z
  • Home

Young Writers Society


Soli Deo gloria



  • alliyah
    Nov 18, 2023

    CLUE THREE / NINE #FollowThePig #ClueHunt
    Yeah pigs are great... but
    I love chickens, and ducks, and gooses too,
    I also love colors, how about you?
    Is the ultimate color rose-red, leaf-green, dark cyan, or dodger-blue?

    Hmmm the clues are unfolding, we're getting closer to finding that missing pig ~ remember the first one to find Tuddy, the pig, will be able to claim the 1000 point prize! Good luck!


  • alliyah
    Nov 18, 2023

    Oh no! We are missing Tuddy the pig! Watch for a series of Nine Clues in the next day dropping on the People Tab to help us track him down. First one to do so will win the reward of 1000 genuine YWS points!

    Big Brother wrote:Well, what's Birthday Week without a little bit of chaos? It seems in midst of all the activities that because of the attention garnered to Tuddy from the Birthday Scavenger Hunt, our YWS Staff Lounge Pig has been lost in the Labyrinth! I have organized a search party to gather up clues with @alliyah heading it up. If you can find a golden goose, surely you can find a pig hidden somewhere around the site right?

    YWSers, I need your help to find him. He is a very valuable and important pig, integral to moderating operations on YWS. Follow the tracks, gather the clues, and find where Tuddy has gone so we restore him to our Moderator Staff HQ.

    (If you find where Tuddy is hidden, don't spoil the search for everyone else, just message alliyah with a screenshot of the pig so we know he's safe! The first user to send alliyah a screenshot of where Tuddy the pig is hidden will receive an award of 1000 points.)

    Follow the pig tracks to find where Tuddy went missing to. Good luck! #FollowThePig #ClueHunt

    Link to original comment


  • alliyah
    Nov 17, 2023

    Let's go! #19questionsfor19years love reading everyone's so far ~ I am not spending a great deal of time thinking of these, just first answers here.

    1 reason you love reading and writing? Creative opportunities to see / understand things in new ways.
    9 adjectives to describe yourself? Thorough, Critical, Perfectionist, Reliable, Spiritual, Compassionate, Creative, Helpful, Reflective / Ruminating
    ^ This question I probably put the most thought into. :]

    YWS member shout-out? @DreamyAlice did a great job coming up with these questions
    Early-morning productivity or late-night chaos? Always late-night.
    Are you tired? of course
    Reason to smile? getting to see my family next week
    Sweet or spicy? sweet!

    One thing you love about yourself? :] I'm a good public speaker!
    Favorite holiday? Christmas! (I also love groundhog day)

    Weirdest thing you’ve done in public? not sure really! Maybe giving away Bibles & praying with strangers in public? I don't find that weird, but others might!
    Raw childhood memory? I remember learning to tie my shoes - I felt like it was a BIG moment - and remember walking over to the room where there were two tennis shoes on the ground and then getting the explanation.
    If you could have a single magic power what would it be? time travel
    Travelling or homesick? I am always homesick - and love traveling home the best.
    If you were invited to attend Hogwarts, which Hogwarts House would you choose? Gryffindor or Raven Claw I think
    New username? anchovies but it is unavailable. >:(
    Growing up? I think I am already grown up.

    YWS favorite event? NaPo & YWS Olympics!
    Age? twenty seven and eleven months old.
    Your favorite fictional character created by you? lol I wrote a short-story comedy once with a character named Lenny.


  • alliyah
    Nov 17, 2023

    Hey friends, don't forget to check out my scavenger hunt this week - entries due by end of the day Sunday! :) In the past, sometimes the winners have only managed to answer a fraction of the questions, so even if you are finding the questions difficult, don't be afraid to give it a try and send your answers in. :)


  • alliyah
    Nov 17, 2023

    ~ #poetryshoutout
    AilahEvelynMae wrote:also i wrote a poem about pigs doing cartwheels
    Daredevil Oink: A Swine's Wild Ride

    Link to original comment


    AilahEvelynMae ahhhhhh thanks im glad you like it hehe <3
    Nov 17, 2023


  • alliyah
    Nov 17, 2023

    This looks fun!
    DreamyAlice wrote:Image
    Yay! Another day of fun! I hope all the members are enjoying this birthday week. It's time for another fun hashtag #19questionsfor19years To participate in this one, just copy and paste the questions below and tackle answering them. Then go ahead and read everyone else's to get to know everyone better! Leave a comment if you find someone's answers interesting or surprising.

    Code: Select all
    [b]1 reason you love reading and writing?[/b]
    [b]9 adjectives to describe yourself?[/b]

    [b]YWS member shout-out?[/b]
    [b]Early-morning productivity or late-night chaos?[/b]
    [b]Are you tired?[/b]
    [b]Reason to smile?[/b]
    [b]Sweet or spicy?[/b]

    [b]One thing you love about yourself?[/b]
    [b]Favorite holiday?[/b]

    [b]Weirdest thing you’ve done in public?[/b]
    [b]Raw childhood memory?[/b]
    [b]If you could have a single magic power what would it be?[/b]
    [b]Travelling or homesick?[/b]
    [b]If you were invited to attend Hogwarts, which Hogwarts House would you choose?[/b]
    [b]New username?[/b]
    [b]Growing up?[/b]

    [b]YWS favorite event?[/b]
    [b]Age?[/b]
    [b]Your favorite fictional character created by you?[/b]

    Link to original comment


  • alliyah
    Nov 16, 2023

    ~ any questions? #interviewme :]


    AilahEvelynMae What inspires you to be a good person?

    Something you are looking forward to?

    How do you pronounce the word "aunt"?
    Nov 16, 2023


    Rose If your writing had a soundtrack, what song or genre of music would dominate it?

    What's your go-to writing beverage? :D
    Nov 16, 2023

    9 More Replies
    Click To Expand

  • alliyah
    Nov 16, 2023

    Big Brother wrote:Image

    Thank you to everyone who has wished the site or myself a Happy Birthday this week! I love a birthday party, don't you?

    Today's activity is the classic #InterviewMe hashtag - > you can post the hashtag on your wall, and users can post appropriate questions in the comments that you can answer. If you post the hashtag, be sure to ask questions on other's walls too! Let's learn some more about this wonderful society we are part of! Don't forget many of the Birthday Activities continue on til the end of the week - Birthday Week Itinerary

    Link to original comment


  • alliyah
    Nov 16, 2023

    Many of you had it right; here's the answers under the spoiler!
    Spoiler! :


    1) black belt in kung fu + meeting Jackie Chan - Lie!
    While I do have a black belt in taekwondo and back in High School competed in a few tournaments with that etc. I have never met Jackie Chan in any capacity, have never tried kung-fu, and have never been to the hospital for a sprained wrist!

    2) written a book chapter for a very cool book - Truth!
    Okay, calling it a "chapter" is a little bit generous, because my section that I wrote is only 4 pages, but the rest is true and it was a ton of work. The book was published by my university and had a lot of fantastic admin and community support so I think it blew up to more than any of the student writers had anticipated. There were about a dozen capstone students who researched and wrote the chapters and we had the benefit of a wonderful marketing, journalism, and editor team too. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to have been part of the project.

    3) electric-string group disaster - Sadly - Truth!
    Okay so long explanation for you ~ I do play the violin! - the "string group" was a group of my Orchestra friends in High School that played together for about 4 years, as people graduated we brought on new players and it was a lot of fun - we had a cool name and dressed in coordinating colors and often played electric string instruments. There was once a local newspaper article that briefly mentioned us. It was fun! We mostly performed during our HS Orch Concerts, but also at a few nearby ensemble contests, and like once or twice at our local mall. The "audience" we played for in our final performance was a school-wide contest we chose to enter (so just my whole High School + staff) and it went so badly. When we came out on stage, the school started booing us loudly and ruthlessly before we had a chance to even begin, the "judges" stopped us to make us leave before we really had a chance to start and tbh I'd still say it was one of the most humiliating days of my life. I mean - can you just imagine feeling like your entire school was booing at you, for something that you had prepared weeks for, before you even a chance to begin? Kind of devastating! We did get in a little trouble for the cello player kicking the music stand - but I don't really blame him. Reasonably, we never played together with that particular group again and while I love playing music - this unfortunately did take some of the joy out of performance for me and nearly made me give up on the violin altogether.


    alliyah wrote:Forgive me if I have shared these particular truths / lies before! I think these are kind of fun if you don't know these things about me already. #TwoTruthsAndALie #2Truths1Lie

    1) I actually have a black belt in kung fu, and once participated in a demonstration in front of Jackie Chan. While I was able to complete my routine, I was injured during the demonstration, and had to go to the hospital to determine if I had sprained my wrist.

    2) I have written a chapter of a book used for collegiate level courses in Religious Studies. The book was later given to a bishop to present to the Pope and also presented at one of the Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion. The work took me around a year to compile research and interviews for and remains one of my proudest writing achievements.

    3) Though I usually don't share my instrument passions on YWS, you might know I play the violin. I once was part of an electric-strings group which performed in front of an audience of 1000+. It did not go well. Our cello player kicked his stand off the stage in anger before our first song was over. Our group never performed together again.

    Link to original comment


    Rook
    Spoiler! :
    what!?! why would they boo before you even started!?! that sucks so much

    Nov 16, 2023


    alliyah
    Spoiler! :
    Yeah it was rough! The contest was based on a "gong show" format - so students were allowed to boo or clap based on if they though the judges should "gong" / kick the performance out, they weren't necessarily encouraged to but weren't stopped from being obnoxious. Most of the acts had the benefit of getting at least 30 seconds into their act before getting booed. But they were just not feeling generous with ours and were booing before we had a chance to play. I think they anticipated we were going to do like Bethoven or something more formal because we had stringed instruments and just weren't having it / not willing to listen - though we had prepared a pop song so I think if they'd given us a shot most people would have enjoyed it. Oh well!

    Nov 16, 2023


  • alliyah
    Nov 15, 2023

    Okay! Here are a few Birthday Acrostics ~ #BirthdayAcrostics I think the last has to be my fave!

    Your
    Walrus
    Steve

    ~~

    Being older
    isn't always
    really how you'd expect
    things to go - sometimes
    honestly...
    days are long, sometimes short,
    and sometimes
    you forget to keep track.

    ~~
    Young people eventually become old people
    With enough raisins eaten, and miles walks, and breaths kept,
    So tread carefully in this game of time.

    ~~~

    Young people eventually become
    older people with enough words exchanged and miles walked
    uncommonly, but not impossibly, sometimes time can stop or reverse;
    narrow doors of years become just wide enough for time-travel,
    generations meeting across centuries through memory.

    ~~~~

    Why allocate a piece of concrete space for these thin words?
    Really, you ask, do I feel like they'll matter, or be read again?
    I honestly couldn't tell you what I hope they'll do except,
    Turn these winding thoughts into flower gardens to tend and mend
    Each word sprouting flowers where wounds used to be etched
    Roots binding together a home where the
    Sand used to recede from the shore each year.

    ~~~~

    Sometimes I wonder
    out of all the stars and grains of sand and people in-between
    could there be more than coincidence
    in the fact that you are here in the same slice of
    eternity with me -
    time is unforgiving after-all, so I have to believe
    you and I are here for a reason.

    Spoiler! :

    Quillfeather wrote:Image
    Another day of birthday fun in this wonderful week!

    Show your poetry love for YWS by writing a birthday-themed acrostic!

    An acrostic is a form of poetry where you use a word and make each sentence begin with that letter from that word.

    For this challenge, you can use any birthday, party, or YWS words!

    Just share with a hashtag #BirthdayAcrostics

    Get Poeting!

    Link to original comment


  • alliyah
    Nov 15, 2023

    Forgive me if I have shared these particular truths / lies before! I think these are kind of fun if you don't know these things about me already. #TwoTruthsAndALie #2Truths1Lie

    1) I actually have a black belt in kung fu, and once participated in a demonstration in front of Jackie Chan. While I was able to complete my routine, I was injured during the demonstration, and had to go to the hospital to determine if I had sprained my wrist.

    2) I have written a chapter of a book used for collegiate level courses in Religious Studies. The book was later given to a bishop to present to the Pope and also presented at one of the Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion. The work took me around a year to compile research and interviews for and remains one of my proudest writing achievements.

    3) Though I usually don't share my instrument passions on YWS, you might know I play the violin. I once was part of an electric-strings group which performed in front of an audience of 1000+. It did not go well. Our cello player kicked his stand off the stage in anger before our first song was over. Our group never performed together again.


    alliyah Feel free to make your guess on my wall or in a comment to this post in a spoiler!
    Nov 15, 2023


    Quillfeather
    Spoiler! :
    I think it's three because I know you play a lost of instruments I don't feel like you have mentioned anything like this. Although all of these are crazy stories I can't wait to find out

    Nov 15, 2023

    7 More Replies
    Click To Expand

  • alliyah
    Nov 14, 2023

    What's that? A slice of poetry? Don't mind if I do! :D
    Plume wrote:
    Image

    What's this? A poetry contest?

    Click on the image for more info!

    Link to original comment


  • alliyah
    Nov 14, 2023

    The Birthday Fun continues!
    Quillfeather wrote:Image

    You Are cordially invited to YWS'S 19th Birthday Part Write In!
    The festivities will begin at As we share what we love most about YWS, hang out and Have fun! (maybe even get a little work done) Then We will have a WFP art best cake contest.

    Then we will meet again at When Cake and Icecream Will be served, we will share more lovely memories, and a friendly game of truth or dare.
    (this pad will still be open throughout the day as guests would like to join)

    Join The festivities Here YWS's Birthday Bash

    Link to original comment


  • alliyah
    Nov 13, 2023

    Re-sharing this from @ChesTacos in honor of YWS Birthday Week! :)
    ChesTacos wrote:Since it's YWS birthday week I thought I'd share a link to YWS from every (documented) year:



    (also just to clarify, I took one link from each year so if the site changed like 20 times in a year I only took the one closest to November)

    Link to original comment


    Hannah I spy Jared and Kylan and Mars and Squall and Lumi and Deanie and Fortis and ArcticMonkey and Squills and TimmyJake. ♡♡♡
    Nov 13, 2023


    alliyah <333
    Nov 14, 2023


  • alliyah
    Nov 13, 2023

    The scavenger hunt is ready to go! Give it a try, and let me know which question you think is the hardest.

    alliyah wrote:Image

    The YWS Birthday Scavenger Hunt is up and running - see how many answers you can track down! And send the answers over to me by Sunday for a chance to win. Good luck! I had a wonderful time coming up with the questions this year, and really hope you give it a try!


    alliyah Here's some of my favorite new questions from the scavenger hunt they took me a long time to come up with, so I would love to go through the thought process of someone trying to solve them.

    In honor of one of YWS's Birthdays @Carina made a video of YWS Memories, if you go to 4 minutes and 22 seconds into the video, you can view an absolutely incredible piece of art that I made, in addition to 5 characters that @soundofmind drew. Name the 5 characters and the Storybook they belong to.

    YWS has an ongoing joke that moderators are "covered in slime." Right around YWS's birthday, in November of 2020, one of our current Distinguished Moderators made an academic presentation about slime-molds. What was their username at the time?

    9 years ago, a cool new avatar trend swept across the site. What was it? Whose avatar still is adorned in this way? Bonus point if you change your avatar to participate in this trendy trend.

    In 2015 @niteowl celebrated a big personal YWS achievement with us, which two Harry Potter characters showed up for the party?


    If you happen to know any of the above, or want to give them a try, check out the directions for the Scavenger Hunt at the link above and see how many you can do! :)
    Nov 13, 2023


    niteowl Love how I honestly have no clue on the answer to the question that literally features me @alliyah
    Nov 13, 2023

    2 More Replies
    Click To Expand


Stupidity's the deliberate cultivation of ignorance.
— William Gaddis