Invert the tropes

The word trope has evolved and expanded in meaning over time. Originally it came from the classical Greek concept of rhetoric—the art of effective communication. Tropes in that context are all the ways that a writer or speaker can use nonliteral language to get their ideas across and evoke the response they want. More recently, however, the word trope has come to describe certain conventions of fictional genres. (Source: Grammarly)

It's an indication of the sophistication of speculative fiction that so many tropes are now seen as clichéd, over-used and predictable. I've listed some of them below:

• The Chosen One – a person who must fulfil a purpose and who carries the responsibility for its completion

• The Lost Heir – someone of low status becomes high status, their growth is the focus of the plot, kept under a spell perhaps? True name is hidden from them?

• Good versus Evil – the protagonist and antagonist are at either end of the ethics scale while other characters may be morally grey, testing both characters

• The Prophecy – a useful maguffin that predicts the impact of a given character on the future, or it may be an artefact (or both).

• The Reluctant Hero – the protagonist is unwilling, perceives themselves unfit/unable to fulfil their role, often hailing from a low status background where they’ve developed said skills

• The Dark Lord  - super powerful, the antagonist is arguably the key figure here, the protagonist must defeat them but can they succeed?

• Forbidden Magic – set in a location where magic is prohibited for given reasons (seen as evil, harmful, responsible for past problems – users must remain hidden, risk discovery

• The Magic Item – the precious artefact (or historical) is central to the story, providing answers and solutions to overcome the main challenge in the story – or to make it worse. Might involve solving puzzles

• The Quest – a character (or several) must go on a journey which involves great risk to complete a mission, often obtaining something valuable in the process - This narrative framework provides a structure for a hero to face trials and obstacles, fostering personal growth and self-discovery. Key elements often include a call to adventure, a band of companions, a wise mentor, symbolic tests, and the ultimate achievement of the goal, leading to a transformed hero who returns to their world with newfound wisdom or power. 

The more recent trend is to invert these tropes, to turn them on their heads, do the opposite to what happened originally. It's a great starting point for a story! Working from the concept of the inverted trope, you can tell stories which confound the expected, deliver something original. With that in mind, I've created a few 60 second videos that invert the tropes and offer some inspiration for stories!

In this one, I've turned the tables on the classic trope - The Chosen One.

In this one, I flip that classic trope - the magical artefact.

In this one, I turn the tables on another classic trope - The Quest!

Last but not least, another transposed trope - The Reluctant Hero

Inspiration often comes from a tiny seed sown into the imagination. I hope my ideas in these videos perform some useful propagation and yield a valuable harvest! 😉🤔

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