IRRITATING FICTIONAL ROMANCE TROPES

Hi guys and welcome back to the Kingdom. I hope you all had positive and productive weeks this week. So this week we’re still talking about relationships, and we’re talking about tropes that hop up a lot in YA fiction, that annoy the snot out of me. 

Now I love a good romantic plot in fiction. Emphasis on the word good. But sometimes, in the name of appealing to the masses or looking for a sell-able angle, novels slip into tropes that they think will get books racing off the shelves. This in itself isn’t a problem, I totally understand that marketing books is getting more and more difficult, however, in the name of marketing these romances, a few irritating common occurrences has cropped up. 

​I talk about them in more detail below. 
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So those are some of the common tropes that I find irritating. Like I always say on this channel, it’s a little hit and miss. I think that it’s always incredibly easy to give big sweeping statements, but the truth is that each situation is unique. I am always open to seeing old tropes done up in new, interesting and thought provoking ways. It’s one of the beauties of art. 

Do you think I missed any tropes out? Do you agree or disagree with what I said? Let me know in the comments sections and as always guys I hope you have positive and productive weeks. Until next time. Bye!

​~H.T.King

DANGEROUS AND UNHEALTHY (FICTIONAL) ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP BEHAVIOURS

Hi guys and welcome back to the Kingdom. I hope you all had positive and productive weeks this week. Sorry that this post is late this week, I have been having some serious trouble with my internet! So this week is the start of a three part mini-series talking about romantic relationships in fiction.  

This week we’re talking about dangerous and unhealthy trends that I’ve seen cropping up a lot recently, and I explain why I think they’re dangerous. This video gets a little bit more serious in places than some of my other videos, however I thought it was an important topic to discuss. I hope you guys agree with me, see what I mean below!

*Disclaimer* The video talks about stalking, obsessions and ignoring verbal rejection. If subjects like this make you uncomfortable please skip this video. I’d rather you were comfortable. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this video. Please do let me know if you agree, disagree, have something to add. Comments are always open an I love hearing from people who have seen my videos. Do you think I left out another crucial behaviour that’s been cropping up recently. Are there books that you would have loved if these behaviours hadn’t been introduced? I want to get into all the chatter. 

Until next week, I hope you all have positive and productive weeks!
Bye!

~H.T.King

The Comedic Hidden Bad Ass

Hi guys and welcome back to the Kingdom. I hope you all had positive and productive weeks this week. So this week we’re talking about a type of character that is becoming more and more common in fiction, and that is the Comedy Hidden Bad Ass. One of the reasons I believe this style of character is becoming so popular is because there is so much going for them, which is what I talk about in this video. 

There are lots and lots of examples of this type of character in media, but the long and short of it is that this character is rather funny, and unexpectedly possesses phenomenal powers that display themselves in rather fantastic ways, often during the middle of a crazy fight scene. They are the perfect mix of hilarious and extremely cool, and shockingly people seem to enjoy that combination (crazy right?)

Any who the video is below. 

So that is today’s video! I hope that you liked it. If you did please let me know because I will then endeavor to talk more about specific types of characters in fiction. Honestly, as you know, I’m not a huge fan of using character archetypes in stories, because they just don’t feel real to me, but I’m more than happy to talk about common threads that I see appearing more and more in fiction.

Any who, that’s all from me. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Can you think of some other golden examples of this character? Can you point to examples where this character simply doesn’t work? Let’s get chatting and as always have a positive and productive week. Bye!

~H.T.King

Is Your Main Character Wrong?

Hi guys and welcome back to the Kingdom. I hope you all had positive and productive weeks this week. So this week we’re taking a closer look at the kinds of mistakes that your character is allowed to make in fiction and not be torn apart by readers in reviews. I noticed the other day, after managing to put my foot in my mouth again, that the main characters from my favourite novels rarely seem to suffer from human error (an affliction that is fairly prevalent in my life). For a writer that loves the feeling of realism from reading, that seems like such a glaring thing to be left out of fiction as it’s a huge slither of real life.

So that is my take on the situation. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Also, I’d be interested in hearing of any examples where characters really have just miscalculated. Let me know in the comment section. I always love a book related chat and am always open to new ideas. How else can I improve?

I hope you all have positive and productive weeks and I’ll see you all next week for another Book Chatter Post. Bye!

~H.T.King

Damsels In Distress – A Good Trope

Hi guys and welcome back to the kingdom. I hope that you have had positive and productive weeks this week. So this week we’re talking about perhaps the most universally well known and simultaneously disliked trope in history. The Damsel in Distress, and why I think that executed properly it can really boost your story.

Now hold on, before you start to raise your eyebrows at me, I am NOT saying this scenario is a guarantee for good writing or that it’s my favourite thing to see in fiction. Far from it. What I AM saying is that, when this situation is explored properly you can see some really interesting dynamics get thrown into the light. Anyway, enough of my wittering, onto the video!

So there you have it. Why I think that the Damsel In Distress Trope is a good trope! I hope that you guys enjoyed this video. Can anyone think of some good books where this situation has been pulled off well? I can think of quite a few movies and TV shows, but very few books. Maybe I’m just having a brain melt down moment. What aspects of this scenario do you enjoy reading about, do you remember a truely fantastic or a truely terrible example of this? If you can then let me know in the comments below, let’s get chatting!

As always have a positive and productive week and I’ll see you soon for another Book Chatter Post. Bye!

~H.T.King

Writing Baddies – Not The IG Kind! :p

Hi guys, welcome back to the Kingdom. I hope you all had positive and productive weeks this week. Today it’s time to twiddle your mustache and grab your hairless cat (you know, if you have either of those), because we’re talking about Villains.
Wha-ha-ha-ha!

Villains, they are the life blood of our stories. They cause drama, mess, excitement and conflict! Without someone deciding to do something bad, intentionally or not, our MC wouldn’t have a reason to go on their epic adventure. They are crucial to the plot of the story which is why it’s vital that we get it right. Below, here are my tips to help you write believable, terrifying and intriguing bad guys!

So there you go! Those are my five most important tips for writing memorable Villains. Do you agree with these? Do you disagree? Do you think something else should be added to this list. To be honest with you, I think I need to do more videos on Villains. Like I said, I could go into each of these topics in so much more detail, and I think that I will. If that’s something you’d be interested in, let me know!

That’s all from me this week. I hope you have positive and productive weeks and I’ll see you all again next time. Bye!

~H.T.King

Not-So-Strong Female Characters

Hi guys welcome back to the kingdom! I hope you have all had positive and productive weeks this week! Sorry that I’ve taken a small break from blogging recently but I was taking a small social media hiatus because I’m sitting an exam this month and revision has been overwhelming!This is some sample wittering.

So today we’re talking about Not-So-Strong Female Characters, essentially the tropes that can crop up when people attempt to write strong female characters. Now it’s totally important that people write about Strong Female Characters, i would love to see them more in fiction both in books and on the screen. I would also like to see more women in STEM, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish! However, it’s not always easy and sometimes people get things wrong and this is me trying to surmise the pit falls that people can fall into! Enjoy.

So that’s my list! What do you think? Now it’s not to say that if you have fallen into one of these traps that you’re a bad writer. Absolutely not! Writing is HARD, and no one is perfect straight out of the gate. It takes practice to write compelling and complex characters.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this if you have please like, share and comment letting me know as we all know I adore feedback! I hope you all have positive and productive weeks and I’ll see you all soon. Bye!

~H.T.King

Killing off your Villains

Hello wonderful people and welcome back to the Kingdom! I hope you all had positive and productive weeks this week. So last week we talked about writing memorable bad guys. We talked about the key components and things to consider when crafting their character. This week we’re talking about killing them off.

Now it does seem like kind of a shame for you to put so much work into a character, only to have them die. However, sometimes it’s a really good plot move. Sometimes it’s not. There are lots of videos out there on the internet explaining what people should consider before killing off a character, if you want one from me let me know and it can be arranged. However this video assumes that you are dead set on killing off your villain (no pun intended).

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So those are my tips for doing your villain away with a bang (again, no pun intended…okay maybe just a little). Killing off any character is a tricky topic, but if it’s your villain it’s different for a whole host of reasons. They were the baddie! They created conflict, they created a huge part of this story. So their ending needs to fit the story they’ve help to craft!Anywho, do you agree with what I said? Do you think I missed something out? Let’s start a conversation! As always guys, let me know what you think! I will see you all next week where our topic is Not-So-Strong Female Characters. I hope you all have positive and productive weeks and I’ll see you next time. Bye!

~H.T.King