Squills 11/30/24

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Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:36 am

SquillsBot says... · Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:36 am

Welcome to Squills, the official news bulletin of the Young Writers Society!

What will you find here? Tons of interesting news about YWS, including but not limited to: articles about writing, art, and the world of humanities; interviews with YWS members; shameless plugs; link round-ups; and opinionated columns. And where will all of this come from? Take a look at our fantastic creative staff!

CREATIVE STAFF

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Editorial Team
alliyah
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IcyFlame
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Liminality
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Literary Reporter
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Community Reporters
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alliyah
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Creativity Reporter
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Poetry Enchantress
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Resources Reporter
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Roleplay Reporters
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General Reporters
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Isbah
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EllieMae
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Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:36 am

SquillsBot says... · Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:36 am

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. END OF SPOOKTOBER RECAP
2. FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW: MOONLILY
3. DO YOU BELIEVE IN TIME TRAVELING? YWS: 2006-2024
4. SHAMELESS PLUGS
5. SUBSCRIBERS

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Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:38 am

SquillsBot says... · Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:38 am

END OF SPOOKTOBER RECAP

written by Liminality< PM: >

Spooktober 2024 was a spooky blast, with a myriad of events taking place – many of which were covered in the October issue of Squills here. In this issue, I’d like to recap even more of the fun events and share some YWSer perspectives from back in October.

Around the middle of the month, I asked YWSers @chrysanthemumcentury and @AnotherCrowInRow what they enjoyed most about Spooktober, and here is what they had to say!

AnotherCrowInRow: What did I enjoy most during Spooktober? Well, that's a pretty tough question, since I fell in love with every corner of the October YWS . This is my first Spooktober on YWS and I liked the whole atmosphere that came with it. If I had to choose my favorite activity, it would probably be writing in the many writing challenges that appeared here this month . I tried PlanMo and loved the originality of Spooktober contests. I also love the Halloween quiz and can't wait for NaPoWeek which is still upon us

chrysanthemumcentury: I loved all the fun activities the crews picked out ^^ super excited for spooky napoweek as well! also the bats on the site >.>

Indeed, there were many spooky-themed writing challenges popping up in the Spooktober forum as well as in the PlanMo club forum. PlanMo, or Planning Month, ran at the same time as Spooktober. YWSers completed planning journals in preparation for Novel Month in November. This time, in addition to the regular PlanMo journal challenges, there were also Spooktober-themed challenges released, prompting writers to think about their stories from an interesting angle, like what their setting would look like in fall/autumn.

Another unique activity from the Spooktober forum was the Halloween quiz. Run by @Roxanne, the idea of this quiz was to answer a set of questions and tally up your points, only for the result to be revealed later on in the month, suggesting different Halloween costume ideas for YWSers.

In the last week of October, there was NaPo Week, a mini version of the usual 30-day NaPo in April, where YWSers create threads and fill them up with poetry. A highlight of NaPo Week was the Poe Poetry Party hosted by @Que and @EllieMae. This was a pad party themed around Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry and spooky poetry in general. Throughout the month, there were also prompts and ideas handed out like candy. Nearly 30 YWSers joined in, writing verse about a large variety of themes, from ghosts and horror tropes to love and fairy tales. Give them all a read here in the NaPo Week forums.

Overall, it was a fantastic Spooktober, filled with writing and fun. Look out for YWS’s next seasonal events towards the end-of-year holidays!

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Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:39 am

SquillsBot says... · Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:39 am

FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW: MOONLILY

written by Liminality< PM: >

This FM joined us in March 2024. She is notable for her reviewing, her novel-writing and her overall presence on YWS. In October this year she was chosen as FM – that’s right, it’s @Moonlily! We had the chance to chat with Moonlily about becoming FM and about her experiences during Review Month.

Squills: Hi there!
I'm Lim, and I'm reporting for Squills - the YWS newsletter

We do a regular column where we interview Featured Members. Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions?

Moonlily: I would love to do so! You can ask away.

S: Awesome! What was your reaction when you first found out you were FM?

M: Well at first I was a bit confused as to why I had gotten pinged out of the blue and it took a bit to sink in. I always found the idea of a Featured Member cool but thought I was too new. However, once it hit me that I was FM I shared the news with my partner and tried not to scare my family by celebrating too loud out of nowhere. It made my day!

S: Aww, that's wonderful!

Completing Team Tortoise as a new member is sure a remarkable achievement, though, and definitely needs recognition. What do you remember most about that event, or Review Month in general?

M: Thank you. I remembered how busy it was mostly because I had never been here during a Revmo so I didn't know what to expect. With that being said I quite enjoyed it there's something so rewarding about giving people feedback and clearing the greenroom. The countdown to the review day that went up early is memorable as it was a bit foreboding to log on and see a countdown.

Other than that there was a review I got where there was a small typo with the book title. I don't say this to be rude just I kept reading it with a Swedish accent and I catch myself doing it when I update which I find funny. It's all in good fun I promise I love reviewing and getting reviews.

Plus the banner event and making a template was a blast as well.

S: Ah yes, RevMo does tend to be pretty busy! And I've made many silly typos myself over the years -- I can confirm they are entertaining xD

Your RevMo banner looks super interesting. :0 What was the inspiration or idea behind your design?

M: Typos really can be quite funny, as for the banner it might be a bit dull. I had a sticker on my laptop with the Poe quote “I am a writer. Therefore, I am not sane.” and it made me realize how crazy the idea of reviewing every day sounds. So I wanted to play off that hoping it would give the authors a little giggle. Once I got the quote down I wanted to play off an old-school vibe when it came to writing. I wanted to it be both dark and moody yet include iconic elements like ink and quills. Overall I think It turned out well considering this was the first banner I made for YWS!

S: Indeed it did! I like how you played with the quote - it's really fitting for the frenzy that Review Month can be

How did you pace yourself with regards to reviewing? Do you have any tips or tricks you would like to share?

M: For reviewing I tried to keep an eye on the greenroom as I feel a lot of works slip through the cracks. However, when it came to pacing I tried to find works that fit my energy levels. For example, if it had been a long day I might review a short story whereas on better days I would do chapters. Really the biggest thing is making sure you carve out the time to do so I tended to do mine in the evening or afternoon not caring when exactly just that I gave good feedback.

As for tips, I would recommend reading others' reviews on works that aren't yours. You might pick up a format or strategy that clicks with you. Furthermore, it could help you suit your reviews for said reviewer if you know what they focus on. I also want to bring the greenroom back up, don't be afraid to review the old stuff in there. It can be confusing if it is a novel you haven't read but fresh eyes can help the writer pick up on stuff they might not have. Plus you might get a new novel to read.

Lastly don't stress this is still for fun and you never know what feedback will help someone. Speak your mind because it could be just what they needed without realizing it.

S: Those are all great insights! I especially like the idea of reading other people's reviews on different works - that seems like a great way to develop your own reviewing method.

You're also absolutely right about the Green Room - that's a great place for a reader to be, and you'll never know what interesting works you'll find there.

Thanks so much for chatting with me, and congrats once again on FM!

If you have yet to congratulate Moonlily on becoming FM, join us in doing so on her FM thread or on her wall!

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Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:41 am

SquillsBot says... · Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:41 am

DO YOU BELIEVE IN TIME TRAVELING? YWS: 2006-2024

written by EllieMae< PM: >

Hello friends! Do you believe in time travelling? Well, today I am going to prove to you that it is real! Together, you and I are going to travel through the history of YWS! So, get comfortable, because this is going to be a wild ride. To start our journey, we are going to go back in time to October 20th, 2020… Let’s see what YWS looked like during the Covid 19 pandemic.

October 20th, 2020- 4 years ago

At first glance, we can see that the banner image for the site was different. And Vil was the featured member! I spy a couple users with different usernames now too. If we scroll down a little further, we will see a few more exciting things!

Staff picks! How interesting! This part of the homepage looks a bit different now, going straight to the site feed. Ooh, I can feel our time machine starting to hum. Hold onto your seat, we are about to travel back to… August 23rd, 2013!

August 23rd, 2013- 11 years ago

What stands out to me in the advertisement for a book on Amazon right at the top of the page! How cool!! What is interesting about this home page is that unlike what we have now (site feed and statistics) we have site feed, statistics, and the leaderboards. Do you hear that?? Oh dear, it seems like the time machine wants to take us all the back to… 2008! Lets head to March 14th!

March 14th, 2008- 16 years ago

Wow! The site looks very different. Is that a mention of @niteowl I see? We can really see how much in changed in those years around 2010. I notice that there is no roleplay tab, but there are a few other places to explore. Let’s take a look at what the YWS team looked like 16 years ago.

I can see a few familiar names there, like the awesome @Meshugenah!. It is so interesting how there is no Green room. But what about the forums?

Look at that!! It is a green @Snoink. Look at how many different colors there were. A lot of those forums looks very familiar too. It is time for us to take one final trip, as far back as this time machine will go. November 27th, 2006… here we come!
November 27th, 2006- 18 years ago

The site had celebrated it’s second birthday and was still toddler aged. We can see that ‘R’ and ‘PG13’ ratings were still used.

At this time, there were Admins, Moderators, Junior Moderators, Mentors, Instructors, Greetors, and registered users. The list of birthdays would also display user ages, as well as users who were about to have birthdays. What I really want to see is user profiles! Let’s take a look at one.

Oh look! It’s the amazing @Meshugenah!

Wow, well I had a lot of fun time trevelling with you guys today, but I say that it is time to return to 2024. Maybe someday, way in the future, someone will be time travelling and exploring what our 2024 site looks like…

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Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:42 am

SquillsBot says... · Sun Dec 08, 2024 7:42 am

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

We love to run articles and questions, but we also love to advertise for you. Let people know about your new blog, a poem or story you’re looking for reviews on, or a forum thread you’d like more traffic on through Squills’ Shameless Plugs. PM @SquillsBot with the exact formatting of your advertisement, contained in the following code.