Of the many techniques,

Aside from plot and imagery and unpredictable choice of words,

There is one I have learned that seems oh so helpful,

To characters and places and happenings

I have rarely utilized the presence of tropes,

relying on general expectations

And since writing is an exchange of ideas and emotions,

Across pebble-crammed shorelines and the many sighs of changing seasons,

A writer must understand convention in order to break expectations

For building a world,

One so different

But yet like our own,

A trope makes the narrative real

tangible

almost lifelike

And, able to be broken

After setting up the expected outcomes and presumed events,

It can all be knocked down

And this is the plot

a narrative

a surprise

the intrigue that makes someone question the validity of the trope—

And their own predictions or generalizations

Go make something expected, something relatable

And tear it apart

Like the full moon twisting into a red, eerie eye

It is the known

The unexpected

When there is the light,

There is always a shadow close behind