10 Worst Tropes in Fiction
- Jenna Moreci
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
HelloOoOo everybody!
The time has officially come. You guys have been asking me to rant about the worst tropes in fiction forever, and you finally wore me down. I don't know why you enjoy hearing me complain, but at least someone does. With that said, let's get to the shitty tropes, shall we?
A quick disclaimer: I've already covered a lot of shitty tropes in past videos. So, for the sake of not being redundant, just assume all those guys are on this list as well. Here are the other tropes that make me wanna gouge my eyeballs out just so I don't have to finish reading.
This video is sponsored by Skillshare. As always, all opinions are my own.
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Number 1: Romanticizing Abuse
I know I've mentioned this in a million videos, and I said I wasn't gonna be redundant, but since this is my most despised trope, there was no way I couldn't mention it. The hatred I feel for the widespread romanticizing of abusive relationships knows no limitations. It makes me want to rage. It boggles my mind that this is an actual trend in fiction, so much so that publishers encourage their authors to write it.
“So I know this concept’s kind of rape-y, but impressionable young girls and unfulfilled wives eat it up. Plus, reinforcing self-hate in our female demographic is an actual and relatively successful marketing tactic. Also, there's a special spot reserved for me in the fourth circle of hell.”
Readers, please stop buying this trash. I promise you, healthy relationships are much more entertaining. They're also way sexier because both parties are consenting and no one's being assaulted, which is nice.
Number 2: The Sexy Bad Boy and the Plain Jane
I enjoy opposite pairings that bring an equal amount of goods to the table. But this is never how it's presented. He's sexy, he's brooding, he's got an eight pack, and he's a player. And she's plain, that's it. No man drowning in pussy is gonna fall for the human equivalent of a dish rag, first of all. Second, this is such a gross power imbalance. You're setting things up so that the dish rag can fawn over Mr. Eight Pack and bend to his every whim because everything he does in her eyes is magic.
You've got a controlling douchebag and a woman with zero sense of self; of course, she's gonna be manipulated.
Number 3: The Chosen One
I have no issue with a character being born into something, because that's just life. People are born into their ethnicity. They're born into royalty. That’s just how bloodlines and genetics work. What I hate is that specific chosen one that we see all the time. They're probably a teenager, extra points if they just turned sixteen. It's their birthday, and suddenly things are happening that they just can't explain. This is when some supernatural person breaks the news to them.
“You're not like other girls, you're the chosen one.”
“What? Not me. I just wanna be a normal high school kid.”
Said no high school kid, ever. Of course, there's no reason for them to be the chosen one, and even better, they really suck at the job. Sounds like a great book for me to throw into the garbage.
Number 4: The Somber Hipster Dream Girl
I feel like the Manic Pixie Dream Girl has been replaced with an insufferable hipster character. You can catch these characters right away because they usually have a grandma or grandpa name like Rupert or Geraldine. Or they're named after a piece of nature like Birdie or Olive. They only wear wool thrift store sweaters, typically in burnt orange or baby puke yellow. They listen to vintage records, they discuss philosophy and speak in metaphors, and they're boring as fuck.
Worst of all, the stories that feature these assholes often don't tell a story at all. Telling a story is too mainstream. This book is about themes, prose, and atmosphere. You know, stuff that could be interesting if there was a story attached to them, but there isn't ’cause this book sucks.
Number 5: Kill All the Representation
If the character is Black, they're gonna die. If the character’s gay, they're gonna die too. If the character’s Black and gay, they're definitely fucked. And wouldn’t you know it, now the only characters left are straight and white. What can you do? I'm not saying you can only kill off straight white characters, but when you have only one gay character, and then you kill them? What the fuck? How do you not see how completely shitty that looks?
Number 6: The Woman in the Refrigerator
“You know I've got this story with a kick ass male MC, but I'm struggling to nail down his motivation. I know, I'll kill his wife. We don't need her anyway. I mean, it's not like I even know how to write women. Are they even people? I'm pretty sure science says no.”
Writers, I'm just throwing it out there. Men can be motivated by lots of stuff. You don't have to kill his girlfriend to turn him into a hero; you can literally do anything else.
Number 7: Fucked Up Names
I get that when you're writing fantasy, you have the option to create names. But for God's sake, calm down. When the name has seven syllables and twelve vowels, I'm not even gonna try to pronounce it. Margaratheratherav—nope, nope, their name’s Maggie, that's it. And half the time, the author just took a regular name and spelled it weird.
“You see, his name is pronounced Joe, but it's spelled G O A H E.”
“Her name is pronounced Fay, but spelled P H A I silent K.”
“His name is pronounced Gary, but it’s spelled Q Z W VI, pi times the square root of thirty-seven, penis.”
What if I told you there are no laws that state that you have to invent names? You can use ones that already exist. And I encourage you to do so, because you suck at this.
Number 8: The Friend-Zoned Bestie
“I have to watch her parade around with some guy she's just met! And it's so unfair because I've loved her for so long.”
Well, have you told her?
“Well, I mean, no, but—”
Then it's your own fault, you damn bitch. Maybe if you communicated with your big dumb mouth hole, you wouldn’t be stuck jerking off to her yearbook photo. Do you expect me to feel bad for you? ’Cause I don't. You know what I did when a crush didn't like me back? I got over it. Like a well-adjusted, non-baby person. No one is obligated to like you just ’cause they give you penis tingles, okay?
Number 9: The Book Ends With a Breakup
You know, you're not subtle. We all know what you're doing. Come the last page, the MC and their love interest suddenly and inexplicably hate each other. That way, readers will be eager to read the sequel to see if they make up.
Writers, there are better, more satisfying cliffhangers out there, I promise you. The love interest doesn't need to betray the MC for some barely believable reason. They don't need to get jealous over another person, who will inevitably become player three in the love triangle. There are other ways to sell a sequel rather than fabricating a lover's quarrel out of nowhere.
Number 10: All the Annoying Tropes That Turned Female Characters Into Cardboard Cutouts
There's the Strong Female Character, a woman who punches dudes in the face and never shows any emotion, so clearly she's an icon for female empowerment. Or maybe you just made her one-dimensional and inhuman. Congrats on the suckage.
Then we've got the Fighting Fuck Toy, who is essentially the strong female character, except that their tits are hanging out. Her job is to both shoot guns and cause boners, because she only exists for the sake of the male spank bank. Empowerment!
And of course, we have Born Sexy Yesterday. She's an alien or a robot or some other creature with no knowledge of the world around her. But the male MC is gonna try to get it in anyway, because she's a woman with a vagina. Pro tip: if someone was born yesterday, it doesn't matter if they have boobs. She's still a newborn, and you're still disgusting.
So that's all I've got for you today!
These tropes are just the tip of the iceberg that is the giant crock of shit that fuels my undying hatred. I blame these tropes for my lack of faith in the human race. On that extremely positive note…
A huge thank you to Skillshare for partnering with me. These guys are incredible, and I am such a fan of what they do for creators. If you're looking to improve your writing, maybe hoping to avoid committing the sins I listed in this video, definitely check out Skillshare. They have amazing classes available. And Skillshare is making it easier than ever to get in on the action. As a special treat just for you guys, they are offering two months of Skillshare Premium for just 99 cents to the first 500 people who click the activation link right here. Click it, you'll get access to thousands of classes for two full months, for less than $1. And only the first 500 people are gonna get it, so you gotta move fast. What are you waiting for?
*This post is sponsored by Skillshare. As always, all opinions are my own.
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Interesting piece! It shows that students’ sexual attitudes aren’t just about being “liberal” or “conservative,” but are shaped by social class and educational expectations—challenging a lot of common stereotypes about who behaves how on campus roller baller.