Alright, so I’m going a bit crazy. We all know this. I have a goal: write a novel in one month. But wait, don’t we do this in November? Yeah, yeah, we do… But here’s the idea: You get the last month of school to write it (which in its self is a terrible [...]

[Read more →]

I took some basic photos of how the model has started out.

[Read more →]

Was amazing this weekend.  Played lacrosse yesterday–poorly, since we don’t know how.  I’m burnt.
 Who else had great weather?!

[Read more →]

I’m working on the layout of Squills now, and it’s going to be absolutely huge.  Fifteen pages possibly; maybe more.  I’m also adding some sections into it: Humor, Heard in the Forums, Poetry, and Op-Ed.
It’s going to be awesome.  But the copy editors are going to be angry with me because I probably won’t have [...]

[Read more →]

When I first came to YWS, the storybook forum wasn’t very well used or organized.  So, I began promoting it by writing storybooks and advertising extensively.
Today, the Storybook forums see plenty of activity every day and enjoy a loyal following of YWS members.  This would not be possible but for the members that stepped up [...]

[Read more →]

If you go to home page of YWS, you will find three help buttons marked by a “?”.  There is also one more help button that you can find on the forum index pages for the random member block.
I’m going to be adding these in any places where I think it will help new users [...]

[Read more →]

We watched a movie today in my Govt. Class (block scheduling gives you two hours in each class, and my teacher is too lazy to grade work, so we watch videos) and it was about North Korea and Kim Jung Il’s rule there. It is a documentary from National Geographic, I forget what it is [...]

[Read more →]

The YWS Blog now has a brand new look.  Should be much easier now to read posts, and also see where one ends and the other begins.

[Read more →]

Last year my girlfriend bought me a model of HMS Victory to build, because she knows I love painting miniatures, but I had no job and thus no money to spend. However, because of many things (lack of time, laziness, procrastination — okay, just the last one really) it’s lay pretty dormant since then. [...]

[Read more →]

I’ve been reading The Economist for a decade now, and so I’ve become very used to the British spelling of certain words.  That’d be fine, but I’ve gotten so used to the British spelling that I think words like “defense” and “favor” are spelled wrong.
Anyone else have this problem?

[Read more →]

Over the past week, two examples of the possible violation of free speech from two different ends of the spectrum have come to light.  The first comes Woodlan Junior-Senior High-School, where a sophomore wrote an article urging tolerance for people “different than you.”  Here is the AP article:
WOODBURN, Ind. (AP) — The column in the [...]

[Read more →]

Idol Gives Back…you should too.
 Credit Card Donations call: 1-877-IDOL-AID
or www.americanidol.com          
Because these kids deserve the world, and they need our help to get it.

[Read more →]

Okay. High recommendation for everyone here. Don’t procrastinate doing a geometry test until midnight (including studying for it) so you could read Writers’ Digest and The Writer because you really felt like reading about writing.
Count yourself lucky if you don’t have to do geometry. Grr.
 Oh world, when will thou doth be completely devoted to language?!?
 Can [...]

[Read more →]

Scholarships are the bane of existance.
That is all for today from Bek’s edition of Getting into College, 2007.

[Read more →]

Hi all. I just wanted to remind you that YWS is creating it’s own list of top books. You can find the nomination threads under the Book Reviews section in the community forums. There are two sections, one for Classics or books older than fifty years, or Recent Books, or books newer than fifty years. [...]

[Read more →]

It just started storming outside.  I have the windows open. I’ve lost cable, which means I’ll probably lose internet soon. But that’s okay, because I love storms.  Do you love storms??? =]

[Read more →]

The deadline for submitting to the May edition of Squills is this Friday, April 27th.  Submissions past then will be accepted, but will not be going in the May edition.
To submit an article, click on the Squills link at the top of the page on the main site.  You’ll be taken to the Squills page, [...]

[Read more →]

Bricks are used to make walls. They are also useful as projectiles. I’ve talked to a few, but they aren’t very responsive.
Anyone else have brick stories?

[Read more →]

Right now, the only project I’m working on for YWS is a knowledge base for writing articles; that is, a resource for young writers and anybody working on a school assignment.
Other than that, there’s nothing I have planned.  Not even any cosmetic changes since I’m fairly happy with how the site looks right now.  I [...]

[Read more →]

Okay, everyone should read War and Peace. Just cause.
Well, no, not just cause. It’s really an awesome book! Why in the heck am I mentioning a book that has been called the best novel ever written? Well, I just really want to encourage everyone to read classics. In fact, we had this conversation in my [...]

[Read more →]

Personally… I think if a college gives you a grant and promises it to you for 4 years as long as you keep up your end of the bargain, then they should not have the right to take it away (because they feel like it, not because you didn’t do everything they were supposed too). 

[Read more →]

… to every single page on YWS (YWS Light template… the default one)! But what did I do? Hmmm…

[Read more →]

YWS Chat has always been a popular place to hang out. But lately, people have been playing around with the create new rooms feature and it is starting to bug me.

[Read more →]

Post-its. Are. Amazing. 
Even if Romy and Michelle didn’t invent them.
 Don’t you think?

[Read more →]

The awesome thing about working for Borders is that I can loan two books for two weeks. Anything in the store. It’s like a library with the books you actually want … hmm. For some reason I hadn’t taken advantage of this great offer until the other day. I’m quite a [...]

[Read more →]

I’ve started to realize, that if I don’t have a goal, I do nothing. I’m starting a new novel (taking a break from the old one, before I go wild!) and I want to make sure I actually get something done. Before, I was writing chapters when the ideas came to me, because I hadn’t [...]

[Read more →]

On the whole, March was pretty nice for the Washington, DC area, but then April came around and we reverted back to winter.  Even had a small snowfall early on.  For about two weeks, temperatures were far below normal, but things have finally returned to where they should be at this time of year.  Yesterday [...]

[Read more →]

Well so far, April 2007 has been an extremely good month for YWS.  From April 1 to April 18, some 6000 posts were made, which amounts to a bit more than 333 posts every single day.  To me, that’s amazing, and April 2007 could end up being the first month to have more than 10,000 [...]

[Read more →]

The next issue of Squills, which is the YWS e-zine, will be coming out on May 5th.  Already have a couple articles from members ready to go into it, and I’m expecting at least five more.  So expect a very full issue.
There’s no size limit to Squills, so if you would like to have an [...]

[Read more →]

Top Five Reasons Why Procrastination Sucks
5. My Obsession - It’s quite the sad truth that procrastination of all things is my obsession. Most people find passions in life; dancing, singing, computers, cooking, and maybe a few for writing (yeah right…). My passion seems to be procrastination. It’s quite wonderful really. I [...]

[Read more →]