Tropes: those tiresome, overused, stock filler elements--whether they're characters, plot twists, or setting details--that everyone says you shouldn't use. And we all know why: tropes are predictable, they're unoriginal, and we've seen each of them one too many times. Make that ten too many times.
But those little buggers sure have a way of creeping into a story without us writers noticing it. Why? They're expected; we've seen them so many times that we assume that's how the story is supposed to go, and a lot of times we don't even realize it's a trope.
So I'm going to have fun bashing some common story cliches and hopefully helping all of us recognize and remove these stale tropes from our writing. I'm starting today with "the aged mentor."
But those little buggers sure have a way of creeping into a story without us writers noticing it. Why? They're expected; we've seen them so many times that we assume that's how the story is supposed to go, and a lot of times we don't even realize it's a trope.
So I'm going to have fun bashing some common story cliches and hopefully helping all of us recognize and remove these stale tropes from our writing. I'm starting today with "the aged mentor."