@@DeadmanRedux It describes the moment after intense fear has passed. Some people tense up so much in the chest area that they will be hardly breathing, sometimes even stop breathing for a moment. When the fear inducing moment has passed, they will take a deep breath and realize they basically been holding their breath.
“Who says the damsel in distress has to be a woman?” Yeah Frodo Baggins threw that gender stereotype right out the window with his helpless little self lmao.
Frodo was helpless a lot, but one doesn't need to be helpless to be the 'damsel' in distress. In 'The Hour of the Dragon' (One of the original Conan the Cimmerian (Barbarian) stories) the damsel in distress trope is flipped. Conan is captured and held in a dungeon chained up where he can't escape, until he's rescued by Zenobia, a small woman with knowledge of weapons, who came with a large dagger and the keys to free him. Later Conan and Zenobia marry.
Yes, finally someone else who realises that Frodo was never a hero in LOTR....always being rescued or literally carried by Sam. Typical upper class sook.
@@stevenhiggins3055 no we do not I call a guy just as much a mother hen as any women if he acts that way, or a woman a prince in shining armor . . . gender really is not that all importend, you get what it is supposed to say
People like to forget that "plot armor" doesn't just mean characters never die. It should refer to characters who are never punished by the story, especially when they repeatedly avoid the consequences of their own bad decisions.
Well, with that definition of plot armor, it looks like all the characters in my screenplay get hit. No one is safe. Almost every character by the end of the screenplay will be hit emotionally, physically, and mentally. I think the main character and his girlfriend/fiancée get hit by all three, but the rest of the characters either only get hit by one or two.
@@sharonefee1426 I think you could view something like how in movies with massive fight scenes multiple times, you might have 1 person that gets barely scratched. Add some stakes to the fight. Maybe have some one get a concussion, lose a finger, have to have an operation to remove a bullet. Or if you don't want to go the injury route you can have them feel shaken from killing someone their first time, maybe they become Nationalist or Racist because of the people they were fighting.
@@ghaithshafie9970 WithCindy (another TH-cam channel) did a skit about YA protagonists and this was referenced (the title is interviewing to be a YA protagonist if you're interested)
In addition to anxiety, there is sleep apnea. Sure, sleep apnea happens during sleep, but if your breathing can be interupted when you're asleep, it can happen when you're awake too.
“Pretty people aren’t realistic” Okay, maybe I’m an optimist, but like aren’t MOST people pretty? Like 11/10s no, but generally aesthetically pleasing, yes? I dunno I feel like the pretty criticism might be coming from a place of self consciousness
Right! Like when I go out, the average amount of people aren't "ugly", besides beauty is different to everyone. Plus size people can be gorgeous, and skinny people don't always have to be models lol.
I mean there are pretty people, gorgeous to add, and have talent and riches and are close to perfect. I would really see someone try to write a character that is closer to perfect and yet still feel as though he or she is the same as others.
i actually love the potential in the damsel in distress trope bc it’s really heartwarming to me for people to go to great lengths to save someone who is helpless, especially at a personal cost or if the person in distress is “useless” in the ableist way society deems someone useless. the message that everyone is deserving of help is important to me 🥺
Agreed! We need to stop pretending that "strong" means "indestructible." If anything, a strong woman who needs help is more humanizing than problematic, and I'm 100% here for it
just realised I was technically a damsel in distress until I met my boyfriend and was able to leave behind a reaaaaally shitty home life. so I definitely am attracted to the trope in general
I don't think there's anything wrong with the trope itself, i think the issue comes from the bad way it's often done, the damsel can't be useless just so the MC or their love interest can save them, they must have merits and strengths and i don't mean physical strength.
I have a real life trauma where I was said damsel in distress and instead of anybody helping me, they crowded around and enjoyed the show.. So I love the concept of someone coming to someone else's aid. I also agree that sometimes its done poorly. The "damsel" can be strong but need aid in a particular moment. Any character can typically be strong but need help at some point.
I thought of just listing down two of my favourite tropes: 1. I don’t want to see more of a bad boy dating good girls. I want to see more bad boys dating bad girls. It’s better of one of them is the MC’s rival, because their lover will always be defending the bad boy/girl, and it makes the bad boy/girl a lot more dislikable. 2. I am a diehard for couples that have one person shorter than the other. It makes their hugs and kisses more adorable, and the taller one of the relationship can even give the smaller one piggyback rides! It’s cute. It’s wholesome as fuck. Thank you for coming to my TED talk 😅 Actually, I’ll put in one more. 3. WE👏NEED👏MORE👏MALE👏DAMSELS👏IN👏DISTRESS!!!!! Well, technically they’re actually called The Damisou in Distress, BUT WE STILL NEED MORE OF IT!!!
Also in reference to number 2. I have a personal vendetta against it purely because I’m a tall lady who tends to date tall people. Like I recognize it can be cute and wholesome but it just reminds me of people telling me I can’t be cute because I’m tall lol
@@engy6763 Oh you know what that sounds kinda cool! I don't think you really need it though, reveals usually happen when they enter some place, like school or work, and they grab all the people's attention.
@@engy6763 What if during that "first person" perspective phase, you're shown how the Character sees themself... like the mirror's one of those "funhouse" mirrors, or some kind of "filter" for their "persona" rather than how they actually appear... Then the reveal can be that a lot of their self-consciousness or self-loathing is what you've seen in those "mirror scenes" (if you draw it out to make a point)... AND let the reveal hit when you're pretty much forced to take a "Third person" perspective for the view... Thus drilling home to the audience/readership that the MC has serious personal image issues... Not (currently) a serious comic artist, but it's a thought I've had rolling around a while... ;o)
@@thatb1h855 Well, for one part, it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be about body dysmorphia or even related to self-loathing... I mean, it's possible, we could use the same technique in storytelling to INFLATE the ego-view and let the "reveal" be about the subtler little flaws or whatever that the MC doesn't admit... freckles or a tad overweight (whatever)... SO the reader/audience gets the idea that the MC has this "over-polished" ideal of him or her self... AT least, for the first few episodes/issues... My big "stumbling block" has been how to "encode" so the audience can pick up on this expressionism/language... I mean... Without being too disconnected, it has to start off "training" the readers to understand when they're getting the "idealized" view from the first person perspective, and when they're getting "reality" summarily dropped on them... TOO jarring (and it should be jarring) and they'll likely "turn off" or "tune out"... THEN it's going to be all about "staying consistent" while we (artist/writers) work first to flesh out the MC's dissonant views and impression, and then slowly evolve toward some maturity... or potentially a self-destruction. I think...no. I KNOW it could be a fair collection of really cool stories told through really cool imagery and art. I just don't entirely have a great grasp on how to pull it off without pissing just about everybody off... AND I seem to be truly gifted at pissing people off. ;o)
One of my pet peeves is when ppl criticize a book for having a trope they don’t like, as if the mere existence of a trope that you happen to dislike is a sign of bad writing. Ppl should be better about recognizing the difference between purely subjective preferences and more objective standards of quality.
I think it's fine as long as you recognise that you're biased against it. Criticisms of books are subjective in any case, so it's totally valid to dislike a book for having elements that aren't to your taste and rate them accordingly. What's not okay is when people use it as a measure for how *other* people should feel or, in a spoiler-free/lite review, pointing out that personal preference as a reason for you liking something more or less.
i agree. i normally hate the love triangle because you know who she will choose and the other guy end up alone. but i once read a book where it was actually well written in my opinion. i didnt know who she will choose and the other guy gets also a girlfriend. and all become friends!
Bro same I was just thinking that as I scrolled through the comment section and somehow just now found your comment. I love how Rapunzel saved him instead of him saving her, well I guess they both kinda saved each other but I just love the character development and stuff.
@@piperwren7732 Yeah, they saved each other. That's one of my favorite things, actually. Neither of them were infallible and they both needed help at times. Their willingness to sacrifice for each other is what ultimately allowed them to have a happy ending.
@@snekysneks yeah, it’s my favorite Disney movie. I like that it wasn’t love at first sight like other Disney movies and they actually got to develop a relationship and that Eugene was a criminal just wanting Money since he had nothing as a kid but then met Rapunzel and slowly became a better Person for her And became his New Dream. And I don’t know why I just wrote a whole paragraph on a Disney relationship created 12 years ago at 11:57 PM at night when I have school tomorrow. Also I’m like a teenager I don’t know why I’m so invested in a Disney Couple at my age💀
I'm just guessing here... BUT maybe there's a different way to write it in, without blatantly using the horrible line verbatim... "She suddenly remembered to breathe again..." or similar... The point being, there's more than one way to subtly indicate anxiety creeping up on someone without quite submitting to mindless repetition. ;o)
I was getting angry to see the "mean girl trope" in the list... Then I realized what I hate is how too many authors use this trope as if it meant the mean, stupid, superfircial and unidimensial character. A good vilain has nuances, style, and layers. After all, the Marquise de Merteuil is among my top 5 best characters of all time; I can't really hate that trope (when well executed)
I like dream stuff. I actually made the whole concept of dreams as it's own plot device in my story, making dreams be their own dimensions that the characters' spirits can go to and the stuff that happens there actually matters.
@@JoelRC88 Aww thanks! But actually, that dream stuff isn't the main focus of the story, it's just a supplemental part of it that helps with worldbuilding and character development.
I hate when dreams are super duper literal about what's happening, but I do love when they get super steamy about a crush, or super scary when it's a nightmare. I do hate dreams when they're the opening sequence though. Or when the entire story was just a dream. Drop it somewhere in the middle, and you have my attention!
That's really cool! I personally use dreams to extend feelings and experiences. Sometimes it's pretty direct (a pastor has nightmares about a wild animal dropping a gun at his feet, because the pastor killed someone, when he tried to save someone else, but although it was a good thing, he can't cope as easily with murder), sometimes it's less (a girl has a dream, in which she remembers her times with her father in India (yes, she's an orphan), the dream happens after a big battle and the girl is just relieved and tired, later on a woman tells her friend that the girl might be dreaming of her guardian angel).
hahaha totally agree on the 'breath she didn't know she was holding' line! I've literally done that...and had no idea it was a symptom of anxiety, but now it makes even more sense for me. Yes, it's cliche and awful and don't actually use it in your writing, but it DOES happen to people.
My two characters are soulmates. But one is emotionally stunted and has no idea why she makes him feel things and has to learn to recognize what he feels. She is always doing what she can to show she cares for him but he’s too clueless to pick up on the cues.
"Why do you want so desperately for everyone to die? Why is that the only source of realism for you?" Realism? Oh absolutely not. It's my entertainment. lmao
@@sharonefee1426 I mean, even then freaky things happen sometimes. You'd be surprised how many cows are found to have nails or other metal objects embedded in their hearts in meat packing plants. (Granted, cows are quite anatomically removed from humans, and many with metal objects embedded in their hearts die well before they reach the packing plant...)
The best way to do the orphan MC is to kill off the parents in Chapter one . This can also get your character up and moving toward the goal you set for them.
The thing with orphans... they usually don't live all by themselves, epecially in the modern world. Someone will adopt them in one way or another (I also include orphanages for that matter). Unless... they're adulr
A trope that I love that I've seen tons of people hate on: the protective older brother (or just sibling in general) People say it's unrealistic because "a lot of older brothers aren't that protective" and "that's not how siblings really act" sibings can annoy each other and fight and interact like real siblings, and still want the best for one another. As someone who is a younger sibling but would go to hell and back for my younger cousin, who's like a little sister to me, this is nice to read from both the perspective of the younger and the older sibling. Just something about the older brother who picks on their younger sibling a lot, but the second someone tries to hurt them or they open up to him, he goes full protect mode, it's just great. I've seen people say it's unrealistic because they'll go from annoying their younger sibling on one page to throwing hands with someone who hurt them on the next page and "that kind of mood swing isn't realistic" like, have you ever had a sibling before? and omg especially when it's in found family (arguably the best trope ever), because you go from two strangers who barely know each other to being like a family who would die for each other -Sincerely, someone who has a found family older brother irl
Siblings love and relations are definitely far too underated in fiction. I especially love when two characters not related by blood came to see each others as brothers/brother and sister.
The main issue I have with soulmates is the idea that we all have literally one special person. One person who could be anywhere in the world and we may never meet. Not gonna lie I find that idea more depressing than the thought you have to find someone your compatible with and work to make things fit right. I'd rather feel I have to work to make it happen than wait on something that may not happen.
Yeah same, I wouldn't mind them, if it wasn't for the implication that you should want to be together with them & will want to be together with them. Like no higher power or destiny gets to decide something that intimate about me, I want choice. I personally would prefer being alone forever to being together with someone I am "destined" to be with & that literally has no choice but to be with me, like how fake would that feel? Now I get this applies to some cases of soulmates more than others, but it will irk me & leave a soure taste in my mouth when reading it...
I think getting caught up in the idea of finding that one perfect soulmate is generally not healthy. Sure, it probably happens from time to time, but if you go through life obsessed with finding the perfect soulmate, you're likely passing up a lot of pretty good soulmates. It's like looking for someone who scores 100 out of 100 on your love romance compatibility index, when in reality you could more realistically find a 91/100 match you could be perfectly happy with. Even people who seem like they've found their 100/100 match have probably just found a 92 or 93/100.
Yeah I agree, I also don't think it's good to expect other people to be perfect when you are not. The beauty in love isn't perfection, but acceptance despite flaws & even (as long as they aren't too grave) seeing those flaws as endearing even. I don't see why we should complain about the idea of a perfect flawless character, but not a perfect flawless relationship, that couldn't even under any circumstances turn into something undesirable. In a way it takes away from the stuff you are willing to do for your relationship with someone. If you improve yourself in order to make a relationship work (out of your own free will), or if you are irritated by something your significant other does, but manage to love them despite it and every time you could chose to walk away but stay, make a love story compelling imo & all of those things are way less important in what I have seen in executions of the soul mate trope.
Omg I actually really do love certain damsel in distress moments like you were saying, TYPICALLY in a way like the main character ends up being the damsel and gets themselves kidnapped either to protect someone else OR intended for a fake kidnapping to gain information but it turned out they were one step behind (granted can also work for the MC to learn this happened to the love interest and go save the day but I usually prefer it to happen the other way so I can get all the feels about the experience of being rescued) but yeah catch me writing damsel in distress moments where said damsel cuts a few of the baddies before they fall and then they get rescued after being overwhelmed!
My screenplay I'm working one will have the main character and his girlfriend/fiancée saving each other at some point. The girlfriend/fiancée will need saving, although she isn't weak or anything. She is pretty strong. Well, not physically strong. You find out she can defend herself and use a gun (because the MC trained her sometimes during date nights), but because she is no escape artist from something like being tied to a chair, she'll need some minor saving. But then once the girlfriend/fiancée is saved, she'll end up saving the MC because the MC needs some extra code to put an end to the main villain's plan. The MC panics because he doesn't have the code and there is timer for how long he has to put in the code, but then the girlfriend/fiancée will come in for the save because she came across the code once the two get split up (the person she is fighting happens to have the code and she beats it out of the person she is fighting). She then passes the code on to the MC, and the MC is able to save the day. So there will be some back-and-forth saving between the main couple. I hope this will get everyone to think the two are definitely meant for each other and they are perfect/cute for each other. The whole soulmates trope will come into play as well with all this.
God Jenna, I'm glad for that bit about the breath and anxiety. I really did NOT know the internet hated this line and thought it was unrealistic until I ventured into online bookish communities. It felt realistic to me haha, which now I know it's because of Anxiety™. It has been overly done but it's not the cardinal sin I've seen people call it to be. Especially if the characters DO have anxiety. Anyway, loved the video!
I'm glad you brought up orphans. I've just started working on a story where both my main characters are orphans, a bunch of my supporting characters are orphans and my working title is 'orphans.' My story takes place during a civil and a few years out from a natural disaster that put half the country underwater, I think a few people may have lost their parents.
I have a soft spot for Plot armor as well👀 just because the main cast of characters live doesn’t mean they haven’t changed drastically over the course of the series
There’s this one dream sequence that has stuck with me to this day. I never was able to get into the Animorphs series, but often when I was younger, I’d read books based on their covers. One day I happened to grab a random Animorphs book (I think it had a wolf on it). In the book, after a really challenging fight against what I assumed were the main antagonist, the protagonist has a dream about transferring into a wolf and viciously mauling them. She wakes up from they nightmare and I specifically remember her saying she went to the bathroom, looked herself in the mirror, and brushed her teeth until they bled. I had absolutely no context, no idea what was going on, but this scene spoke volumes to me about how the character felt and what she was going through. Just the way the reacted to one dream.
It's overused and often used mindlessly. People tried to make up other justifications for hating it but the core reason has always been because it has been used to often. This is goes for any cliche btw.
The breath line sends me. I don’t like it but I really vibe with it. But I kinda wanna see the flipped version: suddenly breathing in after realizing you had held your breath without any air in your lungs. Idk that’s how I tend to experience it with anxiety
Well, maybe it's time to find another way to describe it. I never had it, but maybe you can tell about sense of choke or speaking about one's chest lose tense.
Related to the "resurrection" trope is the "fake-out death" - usually I hate this trope, but every once in a while I'm super happy for it. Still remember crying over my favorite character sacrificing himself so the rest of the cast could escape, then cackling with joy when the epilogue was not only written from his perspective, but was basically him saying to the reader "Got ya good there, didn't I?"
I love soulmates, I've been writing a series with the whole soulmate/string of faith/"ownership" thing, but not in a toxic way, my boys and girls are mates, not slaves of their partners
My screenplay has the whole soulmates/destiny thing going on. Nothing toxic between them. The two genuinely love each other and they take turns showing their love for each other. If my screenplay gets turned into a movie, I hope the main couple becomes one of the greatest movie couples of all time. I think if my screenplay gets made into a movie, it'll be the perfect date night movie. Maybe even something that is thrown in every Valentine's Day. And the guys should definitely like it, especially for the action scenes. The guys will get action scenes while the ladies will love the main romance plot. But maybe the guys will get pulled into the romance storyline.They might put themselves in the main character's position and question how far they would go for the girl/woman sitting next to them and if they would go as far as the main character would for his girlfriend/fiancée.
Resurrection? Damsel in Distress??? YOU DARE! (I am very reluctant to see any resurrection in a story unless it comes at a cost or it's heavily foreshadowed. As for Damsels...that 9 times out of 10 has burned me before.)
Yeah, damsels need to do a lot more: try and find their way around, show more signs of their character, learn more about the villains or the bad guy's organization, try to escape, it's fine if they get rescued, but they need to do more than just be there so the hero can rescue them. Fairy Tail has been the only time I think it worked since Lucy was kidnapped because the rival guild was higher by her dad to kidnap her, she tricked the leader into setting her free, kicked him in the crotch, and jumped out of the window to escape (MC saved her and she was counting on it) but we need more examples of that.
The TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer had at least a couple of incidents where a dead human was resurrected, that I can remember off the top of my head. In both instances the person brought back was not the same as before; in the case of Buffy's mother perhaps horribly(suggested but not shown). In bringing Buffy herself back the technique, means, and price paid to enable the resurrection were scary and dangerous. If a character can be brought back from the dead, it cheapens death. Imagine a hero who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the day, and is then simply alive again. It wasn't really a sacrifice, was it?
1. love triangles I love reading about love triangles when both of the candidates are well written characters and it isn't interfering with more interesting plot. I also love them when the love triangle becomes about a character explorating their Sexuality? like their love instrests are different genders? Idk I think love triangles as a trope have alot of potential that is sadly missed 😔 I also really love love triangles where it's with the same person but they have a secret identity (basically like with miraculous ladybug, or superman and lois lanes relationship?) those can be really really cool. especially if they're enemies. 2 insta-love I think this works really well if it's framed more as a unhealthy obsession than genuine love.
I’m writing my first book and I’m just binging all your videos and taking notes. Honestly after years of trying, with the help of these videos, I it’s going great. Thank you Jenna. So much.
i've never been this early for a video... ever! and i was reading TSC for the first time when i got this notification. guess the only thing that can tear me from Jenna's stories are her videos :)
My favorite favorite kind of "Damsel in destress" is the "Padme/Leia" type. Where they're not actually "in destress", just out numbered, out gunned or between at Hut and a hard place. All they really needed was some back up or a blaster. . . they usually just need a blaster.
I feel so validated seeing the tropes I used on this list, loved by Jenna lmaoo Also, is nobody gonna talk about that SUPER M shirt? Do I see a stan, perhaps?
Jenna, thank you so much for number 10! The amount of flack it gets in most places is honestly astounding. It's as if that sentence is the biggest enemy of humanity sometimes... That aside, though, I agree with everything you listed. Though I must admit, I was not expecting to hear stuff like "no one studies their reflection in a mirror" today😂. It feels like like some people just criticize stuff, but have forgotten why it was criticized to begin with..
I didn’t realise how many tropes I was avoiding or scared to use bc the internet told me so until Jenna made this vid. I feel so much better abt wanting to use some of these now
I'm with you on the damsel in distress. It's good drama on all sides. I wanna see someone go feral trying to rescue their loved one. I want the soft, comforting reunion once they're rescued. Give! Me! That! Cheese! Please!
I love dream sequences. I prefer yo write very grounded stories, but dream sequences allow me to be really creative and snap back to grounded reality. But I usually reserve it for stories that are centered around the dreams
Dream sequences are one of my favorite things to just write for fun or when I need inspiration. Dream sequences are just such an interesting thing to explore!
Wow! As of 7:26 on March the third, there are 915 likes and only 1 dislike. While this channel is of a moderate size, all the fans are extremely loyal. That's a sign of quality content, and serious potential for your channel. Congrats!
One of my stories involves a couple that have been through several lives together and the dreams lead them back to each other and....sorry don't want to give away too many spoilers! LOL!
Things I do that I’m trying to change in my writing: 1) The MC of a book I wrote and never published slams her cup down at least once in each conversation she has. The record is 50. 2) I tend to kill off characters that I should have kept and keeping those I should have killed off. 3) Not thinking of making a story with an orphan OC yet even though the parents I write tend to get in the way.
Regarding the breath thing, I don't have anxiety but I often forget to breathe. I'm just really concentrated on something that I stop breathing for a few seconds until I realize "woops, haven't let out a breath in quite a while. better go and do that"
SO true, Jenna. I have people tell me to breathe a lot, then I realize I'm holding my anxiety in, which includes my breath. Real. True. It happens.Thanks for that.
Yes to all of these! I recently read a book where an mc was resurrected and I saw in reviews that people didn't like it, but the resurrection conditions were stated pretty early on so it would've made no sense to not bring them back.
So what I need is a story that features: A pretty, mean girl, who let's out a breath, while looking in a mirror, who becomes a damsel in distress, and is rescued by her soulmate, whom she has dreamed about, who happens to be an orphan, who has survived countless battles, but dies saving her, only to be resurrected. 😀
So many good points! I also love that this wasn't strictly about what you love and had tropes where you debunked the hate they get. That was a very interesting angle and I appreciated that!
Me and my coworker/writingbuddy love your channel and we started reading the Savior's Champion. It's so good! Can't wait to finish it and read TSS as well!
Ah shit the first story I wrote had like all of these 😂 it started with an orphan girl waking up from a dream sequence to look in the mirror, she had a soulmate, her best friend is “mean” but her actions showed she cares and it’s tough love, the big first plot point was to save the best friend like a damsel in distress situation, and the soulmate is a fuckin hottie. If I wanted to go for all of them with a stretch I haven’t killed a character yet so plot armory? And the main girl holds her breath when her heart beats too fast so that others won’t notice if she’s nervous or flustered or something like that, and the main villain resurrects the girls parents (or well tries to) but it backfires. Didn’t know some were tropes or even hated 😂
Came here for the daily dose of Jenna I need to battle anxiety, learnt stuff as well❤️ Also the last one is so true. I even put it in my WIP featuring a character who... shares my issues, let's say. But I use different words to describe it. This sentence has been mocked for far too often for me to risk the emotional state of an adrenalin-high scene by its presence😂💔
I feel like writing in unintentional breath holds or hyperventilating are over done a lot and don't make sense sometimes. Usually very confident girl suddenly has anxiety related issues over a guy across the lunchroom looking at her? Nope. Don't buy it. However, anxiety is something A LOT of people deal with and can relate to so if you're trying to portray what anxiety might feel like, it's useful to include breathing patterns. It's rarely as simple as letting go of that breath hold and everything returns to normal though, and there's normally other things going on if you're anxious enough to unintentionally hold your breath. Sweaty palms, heart palpitations, scanning the room, things out of focus, things hyper focused. Anxiety also isn't always as intense, and people don't always respond to it the same way. So if you're including anxious habits in you're writing, do your research and do it well. People with mental illnesses, anxiety, etc want to read stories they can relate to that are written WELL.
"she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" feels like a good line if ur character was in a tense situation (eg they were just interrogated, almost got caught sneaking around, etc) bUT THEN IT'S USED FOR WHEN THE GIRL GETS KISSED BY THE BAD BOY
I actually find a lot of pretty people more realistic than a lot of ugly people? Like Jenna said, there certainly needs to be less perfect people, but if you asked me right now to list all the pretty people I know, I'd list damn near anyone I've ever met, regardless of weight, disability, etc. But if you asked me to name someone I found ugly, I can only think of one or two.
thankyou you once again you reinforce my faith in myself as a writer my book has every single one of your good tropes and none of your hated tropes. thankyou.
YEEESSSSS!!! Especially in life or death situations! Why is this 12 year old responsible for saving the world??? I'm 28, and I can't be trusted to go food shopping without buying a whole cheesecake just for myself! I don't believe your prophecy for one second! 🤣
In my story it's expected to join the military and risk ur life So another option is make it normal in ur world Parents can still worry... but they wont be like oh u can't go off and save the world.. unless that's actually ur plot🤷♀️.. I think it's also a good way to avoid the chosen one trope If it's not only ur mc that has to run off to save the world
This makes sense. If a story has characters who are 60+, odds are their parents have passed away or are too old to be active in the storyline. When you have all sorts of books featuring teenagers or young adults, you have to explain why their parents aren't around to participate, and the orphan route becomes the easy out.
“What do you think is the point of a mirror?”
To scare me as I walk by. I’m not ugly, I’m stupid.
We all need more confidence in life.
I felt that
Maybe you're both
@@elfascisto6549 I wouldn’t be surprised if I was.
You are a cat XD
Me after killing my MC’s parents literally because they were getting in the way of my plot and watching this video: feels validated.
What does the "she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" mean? What's the line? Is it when she tells the protagonist that she loves them?
@@DeadmanRedux It describes the moment after intense fear has passed. Some people tense up so much in the chest area that they will be hardly breathing, sometimes even stop breathing for a moment. When the fear inducing moment has passed, they will take a deep breath and realize they basically been holding their breath.
Make sure it drives decisions for the MC otherwise it’s nothing beyond a plot line
Literally me
@@DeadmanRedux I also sometimes have moments that I am so much into something that I forget to breath for a few minutes.
“She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Shit, she was having an anxiety attack. Fuck. Now? Really? Dammit.”
See this is a really good add on to the cliche that doesn’t really make it as much of a cliche anymore!
@@engy6763 Not going to lie, my favorite thing is taking negative tropes and cliches and subverting them lol
@@ameliasellers6396 literally my mental stream when I'm having an anxiety attack
You know what I hate reading? "She smiled." Jeez, who does THAT anymore. SO overdone. 🙄
i believe i have writen this exact line at least once in a draft as a joke but then really liked it
“Who says the damsel in distress has to be a woman?”
Yeah Frodo Baggins threw that gender stereotype right out the window with his helpless little self lmao.
Frodo was helpless a lot, but one doesn't need to be helpless to be the 'damsel' in distress.
In 'The Hour of the Dragon' (One of the original Conan the Cimmerian (Barbarian) stories) the damsel in distress trope is flipped. Conan is captured and held in a dungeon chained up where he can't escape, until he's rescued by Zenobia, a small woman with knowledge of weapons, who came with a large dagger and the keys to free him. Later Conan and Zenobia marry.
The English language. Damsel is a feminine pronouns. We'd need another term for the male equivalent.
@@stevenhiggins3055
damoiselle = female
damoiseau = male
OR we could just call them "dudesel" Lmao.
Yes, finally someone else who realises that Frodo was never a hero in LOTR....always being rescued or literally carried by Sam. Typical upper class sook.
@@stevenhiggins3055 no we do not I call a guy just as much a mother hen as any women if he acts that way, or a woman a prince in shining armor . . . gender really is not that all importend, you get what it is supposed to say
People like to forget that "plot armor" doesn't just mean characters never die. It should refer to characters who are never punished by the story, especially when they repeatedly avoid the consequences of their own bad decisions.
Well, with that definition of plot armor, it looks like all the characters in my screenplay get hit. No one is safe. Almost every character by the end of the screenplay will be hit emotionally, physically, and mentally. I think the main character and his girlfriend/fiancée get hit by all three, but the rest of the characters either only get hit by one or two.
Isn't plot arnor a about injures/death?
@@sharonefee1426 plot armor is about consequences, which include but are not limited to injury/death
@@sharonefee1426 I think you could view something like how in movies with massive fight scenes multiple times, you might have 1 person that gets barely scratched.
Add some stakes to the fight. Maybe have some one get a concussion, lose a finger, have to have an operation to remove a bullet. Or if you don't want to go the injury route you can have them feel shaken from killing someone their first time, maybe they become Nationalist or Racist because of the people they were fighting.
@@projectpat8807 so emotional twice?
"She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding"
Cindy is quaking
Trigger warning.
Exactly where my brain went lol
I thought the same thing!
im kinda emmberesed to say this but...what does it mean?
@@ghaithshafie9970 WithCindy (another TH-cam channel) did a skit about YA protagonists and this was referenced (the title is interviewing to be a YA protagonist if you're interested)
Science: breathing is an automatic process controlled subconciously by the brain
My anxiety: but what if it WASN'T 😈
My brain, reading this post: MANUAL BREATHING ACTIVATED
Screw you man,now you have me counting my breaths.
the amount of times I catch myself holding my breath just BC of general anxiety is actually embarrassing
In addition to anxiety, there is sleep apnea. Sure, sleep apnea happens during sleep, but if your breathing can be interupted when you're asleep, it can happen when you're awake too.
Dammit i have now forgotten how to do the most basic subconscious human activity
“Pretty people aren’t realistic”
Okay, maybe I’m an optimist, but like aren’t MOST people pretty? Like 11/10s no, but generally aesthetically pleasing, yes?
I dunno I feel like the pretty criticism might be coming from a place of self consciousness
Right! Like when I go out, the average amount of people aren't "ugly", besides beauty is different to everyone. Plus size people can be gorgeous, and skinny people don't always have to be models lol.
There are definitely more average people than ugly people.
I mean there are pretty people, gorgeous to add, and have talent and riches and are close to perfect. I would really see someone try to write a character that is closer to perfect and yet still feel as though he or she is the same as others.
Do you live in Ukraine?
Pansexual energy
''She let out a fart she didn't know she was holding''
this made me laugh more than it should have
That's another way of saying it.
I mean. It happens...
I just randomly scrolled down the comment section and this made me actually laugh out loud.
@@cherryfiftynine6267 same. 😂
i actually love the potential in the damsel in distress trope bc it’s really heartwarming to me for people to go to great lengths to save someone who is helpless, especially at a personal cost or if the person in distress is “useless” in the ableist way society deems someone useless. the message that everyone is deserving of help is important to me 🥺
Extremely good take
Agreed! We need to stop pretending that "strong" means "indestructible."
If anything, a strong woman who needs help is more humanizing than problematic, and I'm 100% here for it
just realised I was technically a damsel in distress until I met my boyfriend and was able to leave behind a reaaaaally shitty home life. so I definitely am attracted to the trope in general
I don't think there's anything wrong with the trope itself, i think the issue comes from the bad way it's often done, the damsel can't be useless just so the MC or their love interest can save them, they must have merits and strengths and i don't mean physical strength.
I have a real life trauma where I was said damsel in distress and instead of anybody helping me, they crowded around and enjoyed the show..
So I love the concept of someone coming to someone else's aid.
I also agree that sometimes its done poorly. The "damsel" can be strong but need aid in a particular moment. Any character can typically be strong but need help at some point.
I thought of just listing down two of my favourite tropes:
1. I don’t want to see more of a bad boy dating good girls. I want to see more bad boys dating bad girls. It’s better of one of them is the MC’s rival, because their lover will always be defending the bad boy/girl, and it makes the bad boy/girl a lot more dislikable.
2. I am a diehard for couples that have one person shorter than the other. It makes their hugs and kisses more adorable, and the taller one of the relationship can even give the smaller one piggyback rides! It’s cute. It’s wholesome as fuck. Thank you for coming to my TED talk 😅
Actually, I’ll put in one more.
3. WE👏NEED👏MORE👏MALE👏DAMSELS👏IN👏DISTRESS!!!!! Well, technically they’re actually called The Damisou in Distress, BUT WE STILL NEED MORE OF IT!!!
In response to 1., bad boy/bad bitch is alwys going to be one of my favourite tropes/ship dynamics and it hurts how little I see of it 😪
@@biihisme Exactly. Bad Boy x Good Girl is not realistic in the slightest. Whilst Bad Boy x Bad Girl is 100% realistic.
@Acacia Luna Dude that sounds so cool!
Ok but consider this: bad boys dating bad boys. Or bad girls dating bad girls.
Also in reference to number 2. I have a personal vendetta against it purely because I’m a tall lady who tends to date tall people. Like I recognize it can be cute and wholesome but it just reminds me of people telling me I can’t be cute because I’m tall lol
Someone: Pretty people aren’t realistic!
Me: Then what is Jenna?
Unrealistic 😡
She's pretty people
Jenna’s a cyborg, she can defy reality
Jenna is a cyborg tho 😂
One word: Humble.
The mirror trope is completely moot when you're making a comic or graphic novel since... yanno... it's visual. Kinda funny when I see it in comics.
the only way i can see the mirror trope in comics is if the comic starts out in first person for whatever reason and then there’s a big reveal!
@@engy6763 Oh you know what that sounds kinda cool! I don't think you really need it though, reveals usually happen when they enter some place, like school or work, and they grab all the people's attention.
@@engy6763 What if during that "first person" perspective phase, you're shown how the Character sees themself... like the mirror's one of those "funhouse" mirrors, or some kind of "filter" for their "persona" rather than how they actually appear... Then the reveal can be that a lot of their self-consciousness or self-loathing is what you've seen in those "mirror scenes" (if you draw it out to make a point)... AND let the reveal hit when you're pretty much forced to take a "Third person" perspective for the view... Thus drilling home to the audience/readership that the MC has serious personal image issues...
Not (currently) a serious comic artist, but it's a thought I've had rolling around a while... ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 thats acc pretty cool! not the body dysmorphia lmao but the idea, i’d deffo read smth like that
@@thatb1h855 Well, for one part, it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be about body dysmorphia or even related to self-loathing...
I mean, it's possible, we could use the same technique in storytelling to INFLATE the ego-view and let the "reveal" be about the subtler little flaws or whatever that the MC doesn't admit... freckles or a tad overweight (whatever)... SO the reader/audience gets the idea that the MC has this "over-polished" ideal of him or her self... AT least, for the first few episodes/issues...
My big "stumbling block" has been how to "encode" so the audience can pick up on this expressionism/language... I mean... Without being too disconnected, it has to start off "training" the readers to understand when they're getting the "idealized" view from the first person perspective, and when they're getting "reality" summarily dropped on them... TOO jarring (and it should be jarring) and they'll likely "turn off" or "tune out"...
THEN it's going to be all about "staying consistent" while we (artist/writers) work first to flesh out the MC's dissonant views and impression, and then slowly evolve toward some maturity... or potentially a self-destruction.
I think...no. I KNOW it could be a fair collection of really cool stories told through really cool imagery and art. I just don't entirely have a great grasp on how to pull it off without pissing just about everybody off... AND I seem to be truly gifted at pissing people off. ;o)
One of my pet peeves is when ppl criticize a book for having a trope they don’t like, as if the mere existence of a trope that you happen to dislike is a sign of bad writing. Ppl should be better about recognizing the difference between purely subjective preferences and more objective standards of quality.
I think it's fine as long as you recognise that you're biased against it. Criticisms of books are subjective in any case, so it's totally valid to dislike a book for having elements that aren't to your taste and rate them accordingly. What's not okay is when people use it as a measure for how *other* people should feel or, in a spoiler-free/lite review, pointing out that personal preference as a reason for you liking something more or less.
i agree. i normally hate the love triangle because you know who she will choose and the other guy end up alone. but i once read a book where it was actually well written in my opinion. i didnt know who she will choose and the other guy gets also a girlfriend. and all become friends!
"If you use this trope then you're a huge turd"
"Damsel in Distress-" I immediately thought of Tangled. Especially Eugene; he was damseled so many times. Such a good movie.
Agreed, great example!
Bro same I was just thinking that as I scrolled through the comment section and somehow just now found your comment. I love how Rapunzel saved him instead of him saving her, well I guess they both kinda saved each other but I just love the character development and stuff.
@@piperwren7732 Yeah, they saved each other. That's one of my favorite things, actually. Neither of them were infallible and they both needed help at times. Their willingness to sacrifice for each other is what ultimately allowed them to have a happy ending.
@@snekysneks yeah, it’s my favorite Disney movie. I like that it wasn’t love at first sight like other Disney movies and they actually got to develop a relationship and that Eugene was a criminal just wanting Money since he had nothing as a kid but then met Rapunzel and slowly became a better Person for her And became his New Dream. And I don’t know why I just wrote a whole paragraph on a Disney relationship created 12 years ago at 11:57 PM at night when I have school tomorrow.
Also I’m like a teenager I don’t know why I’m so invested in a Disney Couple at my age💀
@@piperwren7732 agreed 👍
Jenna: "She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" is a cliché and you should never write it.
Me: *sweats nervously*
Nervous sweating is also a cliché.
*sweating intensifies*
I'm just guessing here... BUT maybe there's a different way to write it in, without blatantly using the horrible line verbatim...
"She suddenly remembered to breathe again..." or similar...
The point being, there's more than one way to subtly indicate anxiety creeping up on someone without quite submitting to mindless repetition. ;o)
@@puvanendraarasaratnam6129
**unalives**
GO GIRL WITH THE SUPERM SHIRT
I was scanning the comment section to see who else noticed.
@@niksstudyspace same
@@niksstudyspace me too ahahhs
@@niksstudyspace yes me too
I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS COMMENT THANK YOU
I was getting angry to see the "mean girl trope" in the list... Then I realized what I hate is how too many authors use this trope as if it meant the mean, stupid, superfircial and unidimensial character. A good vilain has nuances, style, and layers.
After all, the Marquise de Merteuil is among my top 5 best characters of all time; I can't really hate that trope (when well executed)
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I like dream stuff. I actually made the whole concept of dreams as it's own plot device in my story, making dreams be their own dimensions that the characters' spirits can go to and the stuff that happens there actually matters.
nice... yes I agree
@@JoelRC88 Aww thanks! But actually, that dream stuff isn't the main focus of the story, it's just a supplemental part of it that helps with worldbuilding and character development.
I hate when dreams are super duper literal about what's happening, but I do love when they get super steamy about a crush, or super scary when it's a nightmare.
I do hate dreams when they're the opening sequence though. Or when the entire story was just a dream. Drop it somewhere in the middle, and you have my attention!
Also this sounds hella interesting, and I wish you the best of luck with it!
That's really cool! I personally use dreams to extend feelings and experiences. Sometimes it's pretty direct (a pastor has nightmares about a wild animal dropping a gun at his feet, because the pastor killed someone, when he tried to save someone else, but although it was a good thing, he can't cope as easily with murder), sometimes it's less (a girl has a dream, in which she remembers her times with her father in India (yes, she's an orphan), the dream happens after a big battle and the girl is just relieved and tired, later on a woman tells her friend that the girl might be dreaming of her guardian angel).
"You only hate these cause the internet told you too."
Jenna always be spitting the facts man.
hahaha totally agree on the 'breath she didn't know she was holding' line! I've literally done that...and had no idea it was a symptom of anxiety, but now it makes even more sense for me. Yes, it's cliche and awful and don't actually use it in your writing, but it DOES happen to people.
Not gonna lie, as cliche as it is, I like this line. I don't have it in my book, but it will never bug me to I read it.
The only reason I’ve used it is for one of my MC’s that legit have anxiety-
Gaming Miser I was thinking about this yesterday and thought of something along the lines of, “....forgot how to breathe,” which could also work.
My two characters are soulmates. But one is emotionally stunted and has no idea why she makes him feel things and has to learn to recognize what he feels. She is always doing what she can to show she cares for him but he’s too clueless to pick up on the cues.
Sounds like they have lots of funny and zany antics ahead of them!
@@MagnetMagicGirl they really do. Especially combined with everything going on around them in their world.
You would enjoy Gunnerkrigg Court.
"Why do you want so desperately for everyone to die? Why is that the only source of realism for you?"
Realism? Oh absolutely not. It's my entertainment. lmao
Realisticly, in war, it isquite rare for everyone to die. So it is realistic (unless someone was pierced in the heart and survived or somerhing)
@@sharonefee1426 I mean, even then freaky things happen sometimes. You'd be surprised how many cows are found to have nails or other metal objects embedded in their hearts in meat packing plants. (Granted, cows are quite anatomically removed from humans, and many with metal objects embedded in their hearts die well before they reach the packing plant...)
@@Amy_the_Lizard People survived the hollocast to die from over eating. Things happen. But they survived the hell. The died in "heaven".
When Jenna said “what the f*** do you think people do in the mirror” I LOST IT 😭😂 amazing video as usual
The best way to do the orphan MC is to kill off the parents in Chapter one . This can also get your character up and moving toward the goal you set for them.
The thing with orphans... they usually don't live all by themselves, epecially in the modern world. Someone will adopt them in one way or another (I also include orphanages for that matter). Unless... they're adulr
A trope that I love that I've seen tons of people hate on: the protective older brother (or just sibling in general)
People say it's unrealistic because "a lot of older brothers aren't that protective" and "that's not how siblings really act"
sibings can annoy each other and fight and interact like real siblings, and still want the best for one another. As someone who is a younger sibling but would go to hell and back for my younger cousin, who's like a little sister to me, this is nice to read from both the perspective of the younger and the older sibling. Just something about the older brother who picks on their younger sibling a lot, but the second someone tries to hurt them or they open up to him, he goes full protect mode, it's just great.
I've seen people say it's unrealistic because they'll go from annoying their younger sibling on one page to throwing hands with someone who hurt them on the next page and "that kind of mood swing isn't realistic"
like, have you ever had a sibling before?
and omg especially when it's in found family (arguably the best trope ever), because you go from two strangers who barely know each other to being like a family who would die for each other
-Sincerely, someone who has a found family older brother irl
Siblings love and relations are definitely far too underated in fiction.
I especially love when two characters not related by blood came to see each others as brothers/brother and sister.
This video is going to be spicy, I can sense it 😀
22 likes, 22 minutes ago, 23 likes, 23 minutes ago ;)
Lol.
@@kellyjohnson9524 Hilarious.
They always are
@@thesamuraiman lol.
The main issue I have with soulmates is the idea that we all have literally one special person. One person who could be anywhere in the world and we may never meet. Not gonna lie I find that idea more depressing than the thought you have to find someone your compatible with and work to make things fit right. I'd rather feel I have to work to make it happen than wait on something that may not happen.
Ikr, me too. I decide who to marry and no one else
Yeah same, I wouldn't mind them, if it wasn't for the implication that you should want to be together with them & will want to be together with them. Like no higher power or destiny gets to decide something that intimate about me, I want choice. I personally would prefer being alone forever to being together with someone I am "destined" to be with & that literally has no choice but to be with me, like how fake would that feel?
Now I get this applies to some cases of soulmates more than others, but it will irk me & leave a soure taste in my mouth when reading it...
I think getting caught up in the idea of finding that one perfect soulmate is generally not healthy. Sure, it probably happens from time to time, but if you go through life obsessed with finding the perfect soulmate, you're likely passing up a lot of pretty good soulmates. It's like looking for someone who scores 100 out of 100 on your love romance compatibility index, when in reality you could more realistically find a 91/100 match you could be perfectly happy with. Even people who seem like they've found their 100/100 match have probably just found a 92 or 93/100.
Yeah I agree, I also don't think it's good to expect other people to be perfect when you are not. The beauty in love isn't perfection, but acceptance despite flaws & even (as long as they aren't too grave) seeing those flaws as endearing even.
I don't see why we should complain about the idea of a perfect flawless character, but not a perfect flawless relationship, that couldn't even under any circumstances turn into something undesirable. In a way it takes away from the stuff you are willing to do for your relationship with someone. If you improve yourself in order to make a relationship work (out of your own free will), or if you are irritated by something your significant other does, but manage to love them despite it and every time you could chose to walk away but stay, make a love story compelling imo & all of those things are way less important in what I have seen in executions of the soul mate trope.
my take of the mirror trope: the mc is a hilariously narcissistic person and that's why the story is centred around them and nobody else
Omg I actually really do love certain damsel in distress moments like you were saying, TYPICALLY in a way like the main character ends up being the damsel and gets themselves kidnapped either to protect someone else OR intended for a fake kidnapping to gain information but it turned out they were one step behind (granted can also work for the MC to learn this happened to the love interest and go save the day but I usually prefer it to happen the other way so I can get all the feels about the experience of being rescued) but yeah catch me writing damsel in distress moments where said damsel cuts a few of the baddies before they fall and then they get rescued after being overwhelmed!
My screenplay I'm working one will have the main character and his girlfriend/fiancée saving each other at some point. The girlfriend/fiancée will need saving, although she isn't weak or anything. She is pretty strong. Well, not physically strong. You find out she can defend herself and use a gun (because the MC trained her sometimes during date nights), but because she is no escape artist from something like being tied to a chair, she'll need some minor saving. But then once the girlfriend/fiancée is saved, she'll end up saving the MC because the MC needs some extra code to put an end to the main villain's plan. The MC panics because he doesn't have the code and there is timer for how long he has to put in the code, but then the girlfriend/fiancée will come in for the save because she came across the code once the two get split up (the person she is fighting happens to have the code and she beats it out of the person she is fighting). She then passes the code on to the MC, and the MC is able to save the day. So there will be some back-and-forth saving between the main couple. I hope this will get everyone to think the two are definitely meant for each other and they are perfect/cute for each other. The whole soulmates trope will come into play as well with all this.
"Looking into a mirror isn't something real people do!"
Said nobody old enough to shave or apply makeup ever.
God Jenna, I'm glad for that bit about the breath and anxiety. I really did NOT know the internet hated this line and thought it was unrealistic until I ventured into online bookish communities. It felt realistic to me haha, which now I know it's because of Anxiety™. It has been overly done but it's not the cardinal sin I've seen people call it to be. Especially if the characters DO have anxiety. Anyway, loved the video!
YESSSSSSSSS "The Orphan" trope! :D!!! I absolutely love that trope, right next to the adopted MC or just any mixed family trope.
I'm glad you brought up orphans. I've just started working on a story where both my main characters are orphans, a bunch of my supporting characters are orphans and my working title is 'orphans.'
My story takes place during a civil and a few years out from a natural disaster that put half the country underwater, I think a few people may have lost their parents.
Yeah, but all of them? I think the whole schtick would get old fast
"Pretty people aren't realistic!"
I guess people just don't exist then-
girls and guys are all beautiful! Love yourself and love others ❤️💜💙
I have a soft spot for Plot armor as well👀 just because the main cast of characters live doesn’t mean they haven’t changed drastically over the course of the series
There’s this one dream sequence that has stuck with me to this day. I never was able to get into the Animorphs series, but often when I was younger, I’d read books based on their covers. One day I happened to grab a random Animorphs book (I think it had a wolf on it).
In the book, after a really challenging fight against what I assumed were the main antagonist, the protagonist has a dream about transferring into a wolf and viciously mauling them.
She wakes up from they nightmare and I specifically remember her saying she went to the bathroom, looked herself in the mirror, and brushed her teeth until they bled.
I had absolutely no context, no idea what was going on, but this scene spoke volumes to me about how the character felt and what she was going through. Just the way the reacted to one dream.
As someone who was once peer pressured to bring my test readers favorite character, can confirm it mattered a lot to them.
Yes, I don't understand the hate for the mirror troupe.
It's overused and often used mindlessly. People tried to make up other justifications for hating it but the core reason has always been because it has been used to often. This is goes for any cliche btw.
The breath line sends me. I don’t like it but I really vibe with it. But I kinda wanna see the flipped version: suddenly breathing in after realizing you had held your breath without any air in your lungs. Idk that’s how I tend to experience it with anxiety
Well, maybe it's time to find another way to describe it. I never had it, but maybe you can tell about sense of choke or speaking about one's chest lose tense.
"She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding"
I do this after I have successfully parked my car.
I REALLY love the little
"oh"
when character A realizes that they are in love with character B
Related to the "resurrection" trope is the "fake-out death" - usually I hate this trope, but every once in a while I'm super happy for it. Still remember crying over my favorite character sacrificing himself so the rest of the cast could escape, then cackling with joy when the epilogue was not only written from his perspective, but was basically him saying to the reader "Got ya good there, didn't I?"
I love how Jenna has to explain the purpose of a mirror
I love soulmates, I've been writing a series with the whole soulmate/string of faith/"ownership" thing, but not in a toxic way, my boys and girls are mates, not slaves of their partners
My screenplay has the whole soulmates/destiny thing going on. Nothing toxic between them. The two genuinely love each other and they take turns showing their love for each other. If my screenplay gets turned into a movie, I hope the main couple becomes one of the greatest movie couples of all time. I think if my screenplay gets made into a movie, it'll be the perfect date night movie. Maybe even something that is thrown in every Valentine's Day. And the guys should definitely like it, especially for the action scenes. The guys will get action scenes while the ladies will love the main romance plot. But maybe the guys will get pulled into the romance storyline.They might put themselves in the main character's position and question how far they would go for the girl/woman sitting next to them and if they would go as far as the main character would for his girlfriend/fiancée.
@@projectpat8807 sounds great! I wish you all the best with your screenplay 😊💗 I hope it gets picked up pretty soon and turned into a movie!
Resurrection? Damsel in Distress??? YOU DARE!
(I am very reluctant to see any resurrection in a story unless it comes at a cost or it's heavily foreshadowed. As for Damsels...that 9 times out of 10 has burned me before.)
Yeah, damsels need to do a lot more: try and find their way around, show more signs of their character, learn more about the villains or the bad guy's organization, try to escape, it's fine if they get rescued, but they need to do more than just be there so the hero can rescue them. Fairy Tail has been the only time I think it worked since Lucy was kidnapped because the rival guild was higher by her dad to kidnap her, she tricked the leader into setting her free, kicked him in the crotch, and jumped out of the window to escape (MC saved her and she was counting on it) but we need more examples of that.
The TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer had at least a couple of incidents where a dead human was resurrected, that I can remember off the top of my head. In both instances the person brought back was not the same as before; in the case of Buffy's mother perhaps horribly(suggested but not shown). In bringing Buffy herself back the technique, means, and price paid to enable the resurrection were scary and dangerous.
If a character can be brought back from the dead, it cheapens death. Imagine a hero who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the day, and is then simply alive again. It wasn't really a sacrifice, was it?
Spoiler alert: Pet Semetary has one of the best resurrections.
Let me tell you about a guy named calculon...
@@weltraumprasidentsuperstar5871 I wish I had something witty for this. Such a good episode of a wonderful show!
*Jenna wearing a Super M shirt*
My brain: 🤯
OMG Jenna, I love you so much for this video. So many tropes are hated on because they're overdone or done badly, not because they're actually bad.
1. love triangles
I love reading about love triangles when both of the candidates are well written characters and it isn't interfering with more interesting plot. I also love them when the love triangle becomes about a character explorating their Sexuality? like their love instrests are different genders?
Idk I think love triangles as a trope have alot of potential that is sadly missed 😔
I also really love love triangles where it's with the same person but they have a secret identity (basically like with miraculous ladybug, or superman and lois lanes relationship?) those can be really really cool. especially if they're enemies.
2 insta-love
I think this works really well if it's framed more as a unhealthy obsession than genuine love.
I’m writing my first book and I’m just binging all your videos and taking notes. Honestly after years of trying, with the help of these videos, I it’s going great. Thank you Jenna. So much.
I’m really glad you’re covering this topic! It’s important that new writers hear these! 🖤 Thank you, Jenna! Marvellous as always!
Actually on my WIP, the Damsel in Distress is actually a guy.
i've never been this early for a video... ever! and i was reading TSC for the first time when i got this notification. guess the only thing that can tear me from Jenna's stories are her videos :)
My favorite favorite kind of "Damsel in destress" is the "Padme/Leia" type. Where they're not actually "in destress", just out numbered, out gunned or between at Hut and a hard place. All they really needed was some back up or a blaster. . . they usually just need a blaster.
OMG I LOVE YOUR SUPER M SHIRT!!! I’ve been a dedicated kpop fan since shinee and exo debuted and they’re still some of my faves!
I feel so validated seeing the tropes I used on this list, loved by Jenna lmaoo
Also, is nobody gonna talk about that SUPER M shirt? Do I see a stan, perhaps?
The fact that it took me almost 30 seconds to realize that Jenna was wearing a Super M t-shirt, I've let myself down.
Jenna, thank you so much for number 10! The amount of flack it gets in most places is honestly astounding. It's as if that sentence is the biggest enemy of humanity sometimes...
That aside, though, I agree with everything you listed.
Though I must admit, I was not expecting to hear stuff like "no one studies their reflection in a mirror" today😂.
It feels like like some people just criticize stuff, but have forgotten why it was criticized to begin with..
I can’t help but laugh when Jenna says: “fucking annoying” through the brightest smile😂😂
just saw the thumbnail and i love the superm shirt aisjjsjs stan kings 😌
I didn’t realise how many tropes I was avoiding or scared to use bc the internet told me so until Jenna made this vid. I feel so much better abt wanting to use some of these now
I'm with you on the damsel in distress. It's good drama on all sides. I wanna see someone go feral trying to rescue their loved one. I want the soft, comforting reunion once they're rescued. Give! Me! That! Cheese! Please!
I love dream sequences. I prefer yo write very grounded stories, but dream sequences allow me to be really creative and snap back to grounded reality. But I usually reserve it for stories that are centered around the dreams
I love the mirror trope. Good way to see how the character views themself
Dream sequences are one of my favorite things to just write for fun or when I need inspiration. Dream sequences are just such an interesting thing to explore!
I see a Taeyong SuperM shirt. I love you even more now
Wow! As of 7:26 on March the third, there are 915 likes and only 1 dislike. While this channel is of a moderate size, all the fans are extremely loyal. That's a sign of quality content, and serious potential for your channel. Congrats!
The Super M t-shirt is fabulous
One of my stories involves a couple that have been through several lives together and the dreams lead them back to each other and....sorry don't want to give away too many spoilers! LOL!
Love all of your videos. You've helped this late bloomer to become a better writer. Thank you.
Things I do that I’m trying to change in my writing:
1) The MC of a book I wrote and never published slams her cup down at least once in each conversation she has. The record is 50.
2) I tend to kill off characters that I should have kept and keeping those I should have killed off.
3) Not thinking of making a story with an orphan OC yet even though the parents I write tend to get in the way.
I agreed with every point of yours^^ Love your channel and videos, btw. Your writing tips really help me to write my novels better.
Regarding the breath thing, I don't have anxiety but I often forget to breathe. I'm just really concentrated on something that I stop breathing for a few seconds until I realize "woops, haven't let out a breath in quite a while. better go and do that"
We’re getting some teeeeea ^^
SO true, Jenna. I have people tell me to breathe a lot, then I realize I'm holding my anxiety in, which includes my breath. Real. True. It happens.Thanks for that.
"People don't study their reflection"
*me at 3 am admiring myself and posing in the bathroom*
YOUR SHIRT IS TAEYONG 😭😭😭.
I've been watching your videos since last year and I'm so shocked by you wearing a SuperM shirt.
Beautiful people? How about just prettier than average people?
Sooo beautiful hahah
Yes to all of these! I recently read a book where an mc was resurrected and I saw in reviews that people didn't like it, but the resurrection conditions were stated pretty early on so it would've made no sense to not bring them back.
So what I need is a story that features:
A pretty, mean girl,
who let's out a breath,
while looking in a mirror,
who becomes a damsel in distress,
and is rescued by her soulmate,
whom she has dreamed about,
who happens to be an orphan,
who has survived countless battles,
but dies saving her, only to be resurrected.
😀
Yep, sounds about right.
Super M! That yumminess distracted me lol
In the book I'm writing characters can be resurrected but it doesn't heal them and they're rotting alive the whole time until they finally die again.
Dude that’s dope, love it
So many good points! I also love that this wasn't strictly about what you love and had tropes where you debunked the hate they get. That was a very interesting angle and I appreciated that!
My dreams are actually often prophetic. Like, not in an extreme way, but vaguely. And i only remember i dreamed it, after it happens.
Me and my coworker/writingbuddy love your channel and we started reading the Savior's Champion. It's so good! Can't wait to finish it and read TSS as well!
Ah shit the first story I wrote had like all of these 😂 it started with an orphan girl waking up from a dream sequence to look in the mirror, she had a soulmate, her best friend is “mean” but her actions showed she cares and it’s tough love, the big first plot point was to save the best friend like a damsel in distress situation, and the soulmate is a fuckin hottie. If I wanted to go for all of them with a stretch I haven’t killed a character yet so plot armory? And the main girl holds her breath when her heart beats too fast so that others won’t notice if she’s nervous or flustered or something like that, and the main villain resurrects the girls parents (or well tries to) but it backfires. Didn’t know some were tropes or even hated 😂
Yes with the anxious breath holding. I have "forgotten" to breathe when very stressed to the point I almost passed out 🙃 Definitely a thing
SuperM FTW,. Jopping was my most listened to kpop tune of 2020. 😍
That Super M t-shirt👀
Came here for the daily dose of Jenna I need to battle anxiety, learnt stuff as well❤️
Also the last one is so true. I even put it in my WIP featuring a character who... shares my issues, let's say. But I use different words to describe it. This sentence has been mocked for far too often for me to risk the emotional state of an adrenalin-high scene by its presence😂💔
*sips tea* 👀🍵
I feel like writing in unintentional breath holds or hyperventilating are over done a lot and don't make sense sometimes. Usually very confident girl suddenly has anxiety related issues over a guy across the lunchroom looking at her? Nope. Don't buy it. However, anxiety is something A LOT of people deal with and can relate to so if you're trying to portray what anxiety might feel like, it's useful to include breathing patterns. It's rarely as simple as letting go of that breath hold and everything returns to normal though, and there's normally other things going on if you're anxious enough to unintentionally hold your breath. Sweaty palms, heart palpitations, scanning the room, things out of focus, things hyper focused. Anxiety also isn't always as intense, and people don't always respond to it the same way. So if you're including anxious habits in you're writing, do your research and do it well. People with mental illnesses, anxiety, etc want to read stories they can relate to that are written WELL.
Just when I thought I couldn't love you any more than I already do, you wear a Super M shirt :D
WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT THE SUPER M SHIRT!? it's so cool !!
Yes. This is what I needed today
"she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" feels like a good line if ur character was in a tense situation (eg they were just interrogated, almost got caught sneaking around, etc) bUT THEN IT'S USED FOR WHEN THE GIRL GETS KISSED BY THE BAD BOY
I actually find a lot of pretty people more realistic than a lot of ugly people? Like Jenna said, there certainly needs to be less perfect people, but if you asked me right now to list all the pretty people I know, I'd list damn near anyone I've ever met, regardless of weight, disability, etc. But if you asked me to name someone I found ugly, I can only think of one or two.
thankyou you once again you reinforce my faith in myself as a writer my book has every single one of your good tropes and none of your hated tropes. thankyou.
Well, another, and in my opinion better, way to keep the parents from getting in the way of the story is to just have your protagonist be an adult.
YEEESSSSS!!! Especially in life or death situations! Why is this 12 year old responsible for saving the world??? I'm 28, and I can't be trusted to go food shopping without buying a whole cheesecake just for myself! I don't believe your prophecy for one second! 🤣
In my story it's expected to join the military and risk ur life
So another option is make it normal in ur world
Parents can still worry... but they wont be like oh u can't go off and save the world.. unless that's actually ur plot🤷♀️..
I think it's also a good way to avoid the chosen one trope
If it's not only ur mc that has to run off to save the world
This makes sense. If a story has characters who are 60+, odds are their parents have passed away or are too old to be active in the storyline. When you have all sorts of books featuring teenagers or young adults, you have to explain why their parents aren't around to participate, and the orphan route becomes the easy out.