Trope Avoidance: How to Stop Writing What Everyone Else is Writing

Sure was DARK. Sure was STORMY.

We've all experienced it: you're reading along and you find a scene in a book that you could swear you've read a hundred times before – in some other book, or in some other show.

There's a formula to much traditional storytelling, especially the stuff that's written and/or produced very quickly. Formulas are great for creators. They help you bang out stories – whether it's novels, short stories, TV or movie scripts – quickly. It's the boy meets girl, boy loses...