Tag: Fish out of water trope

Writing the Hidden Identity Trope

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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Last week, I posted this story about writing fish-out-of-water stories—stories about people who find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings and circumstances and struggle to fit in. Another trope I enjoy reading is the hidden identity, in which the protagonist hides some aspect of themselves to achieve a certain goal. I’ve always liked the suspense that builds as the character strives to keep their secret self hidden from others.

These characters lead double lives, with one foot in one setting and the other foot in another. They choose to conceal their true identities to protect themselves or the ones they love.

You probably recognize the secret identity trope from popular culture.

  • In adventure and superhero stories, our hero often poses as a regular guy or gal on the street. Think of Superman’s Clark Kent who works for the local newspaper and meets his love interest, Lois Lane.
  • In mystery novels and spy thrillers, the hero goes undercover to investigate a crime. This might be especially true for amateur sleuths who often disguise themselves to get close to their target.
  • In fantasy and science fiction, the hero must often hide an aspect of themselves to protect themselves from a terrible, untimely demise. Harry Potter, for instance, must hide his magic powers when he returns home to his muggle parents, though they make it difficult for him to do so.
  • In romance, the protagonist hides some aspect of themselves that they perceive interferes with their ability to find true love. For example, a prince or princess lives among commoners to escape their royal duties, or an heiress who hides her wealthy upbringing to seem more normal and attract someone who will love her for who she is not for her money.    
  • In literary fiction, a character may adopt a new persona to hide from danger. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah comes to mind. Protagonist Isabelle becomes an underground messenger known by her code name The Nightingale to support the Allies during World War II.

According to First Draft Pro blog, the hidden identity trope explores themes of privacy, nature of self, duality and the consequences of leading a double life. There is often the conflict between the public face presented to others versus the personal self that those closest to you know best.

Like fish-out-of-water stories, hidden identity tropes resonate with the human experience. After all, who hasn’t presented a different persona in public settings while keeping their personal identity hidden? Why else would Halloween be such a popular holiday? Because it allows people to disguise their true selves and adopt a new persona that may be truly different from who they really are.

So how should you write these hidden identity stories? There are different approaches you can take that can build suspense while making your character relatable.

Approach 1: The Surprise Reveal
In this scenario, when the character’s true identity is revealed toward the end of the story, it usually surprises other characters and readers. It makes for a great plot twist. Jodi Picoult’s Leaving Time has one of the best and most surprising plot twists when readers discover the true identity of one of the main characters. It moves the story in an entirely new direction.

Approach 2:  Going Along for the Ride
Readers know the true identity of the protagonist early on, even though other characters haven’t learned about it yet. Readers are taken along for the ride as the protagonist fights to keep his identity hidden. Superhero stories are constructed this way. In Superman, we know who Clark Kent is long before Lois Lane does.  

Approach 3: Everybody’s in the Act
In this scenario, each of the main characters is hiding some aspect of themselves or guarding a secret. One by one, each of their secret identities is revealed. In Hallmark Channel’s The Christmas Train, for example, during a long cross country train ride, we learn about the cast of characters which include several actors hired by a scheming director to push the two romantic leads together. Other characters not involved in the plot have their own secret identities, including one woman who is actually a private investigator trying to uncover a string of thefts on the train.

When done well, the hidden identity trope can create suspense and keep your readers guessing about what secret the character is hiding and who your character really is.

To learn more about the hidden identity trope in romance stories, check out this post by Seacrow Books.

Entertain Readers with “Fish out of Water” Stories

~ The Regal Writer ~ 1 Comment

One of the most commonly used tropes in story telling is the “fish out of water.” When written well, it can produce some laughs and high entertainment value for your readers. 

A “fish out of water” entails a person who is suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar world and faces numerous challenges when they try to fit in. They have to learn new rules of behavior, sometimes adopt a new dress code, and learn the language of the locals. Sometimes they can be at such a loss about what they’re supposed to do that they make things up as they go along. It can present some uncomfortable and hilarious moments.

You likely will recognize the trope from numerous movies, TV series and fiction. Think of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz who wakes up after a tornado in Munchkin Land. Or Harry Potter who is transported to Hogwarts and is introduced to the world of magic. Or Mork, the extraterrestrial in the 70s sitcom Mork and Mindy whose errant spaceship lands on Earth.

The “fish out of water” story isn’t just for fantastical stories like Harry Potter and The Wizard of Oz. There are numerous examples you’ll find in everyday life.

  • In Hallmark Channel’s Summer in the City, a young woman with her own fashion business in a small Ohio town gets a job offer in New York City. How does she navigate life in the big city?
  • In The Beach at Painter’s Cove by Shelley Noble (which I just finished reading), a wealthy family suddenly loses their fortune and must figure out ways to earn a living.
  • In Open House by Elizabeth Berg, a middle-aged woman whose 20-year marriage ends in divorce. How does she navigate life as a divorcee?
  • A young pianist who loses a hand in a freak accident and must re-learn how to play using a prosthetic hand. (I made this one up.)

You get the idea.

Funny thing is, we’ve all been in situations ourselves where we felt like the fish out of water—starting a new job, getting married, getting divorced, having a baby, moving to a big city or a small town, winning the lottery, etc. In each of these scenarios, we experience that feeling of not knowing what we’re doing and needing guidance to simply survive. We want so much to fit in that we inadvertently stumble over our efforts, sometimes with embarrassing, if not humorous results.

That’s what makes these stories so relatable. Because we’ve all been there. We all know those moments of embarrassment of being found out, the secret fears of not fitting in. Of stumbling over new rules of behavior, like not understanding why you can’t utter the name of Lord Voldemort or how a modest Midwestern girl should hail a cab in Manhattan.

It’s also what makes these stories so fun to read and write. There are so many scenarios to show how complicated and challenging life becomes when your protagonist is thrown in the deep end of the pool and they must fend for themselves. Learning to live in this new world is the basis for your story, and how your protagonist deals with the trials and triumphs of adjusting is the basis of their character arc. It’s how we see them grow and adapt over time.

(Test yourself. Check out my latest writing prompt on my website, or create your own fish-out-of-water story.)

Being a fish out of water pertains to our writing careers too. Think about the situations you’ve found yourself in where you felt out of your element:
 
* Writing in a new genre that you’ve never written before.
* Attending a writer’s conference for the first time (in person, not on Zoom), surrounded by strangers.
* Approaching an editor about your latest project when you’ve never dealt with an editor before
* When you attempt to write in the first place
* Self-publishing your first novel

Being a “fish out of water” means trying new things, experimenting with different ideas. Visit places you’ve never seen, take a class, start a hobby, join a club. Don’t be afraid of embarrassing yourself when you find yourself in unfamiliar territory.

Feeling like a “fish out of water” is as common as breathing. Embrace the feelings of newness, of being the odd man out. Sure, it feels uncomfortable at first, but it can inspire stories of new adventures to entertain your readers.