Unlock the secrets of storytelling with Jennifer Hilt, author of The Trope Thesaurus. Learn how to use tropes to craft unforgettable characters, plot twists, and bestselling stories.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Read the Trope Thesaurus Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFYR9L4Z

5 Trope Lists to Develop Your Story [Free]: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/tvbb2jpx9x

Jennifer's website: https://www.jenniferhilt.com/

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe

Reader Meter (coming fall 2025): https://readermeter.io/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

Introduction to Tropes and Their Importance 00:01:48

Understanding Goal, Motivation and Conflict (GMC) 00:04:47

Jennifer's Background and Journey to Tropes 00:07:01

Tropes in Visual Storytelling 00:08:49

Becoming a Tropes Observer 00:16:53

Highlighting Tropes in Marketing 00:20:24

The Role of Tropes in Story Structure 00:22:17

Understanding Genre Expectations 00:30:21

Innovative Mashups in Storytelling 00:34:38

Learning from Film: Tropes and Genres 00:37:21

The Power of Tropes in Storytelling 00:39:35

Visual Storytelling and Marketing Techniques 00:43:55

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the co-founder of Creatorwood (helping writers turn their stories into movies with AI) and Author Sidekick (media company helping authors succeed in the future of publishing). In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com