Revising and Recommiting

An Update from Ann

What I’m Up To

Well, it’s been awhile since I last posted. Firstly, apologies for my long absence here. For those of you who were here before my hiatus, thanks for sticking around! For those who are new, welcome and thanks for waiting!

I’ve been immersed in rewriting and editing my novel (working title: Land Until the Sky Comes Down, which is from the last line of James Galvin’s poem “Utah Ghost Town). After querying agents in 2023 and getting some interest, including very generous feedback from an agent who was intrigued but felt that the story would be hard to place in the current marketplace, I decided to revise before continuing on the query path.

What started as a revision developed into an almost complete rewrite. In hindsight, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise — I totally reworked one of the three main characters and changed the ending, which both had ripple effects through the entire story. It’s a five act book, and almost all of the writing in the last three acts is new.

I worked with an excellent book coach, Ivy Dally. Her main focus is in romantasy, a genre with which I am not deeply familiar, and it was interesting to see how her deep understanding of plot and story-structure helped me bridge my background in literary fiction and non-fiction with more commercial writing that has a broader appeal. Over the last few weeks, I implemented feedback from two kind-hearted, charitable beta-readers and polished my query materials with help from Ivy and another generous writer I met in the online, human-centered marketing class I’m taking with Dan Blank. I owe a huge shoutout to all of these fantastic folks for their time and thoughtfulness.

During this rewrite process over the last ten months, I also revamped my website, spent thirty-nine nights in a sleeping bag in the Red Desert and Wind Rivers and an additional three in a cabin in Dubious for elk hunting. I rode my horse, Scout, for hours and miles. My family held another celebration for life, this time for my uncle, Ronnie, who died almost exactly one year after my father. My son started third grade. I taught two summer classes at the University of Wyoming, one for the Honors College and one for the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. One of these I’d never taught before, and the amount of work required to prepare for it took me by surprise. However, feedback from my students suggest it went well. I also taught a third course over winter break. Working with all of my students gave me much needed hope for the future.

In short, life has been life-ing.

But I regret that my attention on connecting with all of you slipped. As I recenter, I’m looking for new ways to enliven my posts here and perhaps through other channels. As I embark on that effort, I’d love to hear from you — what sorts of updates and posts do you want to see more of from me? What sorts of posts, newsletters, etc. do you most enjoy from other writers, artists, thinkers, friends? If you’d like, drop me a line in the comments or by replying to this email.

What I’m Reading, Writing, Watching, Listening To This Week

• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin: Though I do love a good fantasy series (thanks to my father, who read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings to my brother and me when were little), I couldn’t stomach the grittier, bleaker, and more violent vision of Martin’s Game of Thrones. But this collection of novellas about hedge knight Dunk and his squire Egg has a lighter tone and a dash more hope about the nature of humanity. I’m partway through the final novella and am curious to see how themes and strands from the earlier installments connect and resolve.

  • My husband, Rob, and I also started watching the new HBO series by the same title. Two episodes in, I’m struck by the humor and irreverent tone, and I adore the two leads. I don’t believe casting could have been better.

• 1980s Action and Sci-Fi Movies (I cannot make myself call many of them “films”): Rob and I have been rewatching 1980s sci-fi and action movies, and though I struggle with the violence at times, it’s been a lot fun to revisit some of these iconic flicks. (Think Predator, Running Man, Terminator and Terminator 2). Cerebral? Not really. But sometimes thinking about how they work and why, how this genre has evolved, and how these movies speak to each other and movies across decades can be intriguing. For instance, is Emily Blunt’s Rita Vrataski in The Edge of Tomorrow an heir to Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor? How are these characters both resistant to depictions of female characters that emphasize sexuality and how are they still defined by those stereotypes? Also, have we learned nothing from all of the movies (SO MANY!) that warn against careless use of AI and vapid media programming? And why were so many apocalyptic movies, television shows, video games, books, etc. made in the 1980s and early 1990s and why are we seeing this trend surge again now?

• “Text is King,” a Substack post by Adam Mastroianni on “Experimental History”: This article argues that serious written work (think books) and a people’s desire to read will never be “dead” as is so often proclaimed in this age of short videos, social media, etc., etc. I loved this line: “Finishing a great nonfiction book feels like heaving a barbell off your chest. Finishing a great novel feels like leaving an entire nation behind.”

That’s all for this week. I look forward to catching up with all of you again soon!