“The
course of true love never did run smooth.” ~ William Shakespeare
This quote got
me thinking – which is the point of these quotes, after all. One of our main jobs
as romance writers is to make sure Shakespeare’s axiom lives and breathes in
our stories. If the course of our lovers’ true love ran smooth, who would want
to read the book? We have to constantly figure out new ways to torture our
characters and keep them apart.
Or do we?
One of the
biggest complaints about romance novels by non-romance-novel-readers is that they’re
all the same; they’re too predictable. We all know this is baloney. The number
of individual treatments of the same broad themes is limited only by the number
of romance writers. We could each write a story based on the same basic plot,
and each story would be unique. Just look at what the Roses of Prose can do to
a Christmas story starting with the same first line!.
That being
said, there are a number of popular, tried-and-true romance plots that have
stood the test of time. I came across this list on a loop many years ago.
- Secret Baby
- Cinderella (rags to riches)
- Opposites Attract
- Bodyguard
- Second Chance/ First Love Rekindled
- Reunion
- Stranded
- Love Triangle
- Marriage of Convenience
- Beauty and the Beast
- Sleeping Beauty/Ugly Duckling
- Amnesia
- Fish Out of Water
- Blackmail/Revenge
- Forbidden Love
- Mentor/Protégé (boss/employee)
- Princess/Pauper; King/Beggar Maid
- Bad Boy/Good Girl (or vice versa)
- Best Friends
- The Road to Adventure
1
Nearly every romance
novel I can think of is some version of one or more of these basic plots. When
I look at my own published books I can see that Harvest of Dreams is basically a
Bodyguard story. A Man Like That is a Bad Boy/Good Girl. The Treasure of Como
Bluff is a Fish Out of Water. And Unwritten Rules is another Bodyguard story.
Certain tropes
resonate with us while others leave us flat. For example, I’d be very surprised
if I ever wrote a Blackmail/Revenge or Mentor/Protégé story. They just don’t
push my buttons. Which are your favorites to read? To write?
Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com
http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com
14 comments:
My favorites to read are Cinderella (probably a remnant of too much childhood daydreaming) and the marriage of convenience angle. Interestingly, I haven't written either of those! I think my first book is the fish out of water. I can't quite define the others! Fun post, Alison!
I think all my suspense books are basically bodyguards, but I have a few second chance or best friends ones. Funny how we tend to gravitate toward the same themes over and over. Maybe we should pick a trope instead of a first line for next year's Christmas stories just to show how many different stories can be written using these old tried and true plot devices!
It seems I tend to prefer the second chance, first love, best friends kind of stories. Tried to do a love triangle once. It wasn't me. Nice angle on the quote, Alison. Interesting.
I've read before that there are a finite number of plots but an infinite number of ways to bring them to life. I love your summary list, as each definition is broad yet specific. Nice post!
Leah, I love Cinderella and Marriage of Convenience plots, too. I'm not sure why I haven't written any yet. Maybe one day ...
Jannine, that is a really fun idea for our Christmas stories - shake things up a little.
Margo, this list shows just how universal, yet personal, romantic fantasy can be. Some themes really strike a chord and others just don't.
Hi Katie! That's the fun of these tropes. They can produce an infinite variety of stories.
In historicals, I like the marriage of convenience trope. In contemporaries, I enjoy reading the the bodyguard, second chance or friends to lovers story. The marriage of convenience trope is difficult to do in a contemporary setting. I'm attempting a marriage of convenience/friends to lovers story in one of my WIPs at the moment. Not sure I've hit the right note with it yet. Still working on it!
I love marriage of convenience, then the secret baby, although I don't write either. LOL
Jana, I applaud you for trying the Marriage of Convenience in a modern contemporary. I remember a few from several years ago, but it is definitely hard to pull off.
Barb, it's funny how we don't always write some of our favorite tropes to read. I'm the same way.
I love Jannine's idea for this year's holiday stories, too!
I,too, like Jannine's idea for this year's holiday stories.
I tend to write Road to Adventure stories. Sometimes I include a secondary trope--just to keep things different. :)
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