Froth on the Daydream

About this episode

Javier Truben reflects on the challenges of writing fiction and the importance of plot in storytelling.

I suppose it’s because I had a good night’s sleep that I feel better than yesterday. I thought I couldn’t write a single word because of the alarming lack of relevance. Writing fiction requires a massive focus on a story that sometimes makes no sense, and sometimes it truly does. Navigating between these two extremes is quite intense and certainly not for the faint of heart. I had the bad luck of growing up in a time when the plot seemed useless. In fact, I could say the novels I loved were a kind of chaotic mess. When did I begin to appreciate a plot? That’s easy! Writing my first manuscript, I ran a free-fall plot, which brought about a large number of characters. So, at the time of ending such an orgy of creativity, the protagonist looked like a bit player. Of course, that little crack went unnoticed until I began to receive the feedback of my first agent, who in a moment of candor, said: “You could have written seven novels if you had had a plot.” Needless to say, Mrs. Kerrigan was right. She had a business to run, books to pitch for big publishers, not a lab of crazy ideas, but a literary agency. A friend of mine was way more graphic: “Next time, cut the bologna in thin…

People in this episode

Host: Javier Truben

Topics covered

• writing fiction
• storytelling
• character development
• plot structure
• creative process

Keywords

• fiction
• writing
• plot
• characters
• creative writing

More episodes of Don't You Dare To Think Out Loud!

• The Death of the Author · May 9, 2026 · 8 min
• The Uncanny Wordsmith · December 29, 2025 · 4 min
• Half rant, half rendition · November 5, 2025 · 8 min
• The Substance · November 2, 2025 · 10 min
• Soda Mill Studio · October 26, 2025 · 4 min
• Pain and Sorrow · October 20, 2025 · 10 min