Day 3: Plotting with Virginia Pye and Anjali Mitter Duva

Today our guests discuss why they consider themselves “plotters,” how they go about plotting their books, how they try to keep it loose and easy and discover new material and insight as they go, and methods for making the process visual and physical.Anjali Mitter DuvaAnjali Mitter Duva is an Indian American writer, editor, and dancer who was raised in France. She is he author of FAINT PROMISE OF RAIN, an historical novel set in 16th century India and shortlisted for a William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Anjali has been a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship finalist, and is an instructor at Grub Street. She co-founded the Arlington Author Salon, a quarterly literary reading series, and serves as Fiction Co-Editor for Solstice Literary Magazine. She is also a longtime student of kathak, the classical storytelling dance featured in her books, and is the co-founder and former executive director of a non-profit organization dedicated to this art form. Virginia PyeVirginia Pye’s story collection Shelf Life of Happiness won the 2019 IPPY Gold Medal for Short Fiction and her two historical novels set in China, Dreams of the Red Phoenix and River of Dust, also received literary awards. She is Fiction Editor of Pangyrus and a board member of the Women’s National Book Association, Boston Chapter. She has taught writing at NYU, UPenn, and GrubStreet. Virginia is the mother of two grown children and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and their miniature poodle, Honey. She has a new novel coming out in 2023, tentatively titled The Book Lovers, from Regal House.Other mentions:Scrivener, the manuscript planning softwareAnd Lisa Cron’s Story Genius This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com