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36 book tropes, each with a reel you can make today.

Every trope has a plain definition, opening lines for a video, and a maker with that trope already filled in.

Romance and romantasy

  • Enemies to lovers

    Enemies to lovers is a romance trope in which two characters start out opposed, as rivals, opponents or sworn enemies, and fall in love as the story forces them to see each other clearly.

  • Friends to lovers

    Friends to lovers is a romance trope in which two long-time friends realise their feelings have changed, and must risk the friendship to find out if it can be more.

  • Forced proximity

    Forced proximity is a trope in which two characters are made to share a space, such as a road trip, a snowed-in cabin or a mission, so they cannot avoid each other.

  • Only one bed

    Only one bed is a trope in which two characters who are not yet together must share a single bed, turning forced closeness into tension.

  • Fake dating

    Fake dating is a romance trope in which two characters pretend to be a couple for a practical reason, and the pretence slowly becomes real.

  • Grumpy and sunshine

    Grumpy and sunshine is a romance trope that pairs a gruff, guarded character with a warm, cheerful one, so each softens or steadies the other.

  • Slow burn

    Slow burn is a romance trope in which attraction builds gradually over most of the book, with the first kiss or confession held back until late.

  • Second chance romance

    Second chance romance is a trope in which former partners meet again years later and must face what ended things the first time.

  • He falls first

    He falls first is a romance trope in which the male lead is in love long before the heroine notices, and shows it through what he does.

  • Forbidden love

    Forbidden love is a trope in which a relationship is barred by family, law, duty or rank, so being together carries a real cost.

  • Marriage of convenience

    Marriage of convenience is a trope in which two characters marry for a practical reason, such as money, safety or an inheritance, and fall in love afterwards.

  • Childhood friends

    Childhood friends is a trope in which two people who grew up together find their bond changing into romance as adults.

  • Rivals to lovers

    Rivals to lovers is a trope in which two characters competing for the same prize, such as a job, a title or a trophy, fall for each other along the way.

  • Touch her and die

    Touch her and die is a trope in which a dangerous or powerful lead becomes fiercely protective of the heroine and makes clear that harming her has consequences.

  • Who did this to you

    Who did this to you is a trope moment in which a character finds the person they love hurt and asks, with quiet fury, who is responsible.

  • Secret royal

    Secret royal is a trope in which a character hides, or does not know, that they are royalty, and the truth changes every relationship around them.

  • Love triangle

    A love triangle is a trope in which one character is torn between two possible partners, and the choice drives the plot.

  • Age gap

    Age gap is a romance trope in which the two adult leads are separated by a notable difference in age, which shapes how they and others see the relationship.

  • Small town romance

    Small town romance is a setting-led trope in which the love story unfolds in a close community where everyone knows everyone.

  • Brother's best friend

    Brother's best friend is a romance trope in which the heroine falls for her brother's closest friend, a relationship both of them believe is off limits.

  • Workplace romance

    Workplace romance is a trope in which colleagues, or a boss and an employee, fall for each other while trying to keep it out of the office.

  • Arranged marriage

    Arranged marriage is a trope in which families or rulers decide a match, and the couple must find out whether love can follow the wedding.

  • Amnesia

    Amnesia is a trope in which a character loses their memory, and must work out who they were and whom they can trust.

  • Opposites attract

    Opposites attract is a romance trope in which two people with clashing personalities, habits or backgrounds are drawn together by their differences.

  • Single parent

    Single parent is a romance trope in which one lead is raising a child alone, so falling in love means letting someone into the whole family.

  • Bodyguard romance

    Bodyguard romance is a trope in which a protector and the person they guard fall for each other, although the job forbids it.

  • Fated mates

    Fated mates is a trope in which two characters are bound to each other by magic or destiny, whether or not they want the bond.

Fantasy and adventure

  • Found family

    Found family is a trope in which unrelated characters, often outcasts, form a bond as close as family and choose to protect one another.

  • Morally grey hero

    A morally grey hero is a lead who does harmful or ruthless things for reasons the reader can understand, so they are neither clearly good nor clearly evil.

  • The chosen one

    The chosen one is a fantasy trope in which a character is singled out by prophecy, birth or power to face a threat no one else can.

  • Reluctant hero

    A reluctant hero is a lead who does not want the task in front of them and takes it on only because no one else will or can.

  • Hidden identity

    Hidden identity is a trope in which a character conceals who they really are, and the story builds toward the moment the truth comes out.

  • Magic school

    Magic school is a fantasy trope set in an academy that trains students in magic, with lessons, rivalries and secrets inside its walls.

  • Heist crew

    Heist crew is a trope in which a group of specialists, each with one skill, is assembled to pull off a theft that should be impossible.

Mystery and thriller

  • Unreliable narrator

    An unreliable narrator is a storyteller whose account the reader learns not to trust, because they lie, forget or misread what happened.

  • Locked room mystery

    A locked room mystery is a crime story in which the act seems impossible, because it happened in a place no one could enter or leave.