Tropes are totally dope and the topic of our April’s writers chat.

Tropes are a form of artful written expression used to convey something other than their literal meanings. These can be figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, irony, personification, hyperbole, puns, etc. A trope can be a repeated symbol or thematic element, for example, a flame or fire may play heavily when discussing the passion between two characters. The photo above refers to a common plot device you may have heard of. Oh, Unresolved Sexual Tension. Oh. Oh!

Often, tropes serve to provide information about a character’s role in a plot or her/his motivations, such as the Anti-Hero, Bad Boy/Girl with a Heart of Gold, or Damsel in Distress. They can also appear as plot conventions such as Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone or Slow Burn. When done well, a trope can keep your readers interested in your story. When done poorly, they may become predictable or cliché.

Join us for the next writers chat on Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 10pm ET. We will be discussing your favorite tropes to use in your Caryl fanfiction. Bring your questions, ideas, and imagination. There will be time for a little writing practice. Readers, please join us and tell us about all your favorite tropes that you can’t possibly get enough of.

Have suggestions for a future chat topic on Nine Lives? Send a PM to jaibhagwan, kaoscraze82, or whoswhatsitwhich with writing topics you'd like to discuss. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Our goal is to motivate you to keep writing!