Tropes can be born, have children, and even die. This is the lifecycle of a trope:
- Stage 1: A creator decides to do something new. Many people start following suit, and a new trope is born. After a lot of time...
- Stage 2: The trope matures as more and more creators use it, transforming it in many ways, such as exaggerating, downplaying, and even subverting and/or parodying. This is also the stage where Deconstruction and Reconstruction are likely to appear. Sub-tropes are also sometimes created.
- Stage 3: The trope has so many examples, it becomes an Overdosed Trope. This is the peak of the Trope Lifecycle. After a while...
- Stage 4: The trope is overused so much, it becomes a Discredited Trope. It has been used way too much. Eventually...
- Stage 5: The trope becomes a Dead Horse Trope, where it is subverted and parodied more than it is played straight. It may also become an Undead Horse Trope. But eventually...
- Stage 6: The trope becomes a Forgotten Trope, where it completely disappears from the writer's toolbox. Nobody uses the trope anymore, but This Very Wiki still remembers it. The trope is actually gone but not forgotten. Some writers may also use the sub-tropes, or even use elements from a Forgotten Trope, to invent new tropes, and the lifecycle begins again.
