Don’t trope my story you say? Roll your eyes at familiar tropes you do? Write as if Yoda has taken over my body I am!
Ok, enough of that foolishness. Today I am thinking about tropes.
In Romance there are many tropes that help shape stories. There are so many tropes
that entire books, podcasts, dissertations, and arsenals of articles are dedicated
to exploring them in great detail. Just Google Romance Tropes and you’ll have
hours and hours of Rabbit Hole fun ahead of you.
Before you jump into that hole, though, take a few minutes
to enjoy an ode to the Romance Trope that steals my heart every time; Grumpy/Sunshine.
Nothing gets my literary tongue wagging like a buttoned-up moderately grumpy
introvert that falls for the human equivalent of a Care Bear.
Why is that my favorite you ask? Well, if you met my husband,
you’d get it. Picture a cute nerdy Viking only with less pillaging of villages
(he gave it up for Lent).
In all seriousness, what I love about the Grumpy/Sunshine Trope
is the relationship of perceived opposites. On the outside the couple appear to
not make sense. He hates people and she is, well, people. You get it. However, as
the story unfolds, we soon learn that the couple have far more in common than
the outside world sees. The two of them truly see each other.
At the heart of any good Grumpy/Sunshine story is a tale
about belonging, about seeing people for who they are, and about the power of
what binds us. Grumpy/Sunshine stories are about hope. The hope to be seen and
find connection for who we are rather than what the world perceives us to be.
It’s about what connects us rather than what keeps us separate.
That’s why I LOVE a Grumpy/Sunshine story. Some of my
favorite stories are Grumpy/Sunshine pairings like Pride & Prejudice,
The Undertaking of Heart and Mercy, The Love Hypothesis, The Hating
Game, and so many more!
Of course, that is just one of so many Tropes that a Romance
writer can use and a Romance reader can gravitate towards. What trope(s) gets
your literary libido going?
For more about Romance Tropes you can visit your neighborhood
Google or check out this great resource:
The
Ultimate Guide to the Romance Genre and Romance Tropes – She Reads Romance
Books.
Pinkies Up!
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