The Old and the New

On a recent trip to the Napa Valley, my husband and I visited a 13th-century style Tuscan castle and vineyard. It boasted a moat, drawbridge, towers, ramparts, great hall, and armory. Funny thing, last time we were up that way at the vineyard across the street, said castle didn't exist!

So, how did it get there? Imagination, planning, love of architecture, Italian materials and methods, commitment, and time. "You either do it right or people will know it's not authentic."

I can't resist the opportunity to borrow this guiding principle for our writing lives. Don't we try to bring in all the materials we need to create our masterpieces? Language, voice, characters, atmosphere, stunning visuals, meaningful references, and the magic to transport it all to the page? The drive and will to create something that stems from a whole history, but didn't exist before we made it?

Starting this month, branch members will once again have the opportunity to create and submit work to the next volume of our club's Fault Zone Anthology series. You bring the materials, the dreams, the artistry and authenticity, and we will help build it into something that never existed before. And yet it's been in the making for years, germinating in our minds, forming and developing. These things do not spring up from the earth or the cracks in the earth out of nothing. There's all that time and underground activity that creates pressure to bring it to the surface one day.

Don't miss Laurel Anne Hill's interactive presentation at this month's meeting on how to submit your work to Volume 8 of Fault Zone, and how to bring your own earth-shattering voice to the surface as its most authentic and fully-formed self. Make sure your membership is current (instructions below on how to renew) so that you are eligible to submit, as this is one of the many great benefits of membership in our branch.