinking that way. If you started into this story because you picked the book up in a book store, ask yourself if you would keep reading? Are you intrigued enough to want to keep going.

Now, I do find that a lot of writers get confused with the idea of "being intrigued" and "I have some questions to be answered." We don't want all of the answers given to us in the beginning, but we don't want to turn pages in the book just to "figure out what is going on." We want to turn pages because you have drawn us in.

If you think about academic and professional writing, we have the basic structure of introduction, body and conclusion. The into is the infamous "hook" It is the attention getter! It is the way we draw the reader into wanting to get to the thesis and main idea of the paper found in the body of the paper. The same goes for writing a story. 

You ask about percentages of information in the opening chapter - such as so much percent back story, so much percent hints of the future, so much percent character development, so much current action, etc. Let's consider each of these.

If you unload a bunch of back story, the problem is the reader doesn't have a context to fit that back story to. Now they are left with information to hold on to until the time comes for them to use it. I am a firm believer of giving out that back story on a "need to know basis". If the character doesn't need it at that time, then the reader probably doesn't either. 

As far as the hints to the future, we do need to see who the character is and where they are heading to, but even then, we don't want too much. Those opening scenes are designed to hint at the GMC of the protagonist. If you think about the start of Harry Potter, we get a hint of who he is as a baby and that there will clearly be a great conflict with "You know who" later in the book. We also can see that he is being placed at a house that might have questions, as well as see that "he will have a lot to learn." We don't really get much in the way of back story, but we are "intrigued".

As far as the current action, the thing we always stress is we want movement. It doesn't have to be the action of the central conflict, but we need things moving. Again, this is why that information dump of back story doesn't always work well in the beginning. I would also add that dumping them in the middle of the central conflict leaves the reader with wondering who these people are. 

I think the point to stress here is to just read it as a reader. What will work best for your story? Yes, the opening pages are beyond crucial. These are what the editors and agents read. These are the pages that your readers decide if they will continue or not. They have to be "golden". But as far as a formula goes, there just isn't one.