Tropes vs Cliches: How Can You Tell the Difference?

Many people get crossed up when they try to explain the difference between a trope and a cliche. They’ve been confused for each other for so long that they’re like a Molly and a Polly at the party, long-suffering sigh at the ready because they know someone’s going to mix them up. But the difference between them can be summed up in this single picture.

A trope is a story type with universal appeal.

A cliche is something you see so often you’re sick of it.

A trope is a tried and true story element that people like, and nearly every story has one or several. A cliche just means something has been used too much. It’s often just a line or a way of saying things, and isn’t necessarily a story type. The only thing they share is they are both commonly used in fiction. An expertly-applied trope can strengthen any story, whereas cliches only weaken anything.

Now, you can use a story type in a cliched way. For instance, if you use a trope but don’t make it unique or put a fresh twist on it, it can feel boring. A Cinderella trope is when an extraordinary man falls for an ordinary woman. But Pretty Woman, 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight all use this same trope despite being very different stories. In fact, Pretty Woman does it so well that it’s almost become a trope of its own for a high class gentleman to fall for a call girl.

It’s a common misconception that tropes are only used in romance, because those are some of the most well-known ones (enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, only one bed, bad boy + nice girl, star-crossed lovers). However, tropes can be found in all genres from mystery to science fiction and yes (gasp!) even in some literary fiction. Popular movies, like Star Wars, stack trope upon trope upon trope. Why? Because the main difference between a trope and a cliche is that a trope is something people want. It’s a type of story or character pairing people are drawn back to again and again because they like seeing variations of it.

So should you be embarrassed if your story contains a trope? Absolutely not! Just make sure you put your own fresh, unique spin on any trope you take, and you’ll have a sure winner.