Got this from the talented Trevor Rines and it reminded me of a writer’s group I sat in on online this week. One of the writers was speaking about trying to write “against the tropes”, and anyone who knows me, certain contemporary words tend to get my hackles up (you notice I didn’t say “triggers me” )

The thing is, the word “tropes” tends to be used mainly as a pejorative, but what people really mean to talk about are “conventions”. Conventions are there for a reason. They are the guideposts on how to tell good stories. Can you move from conventions? Absolutely. But it takes a whole lot of skill or you lose your audience. A lot of people are talking about the most recent Mission Impossible movie. It’s got a 99% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes by the audience. That’s because it very much follows the conventions, but it does so in a way to still keep you engaged. As a writer I found myself guessing ahead most of the time, but it didn’t matter, and most of the audience WASN’T able to do that because they aren’t as engaged in story as much as we are.

The real focus isn’t so much whether you should depart from conventions but whether or not you can effectively keep those sign posts hidden from the public because they just want to enjoy your characters and your story. If you can do that, you can keep writing in the conventions, finding ways to take detours and going back to those conventions and never lose your audience along the way.

People forget that the MOST popular books from romances to pot boilers to the Classics are revisited because people love the structure in place. Structure can be your friend, but the real innovation comes when you’ve mastered it.

I’ve still got a long way to go, but the journey is what matters to me too Keep writing!