Data-Driven Story Craft (Part 1): Tropes and Reader Expectations
· 11 min read
You’ve seen it in your reviews: certain phrases keep showing up. “Found family.” “Second chance.” “Ruthless fae prince.” The patterns are there even when you don’t look for them.
Those phrases aren’t accidents. They are reader shorthand for the feelings and scenes they want. When you read them as signals—not guesses—you can plot with precision and package with confidence.
