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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/10020-Purpose-of-Tropes.html
Action/Adventure: February 12, 2020 Issue [#10020]




 This week: Purpose of Tropes
  Edited by: Leger~ Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

The purpose of this newsletter is to help the Writing.com author hone their craft and improve their skills. Along with that I would like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.

This week's Action / Adventure Editor
Leger~ Author Icon


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Letter from the editor



A Purpose for Tropes


Have you ever started a story and your character manages to worm himself into a sticky situation? How to extract him? Or have you thought of a great character but really can't think of a great storyline to use her in? I Google the title of the newsletter "action adventure" and found this fun tropes website. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionAdventureTropes The definition of trope in this case: a common or overused theme or device.

While I agree some of the scenarios are cliche or unusable...some could be pretty funny in a story.
Like these:

Futile Hand Reach --- When something bad happens to a character, the protagonist will reach out towards the the character in question.
Almost Out Of Oxygen --- Imminent death by suffocation is always a good way to ratchet up the tension.
Delivery Guy Infiltration --- If you want to get into the enemy base, just pose as a delivery guy.
No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup --- Any dangerous device or technology owned by a villain is one-of-a-kind; there are no design notes, no prototypes, and no backup copies.
Drool Hello --- The first inkling that a monster is above you? That yucky liquid splashing over your shoulders...
Paper-Thin Disguise --- An extremely transparent disguise that anybody in their right mind could see through, yet the on-screen characters can't.
Removing The Earpiece --- When an agent or operative removes their communication earpiece, they're going to disobey an order, go rogue, or say something "off the record."
Shoot The Fuel Tank --- In fiction, shooting a fuel tank makes it explode.

So next time you take on a super-villian, remove your earpiece and blow him to smithereens.

This week's question: Which trope was your favorite? Have you used these?
How did you use that in your writing?
Answer below *Down* Editors love feedback! *Heart*



Editor's Picks

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"Cat" Burglar Alert Open in new Window. (13+)
A burglar robs the wrong house
#2211456 by Lornda Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: “I see you met Pinky. How are you feeling, dear?”

A woman limped into the living room with a tray in her hand. The teacups rattled and slid as she placed it on the cluttered coffee table. A piece of long grey hair hung in her eyes as she blinked and stared at her guest. She sat in a large lazy-boy chair, swiping her hand across her forehead to move the loose hair.

“What do you mean . . . how do I feel? I’m tied up.”


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2212506 by Not Available.

Excerpt: --I had no job and nowhere to go. My appearance was that of an ordinary human, and despite my many utterances that I was human because of all I did, in reality, words never changed me from robot to human.

 
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The Bell Witch Cave Mystery Open in new Window. (13+)
Kath and Amy wondered, "Is the cave haunted?" In the cover of darkness, they snuck back...
#1826198 by Jeannie Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Kath and Amy heard many ghost stories of the Bell Witch Cave growing up in Brentwood, Tennessee. Now old enough to go there themselves, they packed up Kath's Volkswagen Jetta and took off for a weekend of fun.

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Le Duc de Montblanc Open in new Window. (18+)
a duke attends a fateful royal ball… a 2019 Quill Honorable Mention Winner
#2185257 by Jim Hall Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Pierre LeBeau, le Capitaine, Duc de Montblanc, loved the way he looked in his military uniform. The gold braid on his epaulets twinkled in the candlelight as it shimmied when he turned his shoulders to-and-fro. The fine cut of his jaw and his face’s delicate bone structure contrasted with his narrow waist and broad shoulders. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be the best dressed and most handsome man at the royal ball. Why even the king couldn’t compete with his looks. That was part of the reason he was going tonight. That and he had been ordered to attend.

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Words for Snow Open in new Window. (13+)
Isa and Jack are trapped in a winter of their own making.
#2143760 by K Renée Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Rigid as the mountains rising just beyond her view, Isa stood upon the layers of snow covering the north field, turned the thin band of gold in her mouth, and watched the new fall cascade down at a sharp angle, blown by the same wind that tried to bend her. Like this endless winter tried to bend her, scrape her down. She wouldn’t let it, would ignore that shadow, would keep her gaze focused outward, toward the boundary as she had for hours—or days. Her husband was here, in the snow, the unearthly mist, the clouds and wind. In the ring that kept her mouth moist.

 
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Where Things Croak 'Lurg!' in the Night Open in new Window. (18+)
Something creepeth amongst the woods, so take heed, innocent one, for the sound of "Lurg!"
#2212163 by Dalimer Corwyn Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Nostrils of a prisoner flared from the intake of thick dust. A hellish flare contained within a hearth gave more heat than visibility to the dank chamber. Time was an essence that was lost to him, for he knew not how long he was detained in the steel cage.

What little memories he could scrape from his fractured mind were but snapshots of a past of a life that led to a tragic accident, where he (the driver) lost control of his truck on an icebound road, and fishtailed toward a yellow hazard sign proclaiming “Warning Icy Road Conditions” propped before the edge of a cliff.


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Dinner with Alfonzo Open in new Window. (18+)
There are more than strings that are attached with a prospectful business dinner.
#2212053 by Dalimer Corwyn Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: A light clinking of silverware against glass plates only helped the ambiance of light conversation floating about the restaurant.

Theodore "Teddy" Wilkins sat before Alfonzo Mitchell, head CEO of Central Dynamix Industries, a head technological company dealing in communications software for a huge range of businesses that stretched from universities and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and even the military. The man who sat before Teddy had a net worth that would take most of the American middle class population to work three lifetimes and still not make it. And Ted was in his company. It was like seeing a god face-to-face.



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The Writer's Cramp Open in new Window. (13+)
Write the best poem or story in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPS!
#333655 by Sophurky Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Each day around 12pm NOON WDC time, one of our dedicated volunteer judges will judge the previous day's entries and post a writing prompt.

 
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Ask & Answer


This week's question: Which trope was your favorite? Have you used these?

Answer below *Down* Editors love feedback! *Heart*

Last month's question: What tricks do you use to trim the fat?


GeminiGem🐾 Author Icon replied: Thank you for covering the subject of how much description to include. When I am reviewing short stories, I usually end up asking the author to expand their descriptions in key areas a bit. Imagination is all well and good, but just saying there is a cabin in the woods when it is the focal point of the action isn't quite enough. In my own writing, I struggle with describing how a character looks because I find the narrative of, "he was six feet tall, had sandy hair, and blue eyes" to be really distracting. I'd rather hear that he was able to reach such and such from his six-foot advantage, or something like that, worked into the story.

Quick-Quill Author Icon answered: I'm always deleting the words like: the, that, was, were and went. My editors seem to want to put the first two back into my sentences. I ask, read it both ways. Is there any difference? If not cut it.

Thank you for your feedback! It is much appreciated!

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