I've been reading the TVTropes site a lot this week.

[conuly]

Intentionally, I might add, though I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse.

All this reading brings me to one crucial question. Is there anything new any of us can do when it comes to telling a story? Because damn if that site isn't insanely comprehensive!

Comments

[ironychan.livejournal.com]

Everything's cliche. That's why I quit writing.

[conuly]

Not interested in starting any new cliches, I take it?

[ironychan.livejournal.com]

There are no new cliches left to start. I can't possibly have anything to say that hasn't been said a million times before until everybody's sick of hearing it, so I quit trying to bother.

[masterflare421.livejournal.com]

*flailings* Whoa. I just need to say something to counter the previous poster.

First, I'm pretty sure that TV Tropes says straight off on the main page that "tropes are not cliches," and instead are things like common patterns, themes, and motifs. Which makes sense, since we see patterns and themes in a lot of areas of our life. The sun always comes up in the morning and sets at night, right? We write what we know, and humans know patterns.

To answer the main point, yes, I think there are new tropes to written. A lot of tropes on that site are actually deleted because they don't have enough examples. Like I wrote in my journal a while back about the trope "Everyone is a Robot" even though I have only seen it used once. That is more or less original, right?

Aside from that, there is what you consider to be using a trope. Tropes can be played straight, but the site also gives a full list of playing with tropes (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayingWithATrope) to make a work seem more original. Or at the very least, to amused, surprise, or baffle an audience.

So yeah. I read TV Tropes as a writer to figure out what I like, what I can do differently, and what I or readers might want to avoid. I find it to be quite a fascinating and useful literary reference.

[ironychan.livejournal.com]

Everything's cliche. That's why I quit writing.

[conuly]

Not interested in starting any new cliches, I take it?

[ironychan.livejournal.com]

There are no new cliches left to start. I can't possibly have anything to say that hasn't been said a million times before until everybody's sick of hearing it, so I quit trying to bother.

[masterflare421.livejournal.com]

*flailings* Whoa. I just need to say something to counter the previous poster.

First, I'm pretty sure that TV Tropes says straight off on the main page that "tropes are not cliches," and instead are things like common patterns, themes, and motifs. Which makes sense, since we see patterns and themes in a lot of areas of our life. The sun always comes up in the morning and sets at night, right? We write what we know, and humans know patterns.

To answer the main point, yes, I think there are new tropes to written. A lot of tropes on that site are actually deleted because they don't have enough examples. Like I wrote in my journal a while back about the trope "Everyone is a Robot" even though I have only seen it used once. That is more or less original, right?

Aside from that, there is what you consider to be using a trope. Tropes can be played straight, but the site also gives a full list of playing with tropes (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayingWithATrope) to make a work seem more original. Or at the very least, to amused, surprise, or baffle an audience.

So yeah. I read TV Tropes as a writer to figure out what I like, what I can do differently, and what I or readers might want to avoid. I find it to be quite a fascinating and useful literary reference.