Many stories, particularly romances, finish when the characters tie the knot and say “I do.” For more on tropes specifically about marriage, see my post Defining Marriage Tropes Your Reader Will Love. But what do you do when the wedding is in the beginning or the middle of the story? Well, there are a lot of tropes that you can use for inspiration, depending on where you want the story to go.
Spouse Tropes
The most obvious tropes to move into are those that involve the spouses. Common character tropes to add tension between the spouses are Mistress, the Other Woman, and Alphaholes. The Alphahole trope can often lead to the tropes of Cheating and Domestic Abuse. However, we should use these tropes carefully to avoid triggering readers who may be sensitive to these topics.
The Mistress and Other Woman tropes are often referenced interchangeably, but they have some subtle differences. Both portray women who are sleeping with men who are married or in serious relationships with someone else. The difference is that a mistress is someone that the man seeks out while the other woman typically instigates the relationship. A popular twist of this trope is that the mistress doesn’t realize her status when the relationship starts. Both tropes can be adjusted so that the woman is the person who is unavailable or changed up and used in same-sex relationships.
Parent Tropes
There are two main ways to look at tropes involving being a parent. The first involves the protagonist being the child, the second is the protagonist as a parent.
Protagonist as the Child
There are several parenting tropes where the child is an adult, even if the parent isn’t ready to admit it. Examples of these tropes include the Meddling Mother-in-Law, the Obsessive Parent, and the Critical Parent. These topes involve the protagonist’s or their spouse’s parent attempting to influence the protagonist’s marriage. The motivation for these actions varies depending on the character arcs and plot of the story. These tropes usually appear in family dramas or romance novels. Particularly in stories where the parents are influential in the lives of their children prior to the marriage.
Protagonist as the Parent
These tropes focus on the protagonist becoming a parent. The couple may have an Unexpected Pregnancy, a Surprise Pregnancy, or a Surprise Child. These tropes may also focus on one spouse having children previously. The protagonist then becomes a Step-Parent, which has its own range from tropes, including Horrible Hot Mom, and Kid’s Playing Matchmaker. If the children are older than the Friends as Parents trope may provide inspiration. Alternatively, the spouses may become Unexpected Parents, when shortly after the wedding they find themselves responsible for someone else’s children. For added tension, an Absent Parent trope or Missing Parent Reunion can be helpful.
These tropes can be interesting to write as you follow the characters on their journey through life after marriage. To read more about these and other tropes, check out my book Tropes: A Quick Reference Guide on Amazon.