A Writer's Wiki on Tropes

[dr_mabeuse]

A trope in literature is a figure of speech or particular piece of imagery. But it's also come to mean a gimmick or device or 'move' used in fiction to propel a plot or make things work out. A trope isn't quite a cliche, but it's something we usually recognize as being of a type once it's pointed out to us. The sexy scientist, the unsuspected ability or super-power, the magic object that allows for serious weirdness to happen in a plot (hyper-drive, a mini black hole, pixie dust, quantum uncertainty...)

A whole encyclopedia of tropes has been assembled here in a site called "TV Tropes", and it's worth having a look. Almost every writing gimmick, trick, and ploy is represented here, and not because they're bad, but because they work. Not a bad place to browse when your plot needs a kick in the ass.

 

[Handley_Page]

Good find, that.
Thank you

 

[johneb87]

Thanks for the finding that! *bookmarks*

 

[Ironiclaconic]

That's an awesome site. I spent a half hour last week reading through their roster of "Magnificent Bastards," as it named an archetype I love when done well.

 

[TxRad]

Great find, doc.

*Bookmark*

 

[sr71plt]

It's nice to know it's there. If I had to use such crutches, though, to get an idea spun, I probably wouldn't bother with writing at all.

 

[manyeyedhydra]

Ah, one of the internet's great time sucks. I find it good for suggestions of interesting books/films/anime/manga/TV shows to check out. Sadly the moderators over there have been infected with a puritanical mindset that has resulted in a purge of nearly everything related to sex/porn/erotica. (or in the case of a cult hentai game, a redirection to a completely unrelated series - so they can keep the traffic from inbound searches).

Not a big fan of the people behind the site, but it is a useful resource (although not as useful as it used to be because of the cack-handed censorship).

 

[CWatson]

They ended up having some issues with Google Advertisements and had to strip things out. As a result, their page on us (which I spent a fair bit of time troping, I must admit) got pared down and locked. Oh well...

 

[Stella_Omega]

An alternative to replace the now-missing adult content;
https://allthetropes.orain.org/wiki/Main_Page