I'm sure everyone is aware of the existence of tropes in both fanfics and published books. Most of the time, these aspects of the books became tropes because they were good and people enjoyed them. However some, over time, have turned into something not many people enjoy.
I've seen many people say that tropes are a bad thing and that you should avoid them, but I don't think that's necessarily true. If you look at each fandom, the fanfics written in them all have tropes. A historical drama fandom will have different tropes than a dystopian movie fandom, and it is your job as an author to realize that these tropes exist, and then it's your choice whether you include them or not.
I recommend reading 5-10 books in the fandom you're writing in and try to notice any similarities.
Here's a quick list of tropes I enjoy and tropes I do not enjoy (note this is personal preference and does not mean others will have the same opinion:
LIKE
1. Enemies to lovers
This is probably my all time favorite trope in any book, simply because of the chaos and the angst is can cause. When I say enemies to lovers I of course don't mean abuser x abused as many people have ended up writing and calling it to enemies to lovers. That isn't the same thing and I don't think a person who abused your oc should be the love interest.
But if you choose to go the this way and know how to write it well, your book will probably be one of the most favored in the fandom (especially the twq fandom where there are like 10 fics)
2. Contradictory characters
My favorite kinds of characters are those with contrasting/contradictory traits. This doesn't mean that they aren't well written, we all have personalities that may contradict theme selves at some point.
For example, I am the definition of a bookish girl, most of my days are spent reading or writing when I get free time, but I also play video games quiet often and would probably fall into the 'gamer girl' category as well. While these two things can coexist, you don't usually see people talk about these traits together.
Characters from my books that have something like this (some of which have not been shown yet in the current chapters, so tiny spoilers but not really?):
Cuthbert Neville from Coat of Gold is power hungry and craves stability so he may grow his influence, yet he's loyal to his family without fault and would never betray them, even if you offered him the power he craves so much.
Edmund of Clarence from Queen's Poison and most importantly Prince's Thorns, as an insane amount of knowledge on philosophy, literature, Ancient Rome and Greece and spends most of his time learning quietly, but when put onto a battle field is extremely violent and unmerciful.
Bona of Savoy from Cursed is the very image of a perfect noblewoman of the 15th century, yet she enjoys activities typically performed by men such as hunting, falconry, archery and others of that sort.
Anne of Lancaster from Queen's Poison and Prince's Thorns is outspoken, independent and loud in her opinions, but has an huge fear of ending up alone.
3. The Dark Ages
When I say the 'dark ages', I'm referring to a specific part of the book where literally nothing good happens. It's just misery and pain and suffering.
I don't really have a reason to like this trope other than it's fun to write and also when reading it, it makes the happy moments later on so much sweeter.
4. So Close, Yet So Far
When a character tries so hard to achieve something but ends up failing, that shit is like a stab to the heart. Especially if their failure is the reason something bad happens (they lose a loved one, someone ends up hurt etc.)
I feel like it can be very relatable for some readers as I'm sure we've all failed at something in our lives. Not to mention just how gut-wrenching it is when you can write it correctly
ABSOLUTELY DESPISE
1. The Mary Sue
This doesn't have to be explained. Your character shouldn't succeed in anything and shouldn't be good at everything.
If they are, there has been a mistake
2. Secret Marriage
This trope doesn't necessarily have to be bad, but the way most people do it is utterly unbearable and annoying.
A good secret marriage is when they're wed in secret, but reveal their marriage soon after (like Edward did with Elizabeth). Marriage was seen as a sacred and holy thing, a vow before god, and no one would go and commit bigamy during this time. Even if it was just for the reason that their children would be bastards (looking at you Edward x Eleanor Talbot believers).
3. Women Being Candidates For The Throne
It just wouldn't happen, especially if there are other male candidates for the throne. There's this one twq fic where the oc is a Lancastrian woman and the author constantly repeats stuff like "she's the rightful heir to the throne" and "the people would support her" NO SHE ISNT AND NO THEY WOUDLNT. Just look at how much trouble Mary I and Elizabeth I had even getting the throne and that only happened because there were quite literally no other viable male candidates to the throne.
If your OC is a Lancastrian or has Lancastrian blood and are a woman, people wouldn't support her to take the throne. Edward of Lancaster is a thing up until 1471 and after that people would've jumped to Henry Tudor for a Lancastrian heir (as they did irl) and they wouldn't look to a woman. What they would do is try to get her to marry into their family so they could try and put their own blood on the throne, and probably cause even more shit with that.
My oc Cecily has a daughter by Edward of Lancaster and no one ever looks at her as the heir to the throne. She's a girl, and that's that. They only see the last living member of the Lancastrian dynasty and that's it.
4. Woman On Man Abuse Is Ok???
I've seen so many fics write their oc just casually slapping the male love interest and it's played off as some girl boss moment?
No? Never? Stop?
The only way I could accept this is if the man hit the oc first, but otherwise it shouldn't be a thing. I have an oc that did do this but it isn't played off as a girl boss moment BECAUSE IT ISNT. She specifically apologizes to the male love interest and realizes it's a bad thing.
5. Sexual Assault For The Hell Of It
If you're writing sexual assault for no other reason than shock factor, STOP. Rape was even in the medieval times seen as a vile thing and for it to happen to someone was horrible and unfortunately, it was usually the woman who ended up getting disgraced. This isn't a topic to play around with on the best day, let alone just for shock factor.
I have an two ocs that experience SA, and each one of them is heavily affected (for more than just five chapters as some books do it) and it has a huge influence on the way they behave in certain situations.
You can use sexual assault as a plot device in your book, but make sure you do your research and write it correctly, do it justice AND PUT TRIGGER WARNINGS
These are the few I could think of off the top of my head, if you have any of your own, don't hesitate to put them in the comments!
