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Hellooo, everybody! If you missed the TSC portrait reveal from a couple of weeks ago,
or if you loved it and want some more, all of the portraits are now available on my website. The
link is listed below, feel free to check it out. I've also included some teaser quotes, so you can
get to know the cast of The Savior's Champion a little bit better. Additionally, April is almost
here and not only does that mean that the release month of The Savior's Champion is right around the
corner, it also means that it's time for an Instagram challenge. My amazing street team
whipped up the TSC challenge, it lasts for a full month. And it is the perfect Instagram challenge
for anyone who's excited about The Savior’s Champion, or excited about books period. I've got
a link to the challenge listed below. Be sure to participate, because it's gonna be legit. A huge
thank you to Tiffany Hackett and the rest of my team for putting this together, you are awesome.
Anywho, you guys have been asking for months for me to talk tropes, so that's what you're getting this week.
Today I am listing my all time favorite tropes, and on Wednesday, I'm telling you which
tropes make me want to seek refuge in the sweet surrender of death. Now a lot of people use the
terms trope and cliche interchangeably. However, they're not exactly the same thing. A trope is
a significant recurring theme or concept within a storyline. A cliche is a trope that has been used
and abused to the point where it's predictable and unoriginal. In other words, a cliche is a trope,
but a trope isn't necessarily a cliche. The difference is in the execution. Additionally,
it's nearly impossible to write a story that doesn't include some kind of trope, because there
are thousands in existence, and a lot of them play directly into the act of storytelling. So
with that considered, please keep in mind that while I love the following tropes, my feelings
about them change significantly in a negative way if they're written as cliches. With that said,
here are the ten tropes that give me life and fill me with all the feels. Number One (1): Forbidden romance.
The fact that this is number one on the list should surprise no one. There is nothing
better than two people who aren't supposed to be together, but they just can't fight it. And for
the record, I'm not talking about a romance that's forbidden because one of them's happily married,
and the other is just a side piece. That's not a romance, that's just two assholes ruining
someone's life. I'm talking about two people who are not allowed to be together for some ungodly
reason, but they risk it all anyway. It's not the scandal that makes forbidden romance so great,
although it helps a little, it's the fact that the drama exists on the outside of the relationship.
Conflict is necessary to drive the plot, but when the conflict is within the relationship, like
abuse, infidelity, or unhealthy communication, that's not entertaining, that's just unbearable
to read. But in a forbidden romance, the conflict isn't the way they treat one another, it's the
fact that society is preventing them from being together. God damn you cruel world! This makes
it so easy to root for them. You just want them to fight against the odds and be together. Let
them be happy, that's all we ask. Number Two (2): Enemies to lovers. To be clear, I don't like it
when two characters start off hating each other to the point of dysfunction, cuz that's gross. But I
love it when they start off bickering, getting on each other's nerves, and then slowly they realize
they're perfect for each other. I honestly don't know why I love this so much, but I really, really
do. The minute two characters meet and get off on the wrong foot, I'm thinking “Please, let them
get together. I need this!” And this whole thing is even better when the banter is on point. When
they're throwing burns at each other, my first thought is “Damn,” and then my second thought
is “Now, kiss.” Well don't kiss now, kiss later, once you've realized that you're soulmates. I'll
be waiting right here. Number Three (3): The witty sociopath. I know this is controversial, but we
all have our problematic faves, okay. I appreciate mental illness and fiction in general because I
myself suffer from mental illness. But I only enjoy it, if it's represented well. I'd say 75%
of the time it's totally wrong. If the person is depressed, they just cry constantly. If a person
is psychotic, they laugh maniacally. But I love it when mental illness is well written and in depth,
and sociopathy is probably my favorite. I don't need them to play a particular role. They could be
an unconventional good guy, they could be an anti hero, gray, villain, it doesn't matter. I just
really enjoy the interpretation and combination of intelligence, wit, and a lack of empathy. Number
Four (4): Friendship betrayal. Everyone talks about writing strong friendships and don't get
me wrong friendship is great, but betrayal is better. When a friend stabs the MC right in the
back it pisses me off so fucking much, and I love it. Et tu, Brute? I don't know exactly what it is
about this that I adore, but I think it's because it's super relatable. Who hasn't been completely
screwed over by a friend? If you're raising your hand, you've probably been played a lot, and just
haven't figured it out yet. And betrayal is often such a juicy moment in a book, it throws the plot
for a loop, it tugs at your heartstrings, it makes you want to rage. I just want fictional friends to
fuck each other over. Is that so wrong? Yeah, it probably is. Number Five (5): The sound family.
This trope is in a lot of books, especially adventures, and I think it's adorable. I love
a big old group of misfits, a bunch of different people comin’ together. Maybe they bump heads at
first, but by the end of it, they're one big happy family. Isn't that precious? I think this is an
effective way to put a variety of very diverse, unique people into one story. Whenever a found
family element is done well, each person serves their own purpose. They have their own story,
they represent something different and original. Plus there are so many different relationships
in the group for you to experience and gush over. There are specific friendships, there's rivalries,
there’s romance. Gotta love the heart flutters, it just melts my cold, frigid black heart. Number
Six (6): Is a very specific trope, and I don't know the name of it. There are two characters,
typically who have a lot of banter and poke fun of each other. Maybe their love interests, maybe
their friends who love to hate on each other, I don't know. But one of them calls the other by
some kind of nickname or title, and they never use the character's actual name. Then suddenly,
danger is afoot! Their friend or their love interest might get hurt. And in that moment,
the nickname goes out the window, and they scream that character's first name. “Kyle,
look out!” I live for that shit. It's like using that character's name is their way of saying
“I love you” romantically or platonically, who’s to say? I eat it up. I eat it up like
cheese. Number Seven (7): Cranky McGrumpy Pants, adopts a ball of sunshine. You all know what I'm
talking about. There's a cynical, hardened character, they've been dealt a mean hand,
they've traveled a hard road. Now they've got a cinnamon roll following them around, and somehow
this explosion of pixie dust and sparkles becomes their surrogate child, or little brother or
sister. Extra points if the grumpy asshole is also scary as hell. It's just cute, okay? Plus you get
to kill two birds with one stone. The grump gets to showcase another side of their personality,
and the ray of sunshine gets protected. I see no downside. Number Eight (8): The power couple. To
be honest, if the main couple isn't a power couple, I don't wanna read about ‘em. Two
people who are equally badass in different ways, and treat each other accordingly. That's all I
asked for. Why is this so hard to write? Why is it so uncommon? I don't care if one's poor,
and one's rich. Or one's a genius, and one street smart. It's not about making them identical,
it's just about making them equal. They are both strong, powerful and talented, but in different
ways. These make for the best relationships and in turn make them the most entertaining to read
and easiest to ship. Number Nine (9): The villain who doesn't look like a villain. I feel like a lot
of villains are hideous, or grizzled, or overall just really unpleasant to look at. And if they do
manage to be attractive, it's a very dark sinister kind of attractiveness. “Don't let the brooding
good looks fool you, he's evil. You can tell because he's wearing black!” So I love it when
a villain doesn't check these boxes. Maybe they're just really soft or pretty. Maybe they like
unicorns. Maybe they were pink. It's entertaining when the bad guy is someone you would look at and
never think ‘wow, that person's terrifying.’ Instead, you'd look at them and think ‘Awww,
what a sweet old lady’ until she rips your throat out. It just makes sense for the villains to be
as varied and diverse in appearance as the rest of your cast. And Number Ten (10): Teasing the
first kiss. If my ship actually gets to kiss the first time the opportunity is presented, I'm gonna
be fuckin pissed. The build up to the first kiss is one of the best parts of a romance. You can’t
dish it out too early, it ruins it. Think of the first kiss like a big pot of meat sauce.
If you just microwave some canned crap for thirty seconds, congratulations, your spaghetti sucks.
Instead you carefully combine the ingredients, and you let it cook on the stove for hours and
hours. Every once in a while you take a tiny sip to see if maybe, possibly it’s ready. But no,
we're not there yet. And finally, a million years later you slather your spaghetti with that sauce,
and it's so good and so worth it. Now I'm hungry. But the point still stands. Do not rush the kiss.
If you're not making me wait for it, then I don't want it at all. So that's all I got for you today.
These are my ten favorite tropes in fiction. They give me life, they pay my taxes, they clear
my skin. And this video was too positive for you, stick around for Wednesday when I will be
dishing out the tropes that I hate with a burning passion. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
I post new videos on Mondays and Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
there is a bell down there somewhere. Just click it, and then you will always know when I upload,
and then we can be together forever. If you wanna read an awesome book and have access to
a ton of prizes, pre-order The Savior's Champion and enter my presale giveaway. The link is listed
down below. You better do this. You better do it because you love me, that's why you're here, right?
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