Forum: Author Hangout

Okay, in that case, I'll go first. I'd JUST finished detailing this in another thread, and was hoping not to take over yet another conversation thread, since I've always been criticized for killing every thread I participate in.

I've always been partial to the 'sacrificial hero' trope, where the protagonist is trying accomplish something bigger than himself, and once he realizes the odds against them, has to reevaluate their priorities, deciding saving his family and accomplishing something is better than waffling, doing nothing.

I'm also a fan of the activist protagonist, again, one who's not satisfied sitting on the sidelines, so they act based on their internal moral compass (i.e. not a useful trope for your dad/underage incest story). Though I've done it a time or three. I guess that's also a 'man-on-a-mission' trope.

But, given the direction SOL has been heading, I'm guessing this thread is already pretty much dead at this point. So, yes, I've apparently killed my own discussion thread.

I've always been criticized for killing every thread I participate in.

Does that make you a darling? :-)

I'd consider that a 'forbidden love' trope, or at least a 'forbidden-love' variant. As it's not necessary for the gay man/woman to make physical love with the others, as most girls love having a trusted gay man they can 'dish' with, so it's more 'open-ended' than limiting.

The open-ended relationship is a separate trope, though technically it would fall under the 'experimental' relationships. Again, using that trope as a guide, there's no guaranteeing how it'll work out. After all, as has been repeatedly, while a two-person relationship is considered stable, a three-person relationship always has the 'odd-man' out, as there's usually a stable two-person relationship with an 'outlier'. So if they spend much time separated from each other, the core two-person relationship is likely to move on, with the couple pairing off (the three-legged stool analogy).

And like most story tropes, you can mix and match whichever you want, as they're all merely story concepts, not complete plots, and thus you can vary them however much you want (i.e. complete creative freedom).

Of course, three-way relationship, while unusual, have just as long a history, even long-term, 'permanent' three-way relationships, as gay or lesbians have had throughout history. Just because they're less common, doesn't make them any less valid OR long-lasting. You just rarely hear as much about them in the mainstream media.

I'd consider that a 'forbidden love' trope, or at least a 'forbidden-love' variant.

Well, I don't know of a list of tropes to reference against, but as soon as you add 'forbidden' it brings to mind guilt and/or opprobrium, and I'm not thinking of either of those.

the three-legged stool analogy

?? As long as the CG stays within the triangle defined by the legs, a three-legged stool is very stable. Three non-coincident, non-collinear points define a plane, so a three-legged stool never rocks. Four-legged stools over specify the plane, leading to a lot of work to overcome instability.

The 'forbidden love' is more akin to Romeo & Juliet, but guilt or opprobrium isn't a requirement, as 'forbidden' love can also include ANY unusual pairing, whether it's gay, interracial, a mixed-class or a mixed-background story, no matter how it pays out. Again, tropes are simply proven, well-established story concepts, so any author can put their own spin on them. Thus, as simple story concepts, there's NO copyrights involved.

These are all literary definitions, so I pay more attention to the more literary distinctions, as that's long been my particular focus.

As far as 'three-legged' stools, that was a long-time analogy, which was never very appropriate, as it was equally used to support and attack those stories. So, consider the well-worn milking stool analogy, where after years of heavy use, they are more likely to topple compared to a more stable bench (i.e. if a single leg breaks, the other three will generally continue to stabilize it).

Again, I didn't invent the ancient analogy, just referencing it.

Yet once again, I've beat yet another discussion thread to death, so ...

Yeah, those all suit each other particularly well.

Again, in terms of specific story tropes, those are: the 'self-made man', the 'benefactor' and the 'evil-doer' tropes (as the evil-does trope typically focuses on the evil-doer ultimately being punished, as those who don't, generally fit under the 'anti-hero' trope.

And again, you can easily tell I've spent WAY too long researching these details over the years!