Two editors. Three days. Lots of banter. All the tropes.
Increase reader engagement with a powerful, overlooked tool: tropes!
Spend the weekend with your favorite editor duo, Carly Hayward and Jeni Chappelle, and learn to:
- Use tropes! Meet reader expectations—and surprise them
- See tropes! Recognize and research common tropes in your story (and others)
- Understand tropes! How tropes really work in a story
- Dare we say…even love tropes! Create a more meaningful author-reader relationship
Bonus!
Pick which days you want to attend with 1-, 2-, and 3-day passes—or choose only the recordings.
Register for a 3-day pass by September 20, 2022 to receive a $50 early registration discount! Registration for all other passes opens September 21, 2022.
Sometimes playful, sometimes serious, always educational and inspirational! Story Chat Radio is easily in my “top 10 list of best podcasts for creative writers.” Amid witty banter, the hosts take a deep dive to deconstruct popular films like The Princess Bride, Get Out, Up, and Parasite. Each episode focuses on a story element like structure, theme, antiheroes, tension, or symbolism. As a bonus, they also include an on-air critique of an author-submitted query or blurb. I find my writing becoming stronger every time I listen to another show. This podcast couldn’t be more perfect for aspiring authors.
-Richelle Renae
Story Chat Radio is an excellent podcast for authors wanting to better understand writing craft. Each month, editors Jeni and Carly use movies to break down different aspects of storytelling into easily understandable nuggets that authors can apply to their own writing. They have a great dynamic and make learning interesting and fun. With their depth and breadth of knowledge from their extensive experience as editors, you are sure to learn something with each listen. Bonus points if you watch the movie before you listen!
- Jennifer Kinzler
What’s included
Three days of trope talk!
- Four hours of live classes
- The chance to workshop the use of tropes in your WIP
- Hands-on exercises, practical tools, and recommended additional resources
- Q&A with our two fabulous editors
And of course, movie & cocktail night!
- Watch a movie live with the editors and other participants. Then join in a discussion of the movie's storytelling elements—the good, the bad, and the overdone—and get to know the other writers.
You can attend this online 3-day workshop live, download the video recordings* afterward, or both. Written transcripts can also be provided upon request.
*Recordings and transcripts are only available for Saturday’s curriculum. See full schedule below.
If you’re an author who wants…
… to boost their writing and engage readers
… a deeper understanding of tropes and how they function in stories
… to know when and how to subvert tropes—and when not to
… all of this to finally “click”
then Trope Weekend is made for you!
Story Chat Radio is the editor-hosted show that I've been looking for. Writing advice can often be too daunting to retain, but Carly and Jeni's approach makes learning about writing techniques very easy. Movies offer a place of reference where the techniques are clear to see. Then, Jeni and Carly's humor and high level of expertise make their explanations easy to follow. The topics they cover are broad but they pick apart each facet of the subject, offering a ton of wisdom and actionable steps to master the technique. It's a perfect mix of fun and knowledgeable advice.
- Tiffany Lewis
Schedule
Friday, October 21: Movie night + discussion
Watch a movie live online and then have a chat after about the tropes in the movie. Plus, a get-to-know-each-other cocktail hour.
Saturday October 22: Classes
Topics include:
- Recognizing tropes
- Understanding how tropes function in stories
- Researching common tropes
- How tropes help authors know what readers expect
- Subverting tropes with intent
Sunday October 23: Workshopping
Group discussions led by Jeni and Carly. Work with the group to identify which tropes you use, how effective they are, and brainstorm how to handle them based on a summary of your story.
JENI CHAPPELLE is a freelance novel editor with ten years’ experience, co-founding editor and board member for Revise & Resub (#RevPit) and member of AWP, EFA, and ACES. She also co-hosts another podcast, Indie Chicks. Jeni loves working with authors of all levels to shape their stories and bring their books out into the world. She considers herself a hobbit (minus the big, hairy feet) and lives in a tiny town near Charlotte, NC with her family and way too many pets.
CARLY HAYWARD is a developmental novel editor who helps authors find their voice and bring their book to light. With 10+ years in publishing, she’s worked all over the industry, including at a big 5 publishing house, a small press, and a literary agency. She is a co-founding Revise & Resub (#RevPit) editor as well as an EFA member. Editing combines her love of reading, giving advice, and logic puzzles. When not reading or working she lounges with her husband being vastly amused by their cats or binge-watching TV.
Recap
- Four hours of live classes
- Group discussion and personalized workshopping
- Hands-on exercises, practical tools, and recommended additional resources
- Q&A with our two fabulous editors
And of course, movie & cocktail night!
Carly and Jeni have over 20 years of combined experience as editors. For the last three years, they’ve used their storytelling knowledge to help authors glean storytelling wisdom from movies on their podcast, Story Chat Radio. Their conversational teaching style makes writing-craft concepts easy to understand, and their competition arguments friendship makes it fun.
Carly and Jeni have a real talent for giving listeners insights into the mechanics of what makes a story work (or not). I’ve also really benefited from their query critique at the end of the episodes, from both getting mine critiqued, but also hearing what they had to say about others’ work. Story Chat Radio is a great resource for writers of all stages, and I would highly recommend tuning in.
- Zeina Sleiman-Long
Registration details
Dates: October 21-23, 2022
Payment plans and partial scholarships available. If you’d like to sponsor or contribute to a scholarship, please contact the Story Chat Radio team.
Click here to register for a scholarship.
By booking any product from Trope Weekend you agree to our Terms and Conditions.
The retreat is committed to inclusion. We encourage participation from Black writers, writers of color, and those in the LGBTQ+, immigrant, disabled, neurodiverse, and other communities that have historically been underrepresented in publishing.
Requirements
Participants must be 18 or older and write any fiction genre for ages 10 and above. You do not need a completed manuscript, and authors planning to query agents or self-publish are welcome.
Please review our Terms and Conditions.
Platform
Live sessions will take place on Zoom. Participants must download the Zoom software on their computer or smart device prior to the event. You can download that on the Zoom website. Participants will need an internet connection and a computer or smart device. All participants will receive a link to the Zoom meeting via email prior to the event.
Links to recordings will be sent via email to all participants and also posted in the Trope Weekend group, which will be hosted in Discord. Discord does have an app you can download on your computer or smart device, but it can also be accessed in your browser. If you want to download the Discord app, you can do that on the Discord website.
If you still have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the contact the Story Chat Radio team.
3-day pass: $550
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Includes movie night, all classes, the group workshopping, and access to recordings.
2-day pass: $450
Saturday and Sunday. Includes all classes, the group workshopping, and access to recordings.
1-day pass: $350
Saturday only. Includes joining all the classes and access to the recordings after Trope Weekend concludes.
Recordings only: $200
Access to recordings from the classes on Saturday. Will be available after Trope Weekend.
