T: Tropes and travel

I've learned a lot since starting the A to Z blogging challenge. Most of what I've learned has been insightful and inspiring. Alas, I've learned a few things that made me cringe once I applied it to my own writing.

One of those cringe-worthy lessons?

The use of tropes.

If you know what they are, then you're many steps ahead of me. I had to do some research and the first site I landed on was www.tvtropes.org. I clicked around and found myself in the "Topical Tropes" section, specifically reading up on fate and prophecy tropes.

One look at It Sucks to be the Chosen One and I started to cringe. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hide my stories from ever seeing the light of day, or simply hack, hack, and hack some more until any token "tropish" trait was scrubbed from my story.

But why stop at characters? Oh no, tropes can be applied to your overall plot. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I read Sliding Scale of Free Will vs Fate. Aw, crap. If you need to reach me, I'll be in my study, my brain a big pile of mush.

In other happier news, I think it's time to Travel again. My passport needs another stamp and while I want to see a new country, I know Ireland. I know how to get around, what to expect, and where to go. Why would I go somewhere else? I haven't purchased any tickets yet. I keep hoping airfare prices will drop by, oh, five hundred or so dollars.

But let me tell you, after hearing the threat of more snow this weekend, Tahiti sounds fabulous right now. If I ever get there, I'm going to stay in one of these overwater bungalows. I'll likely only go once, so I might as well go big or stay home, right? And yes, I made the photo extra big on purpose.