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“I Am The Chosen One But I Hate It”: People In This Online Group Share 30 Of The Most Annoying Book Tropes
Those who love reading books know that a good book can bring you all kinds of different feelings: it can make time fly really fast, train your imagination, or teach you something valuable. Bored Panda already made a list of books that everyone should read before turning 30, but there is no wrong time for a good book.
One of the greatest things in following a story is being fully drawn to it by a plot twist, characters, and their unpredictable choices. Have you ever read a book and stopped a minute just to wonder how it was possible for someone to come up with such a story?
There is a saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, and one of the things that fascinate people about reading is that you don’t know where it might take you. And even though there are many great books, sometimes the storyline can become predictable.
Having this in mind, Reddit user u/R_J2 asked others “What are some common tropes in books that you hate?” This question encouraged people online to share and discuss cliches they find used in books too often.
What annoying tropes do you find in books? Share your thoughts in the comments down below!
More Info: Reddit
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#1
Miscommunication leading to conflict.
Especially when the characters point blank refuse to utter another word to each other, even when a simple sentence of explanation could resolve the entire problem.
Forced drama like that makes me hate a book.
Tracy Wallick 3 years ago
As someone who writes as a hobby, THIS. This s**t right here is lazy, lazy writing and creating drama for the sake of drama. I HATE this trope!
#2
I feel like oftentimes characters are able to read just a little too much simply by looking into another's eyes. "She looked into his eyes and saw hope with a tinge of sadness, layered with uncertainty mixed with conviction."
Obviously that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you see my point.
HoneyBun Arts 3 years ago (edited)
She looked into his eyes and saw that he had a morgage coming up. So she winked and wiggled her eyebrows like a fool until he understood that she was going to pay off his house and they lived happily ever after as just friends.
#3
Basically, anything where "No" from a female character means "you haven't earned my trust yet and I act ~uppity~ due to modern feminism; you must prove yourself by protecting me from the danger I walked into due to my childish refusal to listen to men; only then will my inner woman be unlocked". *gag*
I hate hate everything about that trope and it needed to have died in the 80's.
Bonus: she's got an endearing reason to be super insecure, like a small birthmark, or being held prisoner her whole life. Here, "no" means "I can't believe anyone will find me beautiful and it's going to take some persistence to persuade me you do"
F**k everything about these "women don't really mean it when they refuse you" tropes.
#4
"Two people of opposite sex have to solve this problem together. There is no way in hell that they aren't going to fall in love, that would just be weird. What are friends or colleagues?"
Carmen Sandiego 3 years ago (edited)
Right? Like I have lots of friends and colleagues of the opposite sex, and they are all completely normal, platonic relationships. Even worse when the woman is all 'strong and independent' (which really just means overly violent) in the beginning, but 'softens down' when she falls in love with the lead male. Oh, and someone or the other almost always has a tragic backstory.
#5
I definitely dislike ‘enemies to lovers’ but more so as a librarian myself I cannot stand the ‘mousy, no personality, meek librarian who solves the day’ storyline. Librarians definitely kick butt but we are not all mousy, bland women!
#6
My biggest pet peeve in books is the chosen one trope. It’s okay when you’re a kid but when you’re an adult you just see lazy writing
Another trope I hate is the rough exterior “b****y” woman with a heart of gold who predictably falls for the hero, like we get it fellas, it’s your fantasy to win over women who aren’t interested in you one bit
Lastly the “weird” girl who doesn’t know shes conventionally attractive trope, she doesn’t care about dresses or boys or “girly” things so she never got attention despite being beautiful and approachable for the main character to romance, like please
#7
As a woman who married a widower, I really dislike romances where one of them was married before, and even if he or she thought it was a happy relationship, they have to find out how secretly evil and twisted their first love was before they can fall in love with the new love interest. Like... it's possible to be in love more than once in your life. It doesn't undervalue your present relationship to say your last one was also good. Especially when the person is dead.
#8
Hard-drinking, heavy-smoking, emotionally-disconnected, gruff-rough-and-tough, rumpled-trench-coat-wearing, middle-aged, wife-left-me-because-I'm-a-shitty-husband, blues/jazz-loving, I'll-do-it-my-way, hang-the-consequences, lone-wolf detective that manages to always get-their-man. Yawn.
#9
Making a girl obnoxious and extremely confrontational means they’re strong and independent. This is also done purely because the character is a girl.
There are so many better ways to portray this but some authors get really weird when writing women.
Carmen Sandiego 3 years ago
As I mentioned before, and they almost ALWAYS fall in love and become more submissive.
#10
How about the " I'm just an average teenage girl...who has superpowers....three love interests....always getting into trouble and then miraculously saved. Blame everyone for my problems and never take responsibility. And by the final book in my series I will not have learned or grown in any way but I'm still somehow the heroine" trope. I've read too many bad YA lol
RainWingRoyal 3 years ago
You stole my comment! Moon from Wings of Fire, right?
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~hUmMuS vIbEs~ 3 years ago
"Hello I'm an attractive stereotypical blonde in a book that has a crush on a jock but they don't know I have superpowers. A scrawny nerd has a crush on me but they're not good enough for me. Eventually the scrawny nerd saves me and the jock is an asshole and I realise I was meant to love the nerd all along."
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
YA fiction is a cesspit of copy-pasted formulas for the same few power fantasies. Trying to find a decent one is like finding jewels in a swamp. And yet the machine churns them out, over and over... bane of my teenhood.
#11
As a twin myself, pretty much every twin-related trope you can think of. No, we’re not creepy or psychic, we’re not two halves of the same coin, one of us is not the evil one, and we both don’t want to have s*x with you. Thanks.
Edited: I know I worded it in a purposefully funny way, but all of the “oh so you’re the evil twin then” responses are a little exhausting, friends
#12
It is the « I am the chosen one but I hate it and just want to be normal » trope. It’s super common in books and I feels that it prevent the plot from moving forward and leads to many chapters (sometimes it is the whole book) where the protagonist complains about it every two pages for finally accepting them for the grater good.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
"...finally accepting them for the grater good." Yes, cheese is important, and you should absolutely shred it yourself...for the grater good.
#13
When the main character is a Plain Jane and dogging herself out throughout the entire book until the snarky blonde boy says she's beautiful/like a firecracker/not like other girls/Sooooo unique
#14
People getting „sorted“ in a specific group. After the success of HP every fantasy book I read as a teen had some sort of „you are part of this group thing“ going and damn it was annoying. You can‘t all copy the Hogwarts houses. Get some new ideas
#15
The main character carrying a terrible, horrendous, shameful burden that is alluded to constantly. Turns out to be something very common.
#16
Protagonists who refuse to respect their friends' ability to make their own decisions in some misguided attempt to "protect" them.
#17
For some reason I’ve never liked the plot of someone unjustly accused who has to solve the crime & clear their name
#18
I love urban fantasy books, though they often fall into paranormal romance, which I don't care for quite as much. I can always tell when it's going to get romantic and who the protagonist is going to be romantic with because it will always describe the guy's pants.
#19
Beautiful young ingénue (who is incredibly attractive and somehow doesn't realise it) meets older, emotionally damaged man, and fixes him. A la 50 shades of grey.
#20
When a character is a runner, because they want to be free/get away from where they are.
When a character likes maths or science, because it's binary right and wrong.
Just two very tired characterisation tropes.
Henry Cheves 3 years ago
Science isn't binary! There are many different ways to be right or wrong!
#21
I hate love triangel.
Edit: just got told that it is a love corner.
#22
The families opposition in a relationship and particularly the excessively rich family who do there best to destroy this relationship...
Come on guys be original. I hate this trope more than my school's years.
And the fifty shades of Gray's trope with the rich man and the desperately uninteresting women and their even more uninteresting life in bed. Please no.
#23
Tragic backstories that are never brought up again after they're introduced or effect the character. Only ever used for cheap sympathy.
#24
Love triangles. Trauma via r**e for "character growth". And the chosen one which usually means a mary sue.
#25
Bad guy/group who never gives up. Like ever. Even right before imminent death, not a shadow of hesitation.
Related - good guy always giving bad guy one final choice to walk away or end the fight. Bad guy never does and “earns” his ultimate death/destruction and not just mere defeat.
#26
Fake dating. Is my life just boring because I have never met anyone who has ever participated in fake dating. Seems so stupid and unrealistic to me.
#27
I'm actually tired of franchise starters.
I love fantasy and scifi, but I almost never see a oneshot any more.
This is, I believe, due to how shitty writers are paid. They have to build a following, an audience, to generate a somewhat stable income, and pretty much the only way they can do this is by binding readers to their name and brand.
Because they always have one more book in the works you guys.
In movies, this has already become annoying.
But there's still plenty of "single serving" movies in every genre, so I don't have to go see Pirates of The Carribean 8, right?
With fantasy and scifi books, all I see is series. Come on! Another series that ends on a cliffhanger, with an author that has taken half a decade to "prepare the ending" while working on other projects and even starting other series?????
Game of Thrones isn't even over yet. Not really. Because the book ain't out.
I'm currently stuck on 3 series, man, each with waiting period of YEARS.
#28
"Billionaire player MC1 who lives in a modern minimalist decorated home who is a commitment-phobe but somehow falls head over heels for MC2"
#30
Prophecy. It's mostly another word for plot armor. As soon as it's introduced, there isn't much tension to the conflict anymore.
Now it does work when the prophecy was fake or misinterpreted since that creates a discussion on blind faith or the characters are suddenly in real danger because the higher powers aren't looking out for them.
What do you think ?
Beans 3 years ago (edited)
Personally I would've liked to see more male story tropes on here. Like that 007 has to sleep with everyone or that Jack Reacher doesn't do laundry cuz he's too badass and buys new clothes each time. And the I'm a manly man lumberjack/ex marine/ex spy trope or the 'sleeper agent' trope or.... I can go on and on. A lot of this list seemed to villify chick lit romance tropes and that bugs me. Can we not judge the escapist fantasy we like? Sometimes I like the ugly duckling trope. I always feel like chick lit gets judged harsher than 'd!ck" lit.
Carmen Sandiego 3 years ago (edited)
Alternate title: How to inspire someone to write a book without any of these tropes in it. It shall be named: The Ultimate Book.
Susie Elle 3 years ago
I'd like to add "I'm an orphan so no-one will get in my way with the burden of parental advice on how maybe it's better not to go on that quest that'll put my life in constant danger, but I did conveniently inhert an a**load of money from them" and "I have no idea where I came from but it's bound to be that magical place that everyone keeps talking about in myths and legends."
John Dilligaf 3 years ago
the "blood is thicker than water" trope. A relative disrupts your entire life, putting you in danger, leading you into illegal/immoral/unethical situations and you're supposed to accept it, and support him/her in everything because "family". Doubly so when it's a previously unknown relative (like a half-sibling) that appears out of nowhere.
just another bookish gay 3 years ago
also the friend group with one minority friend (lgbt, poc, ect.) it just seems like the authors don't want to get criticized for no diversity and somehow everyone suddenly becomes ok with just the one character who isn't white straight cis able and attractive?
Karen Lawyer 3 years ago
Actually had this conversation recently. If there are no minorities, you're racist. If there are too many, it's cultural appropriation. So yeah, one person was the "safety" for awhile, but that's not good enough anymore either. It can be really hard to try and figure out what the right thing to do is. I keep listening, but I have to admit that I'm still very confused, and I know that I'm not alone in feeling that way.
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Carmen Sandiego 3 years ago
When two people obviously have feelings for each other but don't confess. There are a few stories where this had happened properly and was appealing (these stories also don't have romance as the central theme; I was tricked!) but seriously, it's getting old.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Everything is a trope at this point. It's all been done a million times, there's no escaping it. You just have to find the right balance, plot, setting, characters and hope it works.
Cray Melton 3 years ago
The good wife / mom gets treated like sh*t by her husband and kids. She goes back home to a funeral, class reunion, etc. and finds sexy love (ex-boyfriend, hot classmate who would never even look at her) AND purpose and respect. None-the-less, she goes back to her whiney family that needs her and lives happily ever after.
Charlotte A. 3 years ago
Wasn't this list right here on BP not long ago? Anyway I mostly get annoyed when I start noticing how my fav authors use the same format every time. (E.g. Dean R Koontz - male main character, supported by petite brunette and they fall in love of course. And there's a dog and no matter how supernatural and dangerous the problem in the book is, you can always solve it with a shotgun.) For many of the examples in this list I just feel - try reading something else? (If you don't like the typical tropes of this particular genre, why do you keep reading the less than good authors within that genre? Try another genre!)
Beans 3 years ago (edited)
I agree with you whole heartedly. Most books are obviously tropes like 50 shades. I've never read it cuz I'm not into that stuff but some people are and that's fine. The tropes in it don't bother me because I'm not the demographic, so I just ignore and read something I like instead
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Marnie 3 years ago
How some male authors write female characters is the most annoying thing. Stephen King has to be one of the LEAST sexist authors I've ever read. It's one of the things I love about him. I remember there was a contest for writing the worst first sentence of a book by a male author about a female character. I remember one submission had something about, "She felt good about herself as she walked boobily up the stairs."
H05 3 years ago
Not a trooe, but a major pet peeve: using modern language in a period piece. If your story is set in 1760 and your protagonist uses modern slang in the first chapter, I won't be reading the rest of your book no matter how good the reviews happen to be. Do some research, smh.
Vuun 3 years ago
Sort of opposite to this, but equally annoying, is when everyone in the "olden days" is a pompous master orator.
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Grayson Wrigley 3 years ago (edited)
I started off really interested in this list and realized part of the way down "Damn. How likely is it that any of these posters have ever written even a short story in their life?" After that it got a lot more difficult to feel sympathy. That being said, I do agree that I can't stand frame-job stories. I just won't read them.
Jo Firth 3 years ago (edited)
1. Scatty women who always run late, trip over things, say the wrong thing - in general making women seem like idiots who can't fend for themselves. 2. Men who are always good looking, great in bed, who have women falling into bed with them the minute they meet - I'm looking at you Stuart Woods with your character - Stone Barrington. 3. That sex is always wonderful from the moment women sleep with "the one". Thanks for attending my TED talk.
John Baker 3 years ago
The name "Stone Barrington" should have been a clue. ;-)
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Catlady6000 3 years ago
Killing the dog, or other beloved pet. SO often a pet is introduced, just to be killed for added drama. I Am Legend, even worse Dances With Wolves-they killed the wolf And the horse. Just for "emotional impact" UGH
Lara Verne 3 years ago
I am attractive guy with tragic backstory and it justify all despicable s**t I do.
Jenifer Riggs 3 years ago
I agree with everything above! I find it so hard to find good books without running into boring tropes and losing interest in the story. I especially hate books in which female characters always make the dumbest, least logical, choices. I mean, if your faced with something like trusting the words of the bad guy over that of your friends/love interest, why on earth would you listen to the bad guy???
NinjaWolfy94 3 years ago
I'd like to add: I only recall seeing one or two stories where a character is lgbtq (usually gay/bi) but the story isn't completely about them finding love. Every other one I've seen with a gay/bi character, they're the main attention and must find someone to love AT ONCE. It's so stupid. That's the only time I ever see lqbtq charters is in romance stories :(
NinjaWolfy94 3 years ago
Also, I get not revealing their sexuality if there's nothing romantic in the story, that's perfectly fine. But it'd be great to have more lgbtq characters that are there on the side too and their sexuality/gender is relevant, but not MUST GET PARTNER NOW relevant... I'd also LOVE to see a plot where the main character finds love along the way like any other cliché story that they just must fall in love with other person (after doing the whole rest of the plot), but they're just... both the same sex. Cause there's PLENTY of lgbtq romance stories, but never really any where the main character is just gay/bi/etc and they happen to fall in love along the way.
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Colin Matthews 3 years ago
I personally dislike the " main character meets the one good ........ In the world" and the emotional journey. One good nazi, one good monster, etc etc
Marnie 3 years ago
My suggestion: Read science fiction. Almost NONE of these applied to the SF I've read. (Good SF books are good - as opposed to movies they call SF but which are not.)
Marnie 3 years ago
Although a lot of the older SF authors were really quite sexist. That's the one negative.
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Jenn C 3 years ago
Way too many YA novels: I'm in in love with her, buy she doesn't like me, so I'll keep away from her. I'm in love with him but he must hate me because he avoids me. Let's both be miserable and in love from afar. Also, shame on the mutual friend who sees this and let it happen, and never says oh btw you both like each other
Al Christensen 3 years ago
The same genres of crappy fiction over and over.
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ENEBETH PARKER 3 years ago
A lot of them about women tropes. Is that hard to write about women without lowballing their abilities and expecting them to behave in stereotypical ladylike behaviour.
John Smith 3 years ago
I expected to see "low level character turns out to be able to do things significantly more powerful characters couldn't, just because". Harry Potter would have been a much shorter series if someone had just melted his face off in the first book, but [spoiler] the bad guy loses because his mummy loved him. blurgh.
Annanana 3 years ago
Just to add a thought- these tropes probably keep repeating because it's some archetype of human fantasy. And the reason they are, is because they're somehow linked to a basic human reality, an existential experience of some sort. It would be interesting to figure out what each one stands for
Rica 3 years ago
Maybe this is more a TV thing than book, but I'm so sick and tired of all the crime solving shows that has a male and a female lead and they just HAVE TO become a couple... The only way for this not to happen is apparently if one or both of them are gay. I liked Bones for example, until they became a couple... cringe.
Alexandra Nara 3 years ago
wife getting tired of her neglecting/ cheating husband and her boring job start over again gets in shape finds perfect prince and a new adventurous job that finally allows her to express her true self Hate this kinda stuff And clumsy duckling turns into famous swan for mr. perfect. Finally plain shallow story about absolute good versus 100% bad without any shades and twists No matter if it settles in scifi, fantasy or history
F. H. 3 years ago
After reading some of these I think I have found the problem: Stop reading teenage and young adult fiction when you've outgrown it. I mean there are enough people who like to read those books all their lives, but when those common tropes start to bug you constantly it might be time to move on.
Okiedokie 3 years ago (edited)
It is almost impossible to avoid cliche in literature due to the massive amount of content out there already. When something ‘new’ comes along it’s sensationalized to the degree it’s cliche within months because of how connected we are now socially [see: internet]. this will get downvoted into oblivion, but seeing ‘woke’ culture try to navigate into artistic narratives ‘which often are trying to teach lessons about the issues mentioned above [but, y’know, out of context is how we live in this day and age] is really what turned me off to this. And, as others have said, how many here have actually written a book and published it? If you don’t like something, don’t read it. Edit: I do agree with one: lack of representation of culture. But that’s about it.
Jason Melvil 3 years ago
I'm seriously surprised a lot of missing ones here: "You have some superpower, so we automatically hate you and establish something racist against your kind" - for the love of anything this is stupid. If I see my next door neighbor, who is also super attractive and charismatic, has magical super powers that don't seem to be dangerous - I wouldn't try to kill them, I would beg them to let me be their friend (or sidekick). And let's not forget "I have a lover\significant other\spouse who I love more than anything else in the world. They get murdered by the antagonist and I'll go on a journey to avenge them cause they took the thing I care about more than anything in the world - Which I will completely forget about and start a romance with the next attractive main character I see after 5 minutes and I will barely mention the love of my life again". This happens so often it makes my head hurts
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
I get tickled at the "last of their tribe/kind/team" and they have to avenge something. That didn't work before, why are they still the same mindset?
Randolph Croft 3 years ago
One that always bothers me is the villain being brilliant and dedicated, ruthless and sadistic, while the hero is largely none of the above, but somehow still defeats the Big Bad.
thememyselfandi 3 years ago
I was the eldest. Then I found out that I have an older half-brother, making me the middle child. I don't know how I feel about this. Do I fit the middle-child trope?
William Teach 3 years ago
Killing off important characters to Motivate The Main Character. MR Forbes was one of my favorite writers. I read the first 16 books of his series starting with The Forgotten. Most were good, a few "meh." In 17 he killed off the main characters wife, child, adopted child, and several important characters in one fell swoop. I could barely finish. Still haven't finished the series with 18. Perhaps if it was 200 pages, not 400.
Angelynn Wichman 3 years ago
How about the 500-thousands of years old Fae male who falls helplessly in love with the 16-18 year old girl who is magically the chosen one to save the universe? It was good the first 50 times, but give it a rest already. LOL
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
So, Twilight and Harry Potter and True Blood and Game of Thrones. ... And since my 7 godkids are all Potterheads (help me!) I couldn't avoid the "could've been 100-200 pages shorter and still worked" books, and the "bookworm is unlikeable" trope and and and and and.... Yes, I now hate HP. Read DH aloud for the 7th flipping time, and you miss reading journal articles on treatment of skin ulcers.
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
I'm sad now because I have some of these tropes in the book I'm writing, which means it's probably super cringey and everyone would hate it :(
Rebecca McNeil 2 years ago
people use them because they been successful. They are fine if they are done well. Try to make sure you have an original take on them. Look up Jessica Brody. She is an international best seller and has classes that help writers. She has helped me a lot.
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WolfyDragon_82 3 years ago
The thing I hate the most is like in most books,if a girl is the main protagonist,they know that their ‘true love’ likes them yet they still act incredibly oblivious…
lunar eclipse 3 years ago
I also hate the trope where the female lead is cold, distant and mean to everyone except the one she likes. And she doesn’t like them. She’s OBSESSED and overprotective. Also, somehow a naturally amazing fighter. No one knows how to do a roundhouse kick since birth. You gotta learn that
Sleepyhead 3 years ago
The one where the main suspect turns out to be innocent and the real villain was "who you would have never expected". Boring
Johnny Rodriguez 3 years ago
I love these moments when I read a book, wonder, have to take the book down, think about it, turn some pages back, read this and that again and then wonder that I haven't wondered earlier. I love it, when an author plays with my expectations or bias and forces me to think about my perception. My favorite example for this is 'Set this house in order. A romance of souls' from Matt Ruff. It's been five years since I read it and I think that I finally could read it again now..
Sara Khan 3 years ago
I read mostly mm, and I love urban fantasy / pnr, but my gaaaawd why does it always have to be "unheard" of when something ultra special happens?! Fine, it might never have happened, but please, there are a lot of words and other descriptions. So many eyerolls. And appropo MM, no matter if it's a male or female writer, it seems as no one has the slightes incling as to how a"al-s"x works. You can't just wham bam like m/f 'insert P in V'.
Beans 3 years ago (edited)
Personally I would've liked to see more male story tropes on here. Like that 007 has to sleep with everyone or that Jack Reacher doesn't do laundry cuz he's too badass and buys new clothes each time. And the I'm a manly man lumberjack/ex marine/ex spy trope or the 'sleeper agent' trope or.... I can go on and on. A lot of this list seemed to villify chick lit romance tropes and that bugs me. Can we not judge the escapist fantasy we like? Sometimes I like the ugly duckling trope. I always feel like chick lit gets judged harsher than 'd!ck" lit.
Carmen Sandiego 3 years ago (edited)
Alternate title: How to inspire someone to write a book without any of these tropes in it. It shall be named: The Ultimate Book.
Susie Elle 3 years ago
I'd like to add "I'm an orphan so no-one will get in my way with the burden of parental advice on how maybe it's better not to go on that quest that'll put my life in constant danger, but I did conveniently inhert an a**load of money from them" and "I have no idea where I came from but it's bound to be that magical place that everyone keeps talking about in myths and legends."
John Dilligaf 3 years ago
the "blood is thicker than water" trope. A relative disrupts your entire life, putting you in danger, leading you into illegal/immoral/unethical situations and you're supposed to accept it, and support him/her in everything because "family". Doubly so when it's a previously unknown relative (like a half-sibling) that appears out of nowhere.
just another bookish gay 3 years ago
also the friend group with one minority friend (lgbt, poc, ect.) it just seems like the authors don't want to get criticized for no diversity and somehow everyone suddenly becomes ok with just the one character who isn't white straight cis able and attractive?
Karen Lawyer 3 years ago
Actually had this conversation recently. If there are no minorities, you're racist. If there are too many, it's cultural appropriation. So yeah, one person was the "safety" for awhile, but that's not good enough anymore either. It can be really hard to try and figure out what the right thing to do is. I keep listening, but I have to admit that I'm still very confused, and I know that I'm not alone in feeling that way.
Load More Replies... Carmen Sandiego 3 years ago
When two people obviously have feelings for each other but don't confess. There are a few stories where this had happened properly and was appealing (these stories also don't have romance as the central theme; I was tricked!) but seriously, it's getting old.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Everything is a trope at this point. It's all been done a million times, there's no escaping it. You just have to find the right balance, plot, setting, characters and hope it works.
Cray Melton 3 years ago
The good wife / mom gets treated like sh*t by her husband and kids. She goes back home to a funeral, class reunion, etc. and finds sexy love (ex-boyfriend, hot classmate who would never even look at her) AND purpose and respect. None-the-less, she goes back to her whiney family that needs her and lives happily ever after.
Charlotte A. 3 years ago
Wasn't this list right here on BP not long ago? Anyway I mostly get annoyed when I start noticing how my fav authors use the same format every time. (E.g. Dean R Koontz - male main character, supported by petite brunette and they fall in love of course. And there's a dog and no matter how supernatural and dangerous the problem in the book is, you can always solve it with a shotgun.) For many of the examples in this list I just feel - try reading something else? (If you don't like the typical tropes of this particular genre, why do you keep reading the less than good authors within that genre? Try another genre!)
Beans 3 years ago (edited)
I agree with you whole heartedly. Most books are obviously tropes like 50 shades. I've never read it cuz I'm not into that stuff but some people are and that's fine. The tropes in it don't bother me because I'm not the demographic, so I just ignore and read something I like instead
Load More Replies... Marnie 3 years ago
How some male authors write female characters is the most annoying thing. Stephen King has to be one of the LEAST sexist authors I've ever read. It's one of the things I love about him. I remember there was a contest for writing the worst first sentence of a book by a male author about a female character. I remember one submission had something about, "She felt good about herself as she walked boobily up the stairs."
H05 3 years ago
Not a trooe, but a major pet peeve: using modern language in a period piece. If your story is set in 1760 and your protagonist uses modern slang in the first chapter, I won't be reading the rest of your book no matter how good the reviews happen to be. Do some research, smh.
Vuun 3 years ago
Sort of opposite to this, but equally annoying, is when everyone in the "olden days" is a pompous master orator.
Load More Replies... Grayson Wrigley 3 years ago (edited)
I started off really interested in this list and realized part of the way down "Damn. How likely is it that any of these posters have ever written even a short story in their life?" After that it got a lot more difficult to feel sympathy. That being said, I do agree that I can't stand frame-job stories. I just won't read them.
Jo Firth 3 years ago (edited)
1. Scatty women who always run late, trip over things, say the wrong thing - in general making women seem like idiots who can't fend for themselves. 2. Men who are always good looking, great in bed, who have women falling into bed with them the minute they meet - I'm looking at you Stuart Woods with your character - Stone Barrington. 3. That sex is always wonderful from the moment women sleep with "the one". Thanks for attending my TED talk.
John Baker 3 years ago
The name "Stone Barrington" should have been a clue. ;-)
Load More Replies... Catlady6000 3 years ago
Killing the dog, or other beloved pet. SO often a pet is introduced, just to be killed for added drama. I Am Legend, even worse Dances With Wolves-they killed the wolf And the horse. Just for "emotional impact" UGH
Lara Verne 3 years ago
I am attractive guy with tragic backstory and it justify all despicable s**t I do.
Jenifer Riggs 3 years ago
I agree with everything above! I find it so hard to find good books without running into boring tropes and losing interest in the story. I especially hate books in which female characters always make the dumbest, least logical, choices. I mean, if your faced with something like trusting the words of the bad guy over that of your friends/love interest, why on earth would you listen to the bad guy???
NinjaWolfy94 3 years ago
I'd like to add: I only recall seeing one or two stories where a character is lgbtq (usually gay/bi) but the story isn't completely about them finding love. Every other one I've seen with a gay/bi character, they're the main attention and must find someone to love AT ONCE. It's so stupid. That's the only time I ever see lqbtq charters is in romance stories :(
NinjaWolfy94 3 years ago
Also, I get not revealing their sexuality if there's nothing romantic in the story, that's perfectly fine. But it'd be great to have more lgbtq characters that are there on the side too and their sexuality/gender is relevant, but not MUST GET PARTNER NOW relevant... I'd also LOVE to see a plot where the main character finds love along the way like any other cliché story that they just must fall in love with other person (after doing the whole rest of the plot), but they're just... both the same sex. Cause there's PLENTY of lgbtq romance stories, but never really any where the main character is just gay/bi/etc and they happen to fall in love along the way.
Load More Replies... Colin Matthews 3 years ago
I personally dislike the " main character meets the one good ........ In the world" and the emotional journey. One good nazi, one good monster, etc etc
Marnie 3 years ago
My suggestion: Read science fiction. Almost NONE of these applied to the SF I've read. (Good SF books are good - as opposed to movies they call SF but which are not.)
Marnie 3 years ago
Although a lot of the older SF authors were really quite sexist. That's the one negative.
Load More Replies... Jenn C 3 years ago
Way too many YA novels: I'm in in love with her, buy she doesn't like me, so I'll keep away from her. I'm in love with him but he must hate me because he avoids me. Let's both be miserable and in love from afar. Also, shame on the mutual friend who sees this and let it happen, and never says oh btw you both like each other
Al Christensen 3 years ago
The same genres of crappy fiction over and over.
Load More Replies... ENEBETH PARKER 3 years ago
A lot of them about women tropes. Is that hard to write about women without lowballing their abilities and expecting them to behave in stereotypical ladylike behaviour.
John Smith 3 years ago
I expected to see "low level character turns out to be able to do things significantly more powerful characters couldn't, just because". Harry Potter would have been a much shorter series if someone had just melted his face off in the first book, but [spoiler] the bad guy loses because his mummy loved him. blurgh.
Annanana 3 years ago
Just to add a thought- these tropes probably keep repeating because it's some archetype of human fantasy. And the reason they are, is because they're somehow linked to a basic human reality, an existential experience of some sort. It would be interesting to figure out what each one stands for
Rica 3 years ago
Maybe this is more a TV thing than book, but I'm so sick and tired of all the crime solving shows that has a male and a female lead and they just HAVE TO become a couple... The only way for this not to happen is apparently if one or both of them are gay. I liked Bones for example, until they became a couple... cringe.
Alexandra Nara 3 years ago
wife getting tired of her neglecting/ cheating husband and her boring job start over again gets in shape finds perfect prince and a new adventurous job that finally allows her to express her true self Hate this kinda stuff And clumsy duckling turns into famous swan for mr. perfect. Finally plain shallow story about absolute good versus 100% bad without any shades and twists No matter if it settles in scifi, fantasy or history
F. H. 3 years ago
After reading some of these I think I have found the problem: Stop reading teenage and young adult fiction when you've outgrown it. I mean there are enough people who like to read those books all their lives, but when those common tropes start to bug you constantly it might be time to move on.
Okiedokie 3 years ago (edited)
It is almost impossible to avoid cliche in literature due to the massive amount of content out there already. When something ‘new’ comes along it’s sensationalized to the degree it’s cliche within months because of how connected we are now socially [see: internet]. this will get downvoted into oblivion, but seeing ‘woke’ culture try to navigate into artistic narratives ‘which often are trying to teach lessons about the issues mentioned above [but, y’know, out of context is how we live in this day and age] is really what turned me off to this. And, as others have said, how many here have actually written a book and published it? If you don’t like something, don’t read it. Edit: I do agree with one: lack of representation of culture. But that’s about it.
Jason Melvil 3 years ago
I'm seriously surprised a lot of missing ones here: "You have some superpower, so we automatically hate you and establish something racist against your kind" - for the love of anything this is stupid. If I see my next door neighbor, who is also super attractive and charismatic, has magical super powers that don't seem to be dangerous - I wouldn't try to kill them, I would beg them to let me be their friend (or sidekick). And let's not forget "I have a lover\significant other\spouse who I love more than anything else in the world. They get murdered by the antagonist and I'll go on a journey to avenge them cause they took the thing I care about more than anything in the world - Which I will completely forget about and start a romance with the next attractive main character I see after 5 minutes and I will barely mention the love of my life again". This happens so often it makes my head hurts
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
I get tickled at the "last of their tribe/kind/team" and they have to avenge something. That didn't work before, why are they still the same mindset?
Randolph Croft 3 years ago
One that always bothers me is the villain being brilliant and dedicated, ruthless and sadistic, while the hero is largely none of the above, but somehow still defeats the Big Bad.
thememyselfandi 3 years ago
I was the eldest. Then I found out that I have an older half-brother, making me the middle child. I don't know how I feel about this. Do I fit the middle-child trope?
William Teach 3 years ago
Killing off important characters to Motivate The Main Character. MR Forbes was one of my favorite writers. I read the first 16 books of his series starting with The Forgotten. Most were good, a few "meh." In 17 he killed off the main characters wife, child, adopted child, and several important characters in one fell swoop. I could barely finish. Still haven't finished the series with 18. Perhaps if it was 200 pages, not 400.
Angelynn Wichman 3 years ago
How about the 500-thousands of years old Fae male who falls helplessly in love with the 16-18 year old girl who is magically the chosen one to save the universe? It was good the first 50 times, but give it a rest already. LOL
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
So, Twilight and Harry Potter and True Blood and Game of Thrones. ... And since my 7 godkids are all Potterheads (help me!) I couldn't avoid the "could've been 100-200 pages shorter and still worked" books, and the "bookworm is unlikeable" trope and and and and and.... Yes, I now hate HP. Read DH aloud for the 7th flipping time, and you miss reading journal articles on treatment of skin ulcers.
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
I'm sad now because I have some of these tropes in the book I'm writing, which means it's probably super cringey and everyone would hate it :(
Rebecca McNeil 2 years ago
people use them because they been successful. They are fine if they are done well. Try to make sure you have an original take on them. Look up Jessica Brody. She is an international best seller and has classes that help writers. She has helped me a lot.
Load More Replies... WolfyDragon_82 3 years ago
The thing I hate the most is like in most books,if a girl is the main protagonist,they know that their ‘true love’ likes them yet they still act incredibly oblivious…
lunar eclipse 3 years ago
I also hate the trope where the female lead is cold, distant and mean to everyone except the one she likes. And she doesn’t like them. She’s OBSESSED and overprotective. Also, somehow a naturally amazing fighter. No one knows how to do a roundhouse kick since birth. You gotta learn that
Sleepyhead 3 years ago
The one where the main suspect turns out to be innocent and the real villain was "who you would have never expected". Boring
Johnny Rodriguez 3 years ago
I love these moments when I read a book, wonder, have to take the book down, think about it, turn some pages back, read this and that again and then wonder that I haven't wondered earlier. I love it, when an author plays with my expectations or bias and forces me to think about my perception. My favorite example for this is 'Set this house in order. A romance of souls' from Matt Ruff. It's been five years since I read it and I think that I finally could read it again now..
Sara Khan 3 years ago
I read mostly mm, and I love urban fantasy / pnr, but my gaaaawd why does it always have to be "unheard" of when something ultra special happens?! Fine, it might never have happened, but please, there are a lot of words and other descriptions. So many eyerolls. And appropo MM, no matter if it's a male or female writer, it seems as no one has the slightes incling as to how a"al-s"x works. You can't just wham bam like m/f 'insert P in V'.
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