NaNoWriMo & TV Tropes

So, I've been wasting lots of time better spent actually planning my novel by looking at the tropes that apply to my characters/plot/setting/etc. I'm still counting it as research since I plan on both parodying and embracing fantasy cliches in my NaNovel, but even so...

Who else has wasted hours of their life finding their novel's tropes, and what tropes are they?

I've been looking at the morality tropes section for a bit now, but haven't actually gone all in with describing my Nano with TVTropes like I've done before. Curse you, now you've got me sucked into it again. *fist shake*

I look through them for ideas for characters. So far, I'd say the one most defined by her tropes is the blood knight. The second is the boistrous bruiser girl who likes explosions.

Nano Tip: NOVELING AND TVTROPES NEVER MIX. It's like mixing two ingredients together to make the most poisonous substance known to mankind. Yes. BAD.

'And they [the critics] asked him, "Master, what is the greatest commandment of them all?" for they were trying to trick him. And Baty replied, "Nano, nano, I say to you, the greatest commandment is this: You must shun TVTropes above all else." and the critics plotted to crash his website, because he did not fall for their trope.'

I applaud your endeavour! My NaNo catchphrase has been 'Spanking The Cliche Since 2002' since... well, 2003. Welcome to the club!

Check out the fanfiction tropes, if you get the chance. They're often more writing-specific, and include plenty of pitfalls that beset original fiction as well as fanfic.

I sometimes use it for character but I don't do it TOO much. And a lot of that is just because one of my character like looking up weird crap up on his iPad when he's in the Character Coffeehouse so he needed to tell everyone the EXACT definition of a type V antihero because that's kinda what he is. God my character like weird stuff.

Most of my novels involve taking well known tropes or archetypes and combining them in odd ways or just outright subverting them.

I look around TV Tropes a lot not specifically for my writing as much as in general while I'm writing. It's very helpful.

Damn it. Just looking at this post compelled me to type in the site... I'm about to go waste hours with mindless clicking on links.

Wish me luck!

(LOVE this website, for writing, reading, and just pure entertainment)

I'm purposely ignoring the TV Tropes site, because I know I'm working with a few common tropes, and I'm trying not to care.

And apparently I have an inability to edit my posts. *sigh*

See, if I start looking at the TV Tropes site, then I will start questioning what little I have of my plot.

That site is crack on a monitor, srsly. It's probably worse than porn, not that I would know.

Helpful for rustling up archetypes to fill your novel needs, but also unhelpful for predicting (and repeating, parodying, deconstructing, mercilessly mocking) every idea you have ever come up with, or ever will.

I've never really used TVTropes in a way that applies to my writing, I've always just enjoyed reading trope lists for shows or games or whatever ^.^
Still end up wasting a hell of a lot of time, though xD

I'm not looking, because it's a procrastination thing. But I know I'm torturing the poor Fourth Wall, my lead is mostly Genre Savvy, and she's got a sort of Hot for Teacher thing going on for my other lead.

Oh, and there's some Apocalypse How (Ragnarok), and some Tomato in the Mirror (I think). And the omnipresent Ho Yay and Les Yay -- apparently I can't write a novel without homoerotic subtext. Oh, fandom, what have you done to my brainmeat? And there's a Cool Car. Possibly some Nice Hats, but I'm not sure yet.

Aaaaand I'm off to make a list of tropes that apply to my novel. *facepalm*

This year's novel's going to have:

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Stable Time Loop
You Can't Fight Fate
You Already Changed The Past

I hope this stuff hasn't been TOO done to death, because I felt so clever and everything when I was coming up with it. Sigh...TV Tropes will ruin your life.

My novel has a Five Man Band becoming Fallen Heroes going up against a Corrupt Church. =D

TV Tropes is on my favorites bar between 'Twitter' and 'Amazon'. That should show you the level of importance that I give it.

Every time I hop on TV Tropes, I have to remind myself that nothing is original anymore and not to let the tropes page get to me. Sometimes, when I know that I'm going to use a particular trope, I'll look at the page and see what the most common use is and if there's any way that I can deconstruct or avert it. Mostly though, I just laugh at my own story and keep writing anyway.

This year we've got: Jerkass Gods/Have You Seen My God?, Brought Down to Normal, Ancient Conspiracy, Secret Police, and Fate Worse than Death. Just to name a few.

i've probably spent months on tvtropes. yes, months.
this year's novel is going to include (amongst others):
All Love Is Unrequited
Anachronic Order
Angsty Surviving Twin
Animal Motifs
Badass Longcoat
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes
Coming Of Age Story
Dead Little Sister
Drowning Your Sorrows
Emo Teen
Forgets To Eat
Four Element Ensemble
Free Range Children
Friendless Background
GhostLights
A God Am I
Go Mad From The Revelation (which is both inverted and then subverted. yeah.)
Growing Up Sucks
Hands Off Parenting
Hearing Voices
He's Just Hiding
Hikikomori
The Insomniac
Lonely Doll Girl
Mad Love/Love Makes You Crazy (well, crazier in this case)
Manly Tears (with bonus aversion!)
Melancholy Moon
Misunderstood Loner With A Heart Of Gold (...or the subversion)
No Medication For Me
Parental Abandonment
Plucky Girl (well, guy...)
Promotion To Parent
The Reason You Suck Speech
Seers/My Significance Sense Is Tingling
Toxic Friend Influence
Unlucky Childhood Friend
Unreliable Narrator/Unreliable Expositor
Used To Be A Sweet Kid
Wild Child

...good lord, i need to STOP. that's not even half of it.

I haven't been to the tropes site since last October, but thank you for this reminder, I am about to squandor immense amount of time perusing it, hoping for an idea! I need something to give me a push!