***
Tropes with a twist
I read somewhere there are only a handful of romance tropes, think –
- Friends to lovers
- Secret baby
- Forced marriage
- Billionaire and an ordinary gal
To make your writing shine and stand out, you need something to make your story interesting and I
In Notting Hill, it was heroine who was the “superstar” not the hero. It had the twist that made it interesting. Same with Roman Holiday where he was a reporter and she was the Princess. I do have to add that Roman Holiday is a love story not a romance since they don’t end up together.
But with these two movies, they added an interesting twist to hook you in. On top of that, you have awesome actors, clever dialogue and terrific secondary characters.
Looking at your writing, what can you do to add a twist in? Twists keep your writing fresh and interesting. Keeping in mind, all romances end with a “happily ever after”, so why should readers read your books?
Irrespective of your writing style, you should look at what twists you’ve included to keep your story exciting.
In some of the old 1950s movies, the heroine would unpin her hair, take off her glasses and voila, she was stunning and the hero would suddenly notice her. Real life isn’t like that and in today’s romances we don’t expect women to physically change themselves to make themselves more attractive to men.
Using the duckling to swan trope, what can you do to add the twist? In my latest romance, Hannah is an everyday gal and is not the glamorous/hot type that Zac usually dates. In his POV we know that he sees her as pretty, reliable and a good friend. So how did I make Zac go from seeing Hannah as his sister’s friend to someone he can’t stop thinking about? That’s the twist.
I spent a lot of time working on this so after a few chapters, Zac starts seeing her in a different way. He’s fighting it because he doesn’t want to take advantage of his sister’s BFF.
It makes you want to read more. We know that Hannah likes him but will she be with him, knowing it will only ever be short term? Predictable is boring. You want to make your reading exciting so your readers will want to read more of your books.
Happy writing ☺
***
Joanne Dannon, an Australian author, writes to give her readers the experience she loves to savor--indulging in a sigh-worthy-happily-ever- after, being swept away from the everyday by diving into a delicious romance novel.
Joanne is a happily married mother of two heroes-in-training who loves spending time with friends and family. She can be found on Facebook and her website www.joannedannon.com chatting about reading, writing, cooking, vintage-inspired dresses and all things romantic.
Joanne is a happily married mother of two heroes-in-training who loves spending time with friends and family. She can be found on Facebook and her website www.joannedannon.com chatting about reading, writing, cooking, vintage-inspired dresses and all things romantic.
Joanne Dannon on the web:
Sign up to my Reader Newsletter and get a FREE e-copy of Bidding on Love!
Forever Mine is the 4th book in the Alex Jackson series and can be read as a standalone book.
It's never a good idea to fall for your best friend's brother... or so they say.
Hannah Greene is fed up. A romantic at heart, she's had a major crush on her best friend's brother for years but he's never noticed her. To shape a life for herself away from Zac, she must move on.
Zac Warne, smooth-talking sales guy who takes responsibility to a whole new level, loves the thrill of the chase but is not interested in settling down, ever. It's not that he doesn't believe in love, it's just not for him.
But circumstances have Hannah and Zac spending one weekend together and a night of fun leads to more than just emotional consequences for them.
Compelled to right wrongs and beholden to fix problems, Zac has to convince Hannah his about-turn about wanting a relationship with her is not just one of convenience. Can Hannah now trust this smooth-talking playboy who has a reputation for breaking hearts, including her own?
Buy on:
Thanks Joanne!
I love some tropes and I'm not too fond of others, but I especially love when there's a twist on a favourite trope.
What about you? What's one of your favourite tropes?
12 comments:
Would enemies to lovers be a romance trope? I've seen that one quite often.
an enexpected gay romance would be my fave!
There are a lot of ways you could add twists to the classic boy-meets-girl. The reluctant pull between a man and a woman is always a favorite of mine.
I think readers are pulled to tropes because they find comfort in the familiar--but adding a twist is a great way to make it a book they *love* instead of merely like. Nice tip!
So agree that twists are needed to keep tropes fresh and the reader interested. I'm getting really tired of the love triangles or the often unrealistic love at first sight. Thanks so much for the tips. Personally, forbidden love really attracts me to a story.
I love reading tropes with a twist. Getting those twists right is a real challenge!
Yes, definitely!!!!!! I only added a few at the beginning of my post but enemies to lovers is a very popular trope. Often used in Mills and Boon Presents :)
Thanks for dropping by :)
Sounds like a very interesting twist indeed. I have seen this in erotic MMF romance where the men fall in love with each other as well as with the women. Some erotic writers handle this really well :)
Thanks for dropping by :)
Yes, for sure :) You see this in movies too. It's popular for a reason, and I really like it.
Thanks for dropping by :)
Thanks Elizabeth, I do agree with you insights.
I've been reading romances for years and have seen the same tropes used over and over again, but the books are still good.
My reason why is that the writers use hooks, twists, clever dialogue and walk-off-the-page characters :)
Thanks for dropping by :)
Forbidden love is always a good one and can be used in so many ways, including cultural and religious. It's a fab trope.
IMO Romeo and Juliet is the best forbidden love story and is so well known. There's something romantic about lovers finding their way around the barriers between them.
Thanks for dropping by :)
I agree :)
I believe it's really important for the writer to take the time to create a good story for the reader. Getting those twists take time, effort and lots of work.
Thanks for dropping by :)
Post a Comment