Tropes & Terms
Tropes: a working glossary
A trope is a pattern readers recognise before a book explains it. Naming the pattern is the fastest way to describe a story to someone else.
Front page
- Tropes & Terms
What slow burn actually means
Slow burn describes pacing, not temperature. The central pair spend most of the page count circling a feeling neither of them has said out loud.
- Series & Shelves
Standalone, duology, trilogy and beyond
The number of volumes a story occupies is a promise about where its ending sits. Readers who know the shape argue with the pacing far less.
- Formats & Reading
Ebook, audiobook and print compared
The same text behaves differently in three formats, and the differences are practical rather than a matter of which format is more serious.
