What is your opinion on TV Tropes?

I used to waste entire days just browsing a certain site called TV Tropes. And I'm sure a few others are guilty of doing the same thing.

For those who do not know about the site: TV Tropes is a website that categorizes "tropes", or common elements found in movies, literature, webcomics, and of course, TV shows (I'm not sure if element is the right word, but it is first word that comes to mind). There are literally hundreds of pages that document and define these reoccurring elements, along with pages that list almost all of the elements that appear on a single piece work.

The site does have its criticisms, however. Some people state that writers may have their creativity stunted because it causes them to put all their effort and focus into incorporating certain tropes, rather than put any effort into the actual plot and writing.

So, what does YWS think of TV Tropes?

I see it as a very useful tool and way of analyzing maybe certain trends of the things I read/watch/consume. Like, I love to know what things like Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and Dexter (all my fav tv shows -- all of them tv adaptations of novels/graphic novels) have in common, without having to do any actual thinking about it. I'm simply presented a list of tropes and I can mix and match and thereby compare and analyze maybe how a particular trope is done differently, or which tropes I seem to like to watch a lot. It's quite fascinating to look into. No more than that really.

I think it's silly to say that something "forces" you to act in some way. It's like saying that computers "force" us to become antisocial. The computer is a tool, not a dictator. It's a silly notion.

That said, I don't think TV Tropes stunts or limits creativity in any way, because the goal of writing shouldn't be which tropes to use or which tropes not to use, etc. etc. those things shouldn't even issue as a thought in your head when you try to create. Just tell a story. That's all we need.

I agree with Audy. In fact, it actually stimulates my creativity -- though that's probably because I enjoy writing satire/parody/generally breaking the Fourth Wall, so having a site like TVTropes that presents Tropes to you and how to deconstruct them is very useful indeed. Tropes are like tools, they don't stunt creativity, they give you a different way of looking at things.

I actually get ideas when turning over a certain trope in my head.

For example, something like Chaotic Good. I see the types of characters there, and I see a general list of traits that fit under Chaotic Good and a long list of characters who are Chaotic Good. I start turning over what I'd do with a Chaotic Good character, which characters I've seen that are Chaotic Good, ect.

Next thing I know I have a character demanding a story who is rather fleshed out already because I've been reading over a bunch of Chaotic Good types and the related tropes. I poke at the character more, finding out the little nuances within the frame I'd built out of the tropes.

Tropes are just another way to gather inspiration for me. Yes, I start to think of what tropes to incorporate into the story at the onset. But it helps me get a basic idea of what I'm doing before I start working on anything.

I quite enjoy wasting a lot of time reading TV Tropes and not really absorbing much information at all.

I actually never really got into that website. :X