Hvad er tropes?

Tropes er egentlig almindelige temaer, plot værktøjer og motiver i en roman. Det dækker dermed over helt almindelige muligheder, mål og mønstre der foregår i en roman.

Når det kommer til romantasy eller romance, så er der en perlerække af forskellige plotmuligheder. Dagens Tyrs Tirsdag giver dig inspiration til de mange men fokusere på en enkelt meget sprød trope – nemlig Enemies to lovers.

De fleste tropes er selvforklarende men for at sikre at du uanset om du er velbevandret i romantasy tropes eller er newbie, så er der ved enkelte lavet en lille forklaring. Det er ikke umuligt at blande flere på denne alenlange liste sammen, så hvis du har gjort det, så fortvivl ej.

Dagens Tyrs Tirsdag giver her fem + ét gode råd til den trope, der kaldes Enemies to lovers.

Romantasy – Enemies to lovers

Denne trope er en af de mest elskede tropes, fordi det starter med skænderier, stædighed og fordomme, men kulminerer i passion, når fjenderne lærer at se bag hinandens facader. Det er fortællingen om, at selv det største had kan forvandles til den dybeste forelskelse.

1. Du skal skrive et indledende had til hinanden. Jo mere dybfølt des bedre. Der skal jo være noget at reparere på. Dog må hadet/konflikten ikke være så groft, at der ingen vej er tilbage.
2. De to fjender, der bliver til elskende skal undervejs have rygende diskussioner. At kalde hinanden øgenavne er ikke nok. De skal håne, spotte og undergrave hinandens troværdighed. De skal mundhugges som ingen nogensinde har mundhugges før. Det er dialog, når det er bedst, men undervejs skal tonen naturligvis gå fra had til en kærlig/sexet undertone
3. Hvis du kan kaste dit par ind i en situation, hvor de skal konfliktløse sammen, så gør du det godt.
4. Dit par må ikke gå direkte fra had zonen til elskende zonen. Du skal skabe et mellemtrin, hvor de vinder respekt og venskab
5. Undervejs i historien skal du gerne gøre dit par jaloux. Det underbygger lysten til at komme tilbage og kæmpe for det der betyder noget.
6. Bonus: Du kan vælge af tvinge dem væk fra hinanden, der hvor de er på vej til at have store følelser for hinanden. Det gør absolut en masse godt for følelsen hos læseren, når de så endelig får hinanden til slut.

Liste over Romantasy tropes

Tak til Jones Novel Editing for at bringe denne liste (på udenlandsk):

Profession tropes

• Royalty
• Mentor/mentee
• Apprentice/knight
• Secret heir
• Tavern workers
• Palace guard
• Palace adviser
• Assassin
• Witches and wizards
• Swordsperson
• Dark lord
• Guardian
• Outlaw
• Outcasts
• Bard
• Supreme ruler
• World’s worst spellcaster
• Dual wielding
• Nobility
• Healers

Relationship tropes

• Secret admirer
• Friends to lovers
• Love at first sight
• Secret stalker
• Aloof couple
• Star-crossed lovers
• Unrequited love
• Break up to save them
• Us against the world
• Rescuer
• Unattainable love interest
• The one that got away
• Wanting different things
• Just friends
• Two person love triangle – mistaken identity
• Rivals
• Fated mates
• Matchmaker gone wrong
• Always right
• Enemies to lovers
• First love
• Meet cute
• Against the odds
• Disguise
• Beauty and the beast
• Singles pact
• Reversal of fortune
• Lovers in denial
• Opposites attract
• Forbidden love
• Rich vs. poor
• Competition rivals
• Falling in love with the wrong person
• Wrong side of the tracks
• Soul mates
• Bait and switch
• Person in peril
• Not good enough for them
• Last to know
• Secret romance
• Frenemies
• Mistaken declaration of love
• Cyrano – when a nerdy person helps a popular person date someone by telling them what to do
• Destiny
• Fish out of water
• Dating the wrong person
• Undercover romance
• Bully crush
• Right in front of you all along
• Hate to love you
• Riches to rags
• Best friend’s sibling
• On the rocks – love interests who had broken up get back together
• Redemption story
• Long distance relationships
• All grown up
• Different worlds – in romantasy, they can literally be from different worlds!
• Everyone can see it except them
• Fear of commitment
• Second chance
• Emotional scars
• Not good enough – a love interest thinks they aren’t good enough to be loved
• Learn to love – one love interest falls in love with their teacher or mentor
• Allergic to commitment
• Miscommunication
• Secrets
• Coming out
• Meet-cute
• Happily ever after
• True love’s kiss
• Love triangles
• Interspecies pairings
• Forced proximity
• Who did this to you?
• The rough villain is secretly soft
• Touch her and you die
• Captor/captive
• Chosen one
• Broody protector
• Fake marriage
• Found family
• Grumpy and sunshine
• He falls first
• Only one bed
• Hades and Persephone
• Fake dating
• Lack of commitment
• Insta love
• Need for sameness
• Secret royalty
• Best friends to lovers
• Saving the world from the evil overlord
• Becoming evil
• Strong heroine – the opposite of a damsel in distress, these heroines save themselves!
• Fairytale retellings
• Elemental magic
• Slow burn
• Bad boy/good girl
• Protector/savior
• Revenge
• Abduction
• Seemingly weak protagonist has secret powers
• Shadow daddy – morally grey man with an attitude
• Protagonist smells like lavender – that is absolutely not happening after weeks of travelling and camping!
• Protagonist loses their powers
• Surprise pregnancy
• Hidden identity
• Class differences
• Reluctant companions
• Fairy courts
• Magic academy
• The reluctant hero
• Secret heir
• Lucky novice
• Lost heir
• The antihero
• Orphan hero
• Reincarnated from the gods
• Intergenerational trauma
• Distracted by love
• Diplomaticmarriage
• Group of misfits
• Travelling parties
• Secret identity
• Misfits
• Next generation – the protagonist’s child features in their own novel or series

Protagonist and love interest \ tropes

• Morally grey
• Virgin
• Rake – a “loveable scoundrel”, often a rich playboy who invests his money and time on women, drinking and gambling
• Tamed rakes
• Mary Sue – one love interest, often female, is unrealistically flawless
• Protective
• Childhood sweethearts
• Outcast from society
• Loveable rogue
• Widow
• Jock and nerd
• Grumpy vs. sunshine
• Puppy hero
• Good girls want bad boys
• Pretty boy
• Diamond in the rough
• Possessive
• Alpha hero
• Rags to riches
• The protector
• Anti-hero
• Oblivious to love
• Reformed villain
• All grown up
• Tortured lover
• Sworn off romance
• Cinderella
• Beta – one love interest is not an alpha and may be less confident
• Damsels out of distress
• Hunk
• Caretaker
• Ugly duckling
• Wallflower
• Not like other girls
• Playboy
• Physicality – such as big muscular guy vs. small girl
• Plus-size
• Reformed rakes
• I can fix him
• Innocent
• Girl next door
• Dude in distress

Fantasy race and animal tropes

• Dragons
• More dragons
• Even more dragons
• Give us all the dragons!
• Dark elves
• Elves and dwarves
• Demonic creatures
• Halfling
• Faes
• Elves
• Trolls
• Dwarves
• Goblins
• Demons
• Shapeshifting
• Guardian animals
• Fire-breathing dragons
• Unicorns
• Werewolves
• Vampires
• Legendary creatures
• Monsters
• Animal familiars
• Fairy godmother
• Animal guides
• Horses
• Gnomes
• Orcs
• Talking animals
• Magical creatures