Tropes: Favorite/Least Favorite?

[scribbler]

I'm a complete sucker for a bad ass coming out of retirement for one last adventure. For example, David Gemmell's Druss or William Munny from the movie, Unforgiven.

As for least favorite trope, any one of them can be tedious if done poorly.

 

[Malik]

Clint Eastwood's depiction of Bill Munny was amazing.

 

[FifthView]

I'm a complete sucker for a bad ass coming out of retirement for one last adventure. For example, David Gemmell's Druss or William Munny from the movie, Unforgiven.

Great trope. That's one I want to play with sometime, but haven't yet.

 

[scribbler]

Forgiven is one of my favorite movies. The slow build up of the stories about Bill's past, and then when he finally opens a can of whoop ass is amazing.

 

[Chessie]

I'm a complete sucker for a bad ass coming out of retirement for one last adventure. For example, David Gemmell's Druss or William Munny from the movie, Unforgiven.

As for least favorite trope, any one of them can be tedious if done poorly.

Mark Wahlberg's "Shooter" is a perfect example of this trope done awesomely well. LOVE that movie.

 

[evolution_rex]

I typically don't like the prophecy trope, but I must say I'm a big fan of occasions when there's a twist to it, such as in Game of Thrones where we don't quite know who the prophecy is referring to, or in Star Wars where they believe Anakin has failed the prophecy when in reality he still came through in the end.

 

[Devor]

I was thinking about this recently. I think the thing that infuriates me the most is when a character does something really awful, and people find out, but the outrage is short lived and it ends up being shuffled under the rug. I don't mean characters who have a redemption arc - Zuko or Jamie and some others (where other characters continue to despise them long after their turning point) - but when murders and crimes just get overlooked for the sake of the plot or to keep the story from weighing down.

I think you see it in shows more than books because they have more pressure to keep certain actors in the cast.

TVTropes calls it a Karma Houdini.

 

[Creed]

Favourite tropes:

The Genius Loci, when a location has a mind or spirit. This can be so cool!

Tarot symbology, or tarot character archetypes. They carry the aesthetic of tarot and the occult, and really add to an atmosphere in fantasy. Really great for foreshadowing, like The Tower.

I love mysteries that are about events far, far in the past - like millennia. The unravelling of ancient secrets, the puzzle pieces of events falling into place... I wrote a lengthy post once about how this is the key to unlocking my sense of wonder.

Also I adore revenge stories where the drive for vengeance pushes a character beyond all natural limits. I've got a plan to write one of those and I am super excited for it. Also excited to re-read The Dark Tower books!

I really dislike child geniuses like Kvothe, though that turned out to be a fun read. There are few tropes I dislike on the face of it, others are unforgivable, such as Bury Your Gays and variants with other easy targets. They still crop up, unfortunately.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I don't like Kvothe, nor do I dislike Kvothe, I simply don't care about Kvothe or one lick of his story, LOL. I've tried to read that book several times, maybe someday I'll make it to the end, but I've begun to question that. It boooores me. No trope to blame, heh heh.

 

[Creed]

I don't like Kvothe, nor do I dislike Kvothe, I simply don't care about Kvothe or one lick of his story, LOL. I've tried to read that book several times, maybe someday I'll make it to the end, but I've begun to question that. It boooores me. No trope to blame, heh heh.

Sure, but for me the very presence of child geniuses is irksome in fiction. I can get behind children being creative to solve problems, but that was not Kvothe's story. It was also annoying how the trope just dropped, and he forgot all of his skills in magic for hand-wavium plot reasons. I suppose this is a caveat that we should remain consistent with character tropes we are using, or be reasonable and creative when we decide to make a transformation.

 

[gia]

Geesus, I'm such a newbie I didn't even know what a trope is. Not sure I get it yet. But if this is a trope, I sure do hate it the most...the character getting kicked in the balls in some way. Only used in movies. As a point of comedy. Yawn.

 

[Banten]

I don't like Kvothe, nor do I dislike Kvothe, I simply don't care about Kvothe or one lick of his story, LOL. I've tried to read that book several times, maybe someday I'll make it to the end, but I've begun to question that. It boooores me. No trope to blame, heh heh.

As someone who loves the Kingkiller Chronicles I have to say that I do kind of agree. Kvothe is just... eh. Personally I read these books mostly because the writing is so pretty. The story clicked with me (except for that horrible felurian part) but it could honestly have been about Kvothe wandering around the flat Danish countryside and I would still have read it because of the prose. Perhaps if you look at it like that you might be able to get through it.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Rothfuss's prose is good, the only reason I gave it a shot after the first 50 pages. But I expect good writing, if it's not good I don't read it. I also don't just a expect a good story, I expect a good story told well, this where I think Rothfuss fails me. A few hundred pages in... I mean, 1st person should theoretically get you to relate to the character, but not even close. And Rothfuss's 3rd person is inferior to his 1st prose.

Yeah, I expect to finish it someday, but g'grief. Every time I encounter a character retelling another character's story inside of a story... I have to take a couple months off.

But hey, that's all another topic.

As someone who loves the Kingkiller Chronicles I have to say that I do kind of agree. Kvothe is just... eh. Personally I read these books mostly because the writing is so pretty. The story clicked with me (except for that horrible felurian part) but it could honestly have been about Kvothe wandering around the flat Danish countryside and I would still have read it because of the prose. Perhaps if you look at it like that you might be able to get through it.

 

[Tom]

Ah, Rothfuss......I have a love-hate relationship with his books. I enjoy his style and characters but his writing is so...slow...and relies too heavily on tropes that he doesn't really expand on.

I'd have to say that my favorite trope is ancient world settings, whether in their peak or after they've been gone for centuries. I had a fascination with ancient cultures as a kid, and I'm still a sucker for a good Roman/Greek analogue or a world with a long-fallen dead empire and scatterings of massive ruins. I also enjoy "disguised quest object" plots. Those are fun. Especially when the quest object in question turns out to be a person in the hero's party or even the hero themselves.

As for least favorite, hm. There are quite a few tropes that I don't necessarily despise, but also don't exactly cheer when I see used. The biggest one is probably the dividing of different cultures/races into good and evil. Not only is it a bit...problematic, but it also allows no room for development of the two forces beyond "these people are good" and "these people are evil". Probably my biggest beef with Tolkien, to be honest, despite my love of LOTR.

The Farmboy Chosen One trope is another one I dislike, not for what it is in and of itself, but for how often it crops up in fantasy fiction. Please, for the love of god. I'd like to see more protagonists in a typical Hero's Journey plot who don't start out a farmer/villager/orphan with Mysteriously Deceased Parents.

 

[Aryth]

*raises hand* I'm yet another person who tried and failed to get past the second chapter of The Name of the Wind.
From the comments above it sounds like it...might...be worth trying again? I feel like the reviews are mixed.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

If you didn't get any further... it's really iffy if you'd make it. You might give it at least until you're into the first person... the prose gets better there. After that, just personal taste. His choice of how to tell the story just doesn't work for me. Could be a good story, but the presentation is an oh g'grief for me.

*raises hand* I'm yet another person who tried and failed to get past the second chapter of The Name of the Wind.
From the comments above it sounds like it...might...be worth trying again? I feel like the reviews are mixed.

 

[lonelyboy1977]

I hate "The Love Triangle" with a burning passion. Specifically, I hate the triangle which is based around a female protagonist "torn" between to male characters (in reality leading them both on). The most egregious aspect of this trope is that one of the suitors is always a so-called "Bad Boy" who is invariably possessive, controlling and abusive, which inexplicably makes him irresistible to the heroine; whereas, on the other hand, the second suitor is always a so-called "Nice Guy" who is caring, considerate and loyal, yet somehow this means he is a boring loser who is incapable of stirring the heroine's passions. (In other words he is far to good for her.) Three guesses as to which of the two suitors always wins in this scenario.

Before anyone asks; yes, I am a very bitter "Nice Guy" who always lost out to the "Bad Boy" and that may have influenced my feelings towards this particular trope.

 

[glutton]

I hate "The Love Triangle" with a burning passion. Specifically, I hate the triangle which is based around a female protagonist "torn" between to male characters (in reality leading them both on). The most egregious aspect of this trope is that one of the suitors is always a so-called "Bad Boy" who is invariably possessive, controlling and abusive, which inexplicably makes him irresistible to the heroine; whereas, on the other hand, the second suitor is always a so-called "Nice Guy" who is caring, considerate and loyal, yet somehow this means he is a boring loser who is incapable of stirring the heroine's passions. (In other words he is far to good for her.) Three guesses as to which of the two suitors always wins in this scenario.

Before anyone asks; yes, I am a very bitter "Nice Guy" who always lost out to the "Bad Boy" and that may have influenced my feelings towards this particular trope.

I would like to see a twist on this where the heroine chooses the nice guy for the sake of the bad boy, because she feels that long term the bad boy's ego wouldn't be able to handle her being the "alpha" in the relationship.

 

[Ireth]

I would like to see a twist on this where the heroine chooses the nice guy for the sake of the bad boy, because she feels that long term the bad boy's ego wouldn't be able to handle her being the "alpha" in the relationship.

I personally want to see a story where the two guys realize they were only fighting over the girl because they were trying to impress each other, so they hook up while the girl remains single and happy. XD

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

s that one of the suitors is always a so-called "Bad Boy" who is invariably possessive, controlling and abusive, which inexplicably makes him irresistible to the heroine; whereas, on the other hand, the second suitor is always a so-called "Nice Guy" who is caring, considerate and loyal, yet somehow this means he is a boring loser who is incapable of stirring the heroine's passions.

Oh, yes, I can't stand that either. The only love triangle that I genuinely liked was a bit of a twist because the two guys and girl are all in love with each other. Also, the 'bad boy' persona that the first guy creates is deconstructed in that, by thinking that he is under a curse that will kill anyone he cares about, he destroys any and all relationships with the people who actually care about him-! The second guy, the 'nice guy', is so kind and caring because he is dying from a combination of demon poison received while tortured and a drug to combat the poison that is also killing him--that is, he never wants anyone to experience what he experienced, and so is unfailing kind to everyone as a result.

Ireth: That sounds like a great idea to me!