Story Lab: TVTropes

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What is a trope?
A trope tool writers use that is a story telling device or convention.  It is an easy way for writers to describe things that the reader will quickly understand.  Below are a few examples of tropes.

The One Steve Limit:
This is an omnipresent trope, or one that is used so much that the reader does not even notice it.  The trope says that no story should have two or more characters with the same or similar name.  For  example: If there is a Steve, then no other character will have the name Steve, Steven, Stephen, or even Stu.  This is considered a break from reality.  Think of a class room, there is usually a couple of people named Sara or Mike.

The Great Big Book of Everything
This is an "information desk" (exposition) trope.  The purpose of the book is to supply a character with knowledge at the right time in order to push the story forward.  It will always appear when needed by a character.  A good example is The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, it describes the entire universe in detail for Arthur.

All For Nothing
This is an older than feudalism trope.  According to TVTropes classification that means the trope has been around since the invention of the Greek alphabet (800 BC-467 AD).  This trope can be found on the Ramayana trope page.  Their example of all for nothing is Rama exiling Sita while pregnant with twins after he rescues her from Ravana.