Hi, I’m Greta.
I love reading romance stories. And so the idea behind Trope Theory is as simple as it is self-serving:
- I give you the most practical, in-depth romance writing resources I can possibly think of, collect, and curate.
- You write the best romance story you can possibly think of.
- I then get to read said excellent story.
Did I just invent a romance shitting unicorn?
Why yes, I believe I did.
❤️💩🦄
Romance writing is harder than it should be.
I know because I spent twenty-five years struggling with it. I'd write myself into the dumbest corners, then spent twice as long searching for advice that wasn't there. All I got were confusing-yet-unspecific takes to 'make the tension sizzle' or 'make readers feel the chemistry.' Cool, cool, cool. But how? What are the actual mechanisms? Where's the theory?
So I did what any reasonable person would do: I abandoned all pretence of finishing my current draft and spent two years researching why romance writing education is so broken. Along the way, I lost my sleep, my mind, and finally, my patience.
It's time to fix this mess.
Trope Theory is the romance writing reference library our genre has never had.
It has one goal: helping you find real answers to your romance writing questions, so you can get back to writing your story. With help from the community, we'll collect and catalogue everything that's worth passing on, and build the rest from scratch. That's right, we're finally building a legacy, baby.
Oh, and did I mention it's free? Not kind of free. Wantonly free. Like a shirtless duke galloping bareback through a thunderstorm, about to give his heart to...
Well, that bit is up to you.
But if you want to stay in the loop about what's happening here, you can join the library to get an email when there’s a new post. And if you want to actively shape the new theories I'm building here, being a free member also lets you read some posts early. That way you can comment and help iron out kinks (or add them) before the posts go live for everyone.
Romance writing can be lonely, confusing, intimidating and frustrating. I’ll do my best to make Trope Theory a real antidote to that, so you can spend less time worrying and more time enjoying the fun bits.
In the meantime, I’m rooting for you.
—G
P.S. Nobody’s checking whether you uphold your end of the unicorn trade. But if this page helps you in some small way get across the finish line, send me a link when the deed is done, and I’ll absolutely add your most excellent romance story to my monstrous TBR. Good luck!
P.P.S. Trope Theory runs on collective wisdom. Please consider sharing your knowledge with all current and future romance writers.