Squills 4/30/25

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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!

If you have feedback on this edition of Squills we'd love to hear your thoughts over at the Squills Fan Club .



CREATIVE STAFF



Spoiler


Editorial Team
alliyah
(she/her)

IcyFlame
(she/her)

Liminality
(she/her)

Friendly Neighborhood Robot
SquillsBot
(beep/boop)

Literary Reporter
Available - PM Squillsbot if interested

Community Reporters
looseleaf
(she/her)

alliyah
(she/her)

Creativity Reporter
FruityBickel
(he/him)

Poetry Enchantress
alliyah
(she/her)

Resources Reporter
Available - PM Squillsbot if interested

Roleplay Reporters
DungeonMaster
(they/them)

Code Master
Spearmint
(she/her)

General Reporters
foxmaster
(she/her)

redcarnation
(she/her)

EllieMae
(she/her)

NadyaStatham
(she/her)

Staff Chef
LadySpark
(she/her)[/center]





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GREEN ROOM GALLERY
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written by Liminality< PM: >

Many of us witnessed the Sad Panda Alert at the beginning of April. The Green Room is indeed overflowing with works in need of a review! As of me writing this, there are 152 works with 0 reviews and 143 works with 1 review in the Green Room. Currently, the oldest piece in there is all the way back from November 2024. While these may be different by the time this issue of Squills goes up, there will no doubt be lots of works still floating around in the Green Room. We've put together a quick list of some interesting works which are in need of a review. It’s up to us YWSers to trim back the forest of review-less works (and prevent the Panda from losing their snack again)!

the 'a' in your name stands for alexandria by @FireEyes
If you enjoyed FireEyes’ NaPo thread, little flames and evergreens, , you will also enjoy this poem’s take on the motif of burning. With an intense poetic voice, FireEyes compares a person to lost knowledge from an ancient city, gone up in flames.

ohodlchid aemgs by @eulogy
A poem to unscramble. Word play about serious business. If you’re at all interested in poetry, you’re sure to find this one an interesting read. You may also be keen overall for eulogy’s characteristic introspective focus and exploration of emotions and selfhood. He has had a terrific NaPo thread, which you may have seen here. Another work by him in need of review is paternity. - a piece of short prose dealing with similar themes, with ‘fathers’ as the central idea.

Fabrication: Shikri - Day 6 & 7 by @ToastK Prologue: Fabrication: Shikri - Prologue
A dystopian story, in which people’s moral worth is quantified and calculated by a machine and managed by a mysterious company. And what is this about a god? If you’ve seen Toast’s NaPo thread, you’re sure to be prepared for his colourful characters and settings, even when dealing with darker themes.
Warnings: Work has a 12+ rating, deals with themes you’ll find in dystopian works such as people being controlled by power structures

The Fall - Chapters 5-7 by @WilliamPaige First Chapter: The Fall - Chapters 1-4
If you’re looking for more stories with darker themes, ‘The Fall’ by WilliamPaige is an interesting read. Set in a post-apocalyptic world with advanced technology, this story follows two central characters. One is Benjamin, a student at an institution run by a cruel headmistress. The other is Sange, who is part of a sanctuary away from the violence of the world. In Chapters 5-7, Benjamin and his schoolmates are introduced to a genetic-modifying project that aims to splice human with non-human animal DNA, while Sange finds herself in grave danger. (The author has mentioned they welcome both reviewers who’ve read previous chapters and reviewers who haven’t and are keen to just jump in.)
Warnings: Work has a 16+ rating and is tagged for strong language and violence.

Tomato King, Potato Queen Ch 1 : Mayonnaise and Salad dressing. by @khushi17bansal Prologue: Tomato King, Potato Queen Prologue : Mannapped (yeah that's right I'm not a CHILD) By Vegetable People
For something more whimsical, here is a hilarious and charming story about a kingdom of walking tomatoes, zucchinis and other sorts of edible plants. The plot revolves around a 14-year-old magician who is kidnapped abducted in order to aid the kingdom in its quest to destroy a dragon. Read on to find out about why the vegetable kingdom chose a child for this quest and what people in this kingdom keep as pets - I guarantee these all have interesting answers!

The Aristocrat, The Bandits, The Chalice. Chapter Three by @AverageIsekaiFan First Chapter: The Aristocrat, The Bandits, The Chalice. Chapter One
This story follows a stealthy bandit called Noira, who works for a bandit queen. In this chapter, Noira reports her failure to retrieve the titular chalice. However, she has intel for the queen that a strange hooded man is now in possession of it - and that the aristocracy might be involved. If you enjoy vibrant fantasy settings, heists and a fast-paced narrative, give this one a try!

To wrap this up, here are some quotes by YWSers from the thread Reviewing Motivation, to let you know why reviewing is awesome.

@Spearmint says:



By doing reviews, you can meet more ywsers. And chances are, those ywsers will remember you and pop over to review some of your works as well! Symbiotic relationships, yay =P



@OrabellaAvenue says:



When I first joined, getting reviews on my work was the greatest feeling ever, and is the most prominent reason I stayed. Reviewing someone's work, whether you know them or not, helps both you and the person you reviewed feel happy. (Like a symbiotic relationship!)



@alliyah says:



Reviewing is a good way to "make your mark" on the site. People will probably forget most of my works within a couple days after they are posted, but anyone can look on the all time leaderboard at any time and admire the amount of time and effort it took to reach the top 20. I think it communicates an amount of care and commitment to the community to be willing to use your time to review, and I think that is something worthy to take pride in.



Onward, reviewers!




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CAMP NOVMO APRIL 2025| PARTICIPANTS

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written by SkaterChicken67< PM: >

NovMo or Novel Month is an event in November where writers try to write 50K of words! Camp NovMo however, is a camp in preparation towards NovMo or just a mini NovMo on its own XD. Here you can set whatever goal you want if it's planning or writing 20K words. This is super chill and a very nice activity hosted in April next to NaPo and in July.

In this article you’ll read about the goals, favourites and experiences of a few Camp NovMo-ers.

Squills: Hey Carlito, Lady and Crow!

I’m Nadya - a reporter for Squills. :) I’m working on an article about Camp NovMo April 2025 and noticed that you had a thread in the Camp NovMo forums.

I was wondering if you’d be open to a quick interview about participating in Camp NovMo?


@Carlito: Happy to help :)
@LadyMysterio: I would love to!
@NovemberCrow: I would love to participate

S: Great! What’s the project that you’re working on this Camp NovMo about? Give us a sneak peak!


Carlito: I'm working on a YA romance nicknamed "Baking rom com". An elevator pitch (as of now) is: When Piper learns her parents have been siphoning the social media money she's earned from her baking platform, she's forced to return to the baking competition show she now hates to win the prize money and buy her freedom. She can't let the cameras see that she doesn't care about baking the way she once did, or that she and competition rival Theo are falling for each other off screen.

Lady: I am working on Agents Of Time, formerly known as Double Agent! It is a novel I've been working on for, ooh about five years now I think. It started off as two different projects; a novel inspired by Black Widow from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a Novel about a pair of siblings, One a police constable, and the other an FBI agent, who discovered government corruption, a hidden vault, and a portal.

I ran out of motivation for both novels, and decided to merge them! Now it follows James Jameson, an Operative and his Agent, Verena Laufy whom are part of a top tier Agency used by government officials, celebrities, and just about anyone with the money, for any of their, bodyguard, surveillance, and assasinati-ahem I mean disposal needs.

I'll share the little blurb I put in my thread too!
"During a new mission, James finds himself stuck in 1915's and smack dab in the middle of a royal mystery. Now he has to figure out how to solve it, and whether or not to follow his partner to what may be an unethical murder."


Crow: This year's camp I decided to start several projects at once! The main one has the simple nickname Campfire Stories (which also inspired the name of my thread) for now. And what's it all about? Look, journaling is as much a part of my life as DNA, RNA and crow magic at this point in my life, and about a week before Camp NovMo started, I found my camp diary from my last scout camp. The thing is, I haven't even opened it since camp ended... but that doesn't mean I couldn't immediately remember a lot of crazy and funky memories! So I decided that in this Camp, I would try something new - rewrite the entire scout camp diary into a novella, only changing the names of the characters and places and adding a dash of paranormal fantasy.

S: That sounds amazing! Now, what inspired you to work on this project during Camp?


Carlito: The idea has been percolating for the last year or so, and I started actually working on it last fall before and during NovMo. I accidentally took a little writing break and Camp felt like a good time to get back into this story and also get back into my writing habit. I'm excited about continuing to develop this story and get a draft finished!

Lady: I just thought I'd be a fun way to finish off the draft! I was already writing between 500-1000 words every weekday anyway, so why not!

Crow: Love to journaling, knowledge that scout camps are sometimes so crazy that you don't even have to add fiction into rewriting memories from them and that, that I can't work on one WIP for too long or I will go even crazier then I'm now :P. Oh yes, I also found playlist with campfire songs. That set a vibe and made me really choose this one project as no.1.

S: Nice! What do you love most about Camp NovMo?


Carlito: I love how low-pressure Camp NovMo is (any goal goes) and how supportive and encouraging everyone is. It's fun watching projects develop over the year through Camp NovMo events and then regular NovMo!

Lady: Seeing everyone's projects! It's awesome seeing how everyone progresses and also seeing all the different answers to the Hashtags and in the events. Also Sprints, I love Sprints. I missed the April 12th sprint due to, a lot of things, so that was very sad.I look forward to the next one!

Crow: The atmosphere! There's always a smaller amount of people doing Camp, so it all has that friendly, chill atmosphere where everyone encourages everyone, nothing feels like "that big deal" and we all just want to have some fun!

But for me, it's also about whole mechanics of Camps. I love all events with any hint of NovMo, but Camps have a special place in my heart - even during the official November challenge, I always end up being a "rebel" who sets my own goal (only rarely matching 50,000 words), so the option to write down absolutely any specific goal (or even write without a goal!) suits me!


S: That’s true XD How’s the project going so far? Any milestones or surprises along the way?


Carlito: As of now, I've written over 7000 words this month and I've hit 35k for the manuscript, which I'm super happy about!

Lady: Well, I am on my second draft, so that's sweet. I am also past the point where I quit the first draft, so everything feels very new writing wise. I am almost at 50 thousand words, I'm aiming for around 60 thousand by the end of April!

Crow: I'm slowly but surely progressing with the rewriting of the original journal and at the same time I'm rewriting it into the first draft of the novella. Which sounded like I had it under control. In reality it's more of a chaos, which suits me. In the first of the side-projects - Clockwheel Cities - I managed to make progress with the translations into English (I would really like to publish the second chapter by my birthday XD) and The Ghostmatist is slowly but surely also getting the attention I should have given it a long time ago. Oh, I also managed to solve the gigantic plot-hole that was preventing me from writing another project, which somehow unofficially appeared out of nowhere after more than two years! :D

S: That sounds amazing! What’s your main goal for this Camp? (Are you more a word-count chaser or a finish-the-draft kinda writer?)


Carlito: My main goal for this Camp is to write 500 words a day. I'm writing a first draft, so they don't have to be good words and many of them are [brackets I'll fill in later].

Lady: Honestly, I'm just trying to finish this dang thing and get allllll the words in the draft so that way I can go back in and fiddle around, rewrite, edit and add more writing in.

Crow: Wordcounts are pretty hard to watch for me and finishing always somehow doesn't work out, so I'm more of "I came, I saw, I wrote something and got a nice badge" kind of person XD. I have to admit that with everything I'm dealing with this April, I'm taking Camp goals a little too unseriously - but I want to rewrite at least five or so chapters of the camp journal and make progress on writing/translating other projects.

S: Any advice for someone thinking about joining Camp NovMo for the first time?


Carlito: My advice for someone thinking about trying Camp NovMo is to just go for it! Any prose writing goes and you can set truly any goal that works for you. I'd also recommend commenting on other threads and getting to know some of your fellow writers because a big part of the fun of NovMo events is connecting with other prose writers. Don't be intimidated -- everyone is super kind and wants to encourage you!

Practically speaking, whatever your goal is, figure out a good time in your day to actually meet that goal. For example, my goal is to write 500 words a day. The easiest time to fit that into my schedule is after I finish eating dinner, and I only need 30 minutes max of focused time. It's often hard for me to write during the work week and I rely more heavily on weekend writing time -- that's fine. I have bigger chunks of time set aside on weekends to make up for not always having juice during the week. If it's already built into your routine each day, it's easier to actually do it rather than figuring out a time every single day you plan write.


Lady: Dont be scared to try!! It can feel like a lot of pressure for sure, but with Camp nano, it's a lot more chill, so its a great way to try NovMo out!

Crow: Do it! Do it! Do it! Join the dark side, Camp are awesome! They aren't that huge and a bit intimidating like NovMo - instead, they are really just about having fun while doing something you like. It was last year's Camp in July that thought me that small goals at a time make huge progress, and that's what Camps are all about! Having your own goal no one judges, getting all the support, having fun and feeling what I call "writingy-campy-vibe"
So if you think about trying Camp out in July...I hope to see ya there! :D


S: Lastly, we have some more advice from another camper


@ToastK: Well... Don't be afraid to make a thread and hop in on the fun! It's totally okay to not meet the goals you set up. That doesn't mean you're not doing good enough, it just means you set up your goals too high. Goals are meant to be challenging yet manageable and possible. So, don't sweat too much about "doing a good job" because the most important rule of NovMo is to have fun!

S: That was it, thank you so much Carlito, Lady, Crow and Toast!

As you’ve heard, Camp NovMo is super chill and it's a great opportunity to chase those word counts or just vibe with your story. It's all about making progress and most importantly, to have fun! XD Even if your goals are small you’ll get to the finished draft in the end ^^ Thank you for reading, see you at Camp NovMo in July!

Check out the Camp NovMo threads over here; Carlito’s thread , Lady’s thread , Crow’s thread & Toast’s thread




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FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW: CHIETHEWRITER
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written by Liminality< PM: >

Well-known in the roleplay forums, @ChieTheWriter became FM on January 31st of this year. She’s been a member of YWS since 2016, making this her ninth year on the site. I recently had the chance to chat with her about roleplaying. Read on below for her thoughts on her favourite type of roleplaying stories and themes!

Squills: Hi there! I'm Lim, reporting for Squills - the YWS newsletter. We do a column where we interview Featured Members like yourself. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions? c:

ChieTheWriter: Tis fine!

S: Awesome! Could you tell us what your reaction was when you first found out you were FM?

C: didn't even know till people started posting on my wall. I always kinda wondered if I'd ever be FM especially since I don't post works on here as much as I used to. Only took 9 years!

S: Hehe looks like your time finally arrived! What parts of the site do you find yourself more active in nowadays, as compared to maybe 5 years ago?

C: Probably in the rp forums

S:That's cool! What sorts of RPs do you enjoy participating in the most?

C: Ones that pertain to the franchises I like. Currently I'm hugely into Transformers and Star Wars

S: Oh that's fun! What do you like most about Transformers and/or Star Wars?

C: Hope. Both of those stories embody one thing, and that is that no matter what happens, keep fighting. Keep doing what's right. Stand up for those who can't protect themselves. No matter how bad life gets and no matter how much we suffer, there's still a light at the end of the tunnel and always a reason to keep going. Most stories I like have something to do with that same concept of overcoming. That there's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.


S: Mmhmm, hope is a fantastic theme. Is that something you try to incorporate in your own writing as well?

C: 100%. Even when I write angsty characters, I can't just leave them that way. Characters without change or development are one dimensional and boring. It's a fundamental part of humanity to search for hope and so possibly the easiest way to appeal to the reader. I don't believe it works well to write sad or hurting characters just for the sake of it and not give them an option to fight their way out. Not saying everyone gets a happy ending, but they all try their darndest, and that's what matters.

S: Could you tell us about a character you've enjoyed writing recently?

C: I couldn't narrow it down to one. I've got a few I'm working on, but I'm trying to revamp a few old projects. I've been really busy lately so have only casually been working on my writing. I do miss getting to sit down and plan out characters, but hopefully I'll have time soon!

S: I hope you'll have more writing time soon, too! Thanks so much for doing this interview with me - it was really interesting to hear your thoughts on hope and stories.

And congrats once again on FM!


If you haven’t yet, join us in congratulating Chie on her FM thread or on her wall!




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NAPO 2025| POETS

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written by SkaterChicken67< PM: >

Why do poets adore NaPo so much? What makes them sign up to write 30 poems in a month? And what keeps them inspired when the words won’t come? In this article you’ll be able to read about the favourite moments, inspiration and experiences of four NaPo 2025 participants.

Squills: Hey Silv, Chem, Winter and Mesh!

I’m Nadya - a reporter for Squills. :) I’m working on an article about NaPo 2025 and noticed that you had a thread in the NaPoWriMo forums.

I was wondering if you’d be open to a quick interview about participating in NaPo?


@SilverNight: Sure!

@theromanticchemist: Yes, of course!

@winterwolf0100: Yeah, I’d definitely be up for an interview! :]!

@Meshugenah: Sure

S: Awesome! What do you love most about NaPo?


Silv: I love seeing everyone's threads! Everyone puts so much thought into their themes for the month and the level of detail/dedication to a vibe makes everything feel so much more immersive.

Chem: the wonderful, encouraging community it creates!

Winter: I love being able to push myself to continue writing, even if I feel uncomfortable or out of ideas. It's a way to make an agreement with myself to get better and to improve my self-discipline and my writing.

Mesh: All the poetry! Yes the writing, but especially the reading - and all the people who appear just for April and disappear again for another year.

S: Now, if you can’t poem a poem, what do you do to get your creativity back?


Silv: I usually try to write one line I really want to build a poem around, then come back to it if I don't think I can finish a poem at that moment in time. Often it's not the starting line! It might be the end, or even just somewhere in the middle. I find it easier to progress "around" an idea if I can't write a poem start to finish because of a creative block.

Chem: I listen to a really emotional song and soak up the sound--it usually gets something going in my head!

Winter: Honestly, if I can't poem a poem, I sit there until I do. I won't take writer's block as an answer. If I sit long enough and get bored enough, something will eventually come out because it needs to. I guess that's just the creative writing major in me, who has deadlines to meet. Not being inspired isn't an option, so I sit there until I am!

Mesh: It really depends. I don't totally force it, but I will just kind of free write until I find something semi-usable. And semi-usable does not mean good, it just means that I like something about whatever I have in front of me.

S: Share one of your favourite poems you’ve read so far


Silv: I'm a huge fan of @theromanticchemist 's supposed to do great things : it details a very visceral and heavy story in a way I can picture as though I've been a spectator and not a stranger to the events. Very haunting and beautiful!

Chem: ooo, this is hard--i'd have to say mender-never-mended by @Avian!

Winter: It feels funny to say that one of my favorite poems I've read so far is from the very first day, but "Shorn " by @Sonder really hit home with me, and I thought it was gorgeously written. I'm definitely going to be rereading it several times in the future.

Mesh: Ooh, there's so many good ones! I am partial to anything that relates back to genealogy and history or grappling with religion (see @alliyah's 16. one day i will return to the beginning ). I also like anything that's short and snappy and packs a wallop in only a few lines.

S: Share one of your favourite poem you’ve written so far


Silv: My favorite poem I've written so far is probably and in the second act, there is no graveyard . The title is from an Anton Chekhov quote lamenting the fact that a director had turned one of his plays into a tragedy when he hadn't written it to be one; I think that anguish is something I understand very well.

Chem: at the moment, your eyes search mine for any sign of spring <3

Winter:My favorite poem I've written thus far is probably "Ecstasy ," about a boy breaking from his abusive cycle and being able to finally go off on his abuser. It has some curse words in it, which none of my other poems for this month do because I felt like it was really important for this one, so I guess I'd say to be careful of that, for any reader who may be sensitive to that. The poem felt liberating, and gives a feeling of hope, which I think it really what I was looking for with it, so I'm very proud of it!

Mesh: I haven't done much looking back this year, both due to a lack of time and because some of these were a bit more raw than usual, but I am partial to 23 and 24 , plus any of my music shenanigans.

S: Finally, how was your NaPo experience this year?


Silv: My experience has been great! I wish NaPo were two months long. Or maybe three... six... hey, Poetry Crew, can we work on a year-long NaPo?

Chem: pretty good!! it was my first napo and i'm so happy i got the experience of being part of such a poetry-focused community. i didn't reach all my goals, but there's always next year :D

Winter: NaPo this year has been a joyful and challenging experience; I've pushed myself, and I'm proud of that. I've been encouraged by other wonderful poets, and encouraged others the same. It's really built a lot of community around poetry, and I love it!

Mesh: Busy and exhausting! NaPo itself has been fine, but life has been hectic and I've not had nearly as much time as I would like for any of the social parts of NaPo.

S: That was it, thank you so much Silv, Chem, Winter and Mesh! Check out their NaPo threads over here;

Silver’s thread , Chem’s thread , Winter’s thread & Mesh’s thread




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NAPO 2025| INSPO

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written by SkaterChicken67< PM: >

April is the month of NaPoWriMo or National Poetry Writing Month. This is just like the name says a whole month to write poetry!

Now if you have to write poetry for a whole month, do people freestyle it all? Or is there a theme they’re sticking to? And is it everyone’s goal to go for 30 poems? Above all, where do they even get all the inspiration and energy to write all these poems?

This year, Wolfi’s theme was inspired by her great-great-grandfather while eulogy had set a goal of 180 poems for this month. Both bring unique and very interesting perspectives to NaPo ^^ In this article, you’ll first read about their experiences and afterward, I’ll share a little about my own experience with NaPo 2025.

Squills: Hey Wolfi,

I’m Skater - a reporter for Squills. :) I’m working on an article about NaPo 2025 and noticed that you had a thread in the NaPoWriMo forums, I also noticed your inspiration for this year's NaPo, your great-great grandpa XD

I was wondering if you’d be open to a quick interview about participating in NaPo?


@Wolfi: Aw, I'd be totally thrilled to, thanks for asking!

S: Awesome! We know that your NaPo theme this year is inspired by your great-great grandpa, this is really amazing. Can you tell us a bit more about the connection and how it really influences your poetry? Secondly, I have to ask, was your great-great grandpa a poet too? XD


W: You're totally right - my NaPo theme is inspired by my great-great grandpa. Essentially, I'm taking his images and titles, piecing together what I know or can infer about him, and writing on the topic of sentimentalism.

Ever since I was eight years old (long before I knew anything about my grandpa's grandpa) I've been consistently journaling and scrapbooking, and from the beginning the reason why I was doing this was to preserve memories. This fella was apparently cut from the same cloth. He published a book in 1918 titled "Days That Are Done" chronicling stories of his father's youth in the rapidly changing American West, and he kept all these carefully organized negatives and notes. He wasn't a poet, as far as I can tell, but he definitely waxed poetic in some of his writing!


S: I noticed that you post your poems over background images in your thread. Can you share a bit about why you do that or what goes into choosing the images?


Wolfi: All those images are from my great-great grandpa's collection of negatives that I uncovered a couple months ago! Within this portfolio he had a neat little index where he labeled each of the photos in blue ink, and a lot of these titles are really quite charming and poetic! I worked a little photoshop magic with that index page so I could integrate his actual handwriting into the poems, as you can see at the top of each one. The "Lest We Forget " graphic on the first post of the thread is his handwriting, too, taken from the cover of the portfolio.

When it came to choosing which negatives I wanted to use, it was a mix between which titles were the most poetic (like "Bucking the Snow " - that's great!) and which images were the most interesting to me. It was a fun process to figure out how best to photograph and edit the negatives.

As for WHY I decided to superimpose the poems on top of the images, well, I'm much more confident in my visual art/design skills than my poetry skills, so approaching the project in this hybrid way feels less daunting than just letting the raw text exist on its own.


S: Have you come across any of his writing, letters, or stories that directly influenced one of your poems? Could you share an example?


W: In "The Golden West " I was inspired by how deeply the Old West touched him. His book is filled to the brim with cowboy yarns and a deep reverence for the natural world that even back then he noticed was fading away.

S: Lastly, what do you love most about NaPo?


W: This is my first ever time trying NaPo, and what I love the most about it is how encouraging this community is, even for less experienced poets like me! I only wish I had more time in the day to appreciate everyone's wonderful threads.

S: That was it, thank you so much Wolfi! Check out Wolfi’s NaPo thread over here


*****


[b]Squills: Hey eulogy,

I’m Skater - a reporter for Squills. :) I’m working on an article about NaPo 2025 and noticed that you had a thread in the NaPoWriMo forums, I also noticed your goal of 180 poems, which is certainly interesting ^^

I was wondering if you’d be open to a quick interview about participating in NaPo?


@eulogy: yes, i'd love to be interviewed. napo holds such a dear spot in my heart.

S: Great! I noticed that you set a goal of 180 poems this NaPo, that’s like NaPo six times over! What inspired you to go for this goal?


E: i think i just want to broaden my horizons. making 180 poems means that i'll have to stretch myself out, try new things, and accept that i won't like every single one that i make.

S: Now where do you find the inspiration to write six poems a day? What’s your drive to keep going?


E: i let everything i go through and see in a day inspire me. i let it all culminate and let the poetry just take the helm! i feel like it's so much more natural. my drive, i would say, is that it's a nice challenge to have for myself.

S: Also is there a theme or style you stick to for each poem, or do you freestyle them all? Can you share your favorite poem you've written so far?


E: i freestyle them all! i find myself too restricted within rhyme schemes :-]. my favorite... that's a tough one. i think it's a two way tie between fifth motion and the third law of motion. they're both really dear to me.

S: Lastly, what do you love about NaPo?


E: what i really love about napo is seeing how people have grown, had fun, and created within their poetry. it's really astounding to see how people change within the lens of poetry, either through ideas, format, or diction. i think you get a really good grasp about how people feel when you have a gauge of their poetry. it's really beautiful to say "wow! this person has changed in so many ways since last napo and last time i checked on their poetry!".

S: Alright, thank you eulogy! Check out eulogy’s NaPo thread over here


*****


My NaPo Experience

To reflect a little on my own NaPo experience this year, I wanted to share a little bit about it.

I’m usually more of a novel-writing person, and poetry has always felt a little out of my comfort zone. Last year was my first time exploring NaPo and I was still figuring everything out. This year though, I felt a lot more confident. I decided to write from the perspective of my main character Scarlett, who struggles with believing in love after seeing the tragic love stories of her family.

Instead of just sticking to a traditional novella format, I experimented with writing a poetry novella and NaPo gave me the perfect chance to stay motivated and committed to the project. I had planned to write 30 poems, but by the end of the month, I had written about 52!

Looking back, participating in NaPo has been one of the best decisions I made for this project.

What I love most about NaPo is the community and the encouragement - this really keeps me going! I love the support everyone gives each other and to read all the beautiful poetry. Poetry is definitely one of the most beautiful things ever, there’s structure, style, free verse, capital letters or no capitals, there’s really no wrong in poetry and I’m glad NaPo gives us a chance to experience this wonderful feeling. That was it!

No matter how you approach it, if it is with a detailed plan, freestyle inspiration, or a personal challenge, NaPo is a time where everyone can grow and “poem” as much as they like about whatever they want. ^^

Happy NaPo 2025! See you next year!




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QUIZWIZZ: APRIL 2025

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written by QuizWizz< PM: >

Howdy earthlings, witches, wizards and writers! I’m the QuizWizard and today I will decide based on three questions what type of writer you are. Huzzah!! Let’s start!

Count your points while you make your choices.
Example:
Spoiler
your answers are 2) + 3) + 2) = that means you have 7 points!


Q1: What part of writing excites you the most?
1) Writing the most amazing plot twists.
2) Creating entire worlds and histories.
3) Writing deep, emotional moments.
4) Snappy, unforgettable dialogue.

Q2: You’re facing writer’s block! What’s your approach?
1) Nah, I never have writer’s block!
1) Stare at a blank page until the writing feels come back.
2) Listen to music or read something.
3) Start writing something you eavesdropped on.

Q3: How would a reader describe your writing?
1) "I NEVER saw that coming!"
2) "It felt like I was living inside the world."
3) "I cried. Twice. Almost fell out of my seat. Twice."
4) "The characters felt so real, I could hear them talk."

Results:
Be sure to share your result with #QuizWizz ! Huzzah, off to the results then!!

Spoiler
(3 - 4)- A Plot Twister: You write the most amazing twists and leave everything on a cliffhanger!
(5 - 7) - A World Builder: Your stories make people want to pack their bags and live in another world.
(8 - 9) - An Emotion Chemist: Your writing makes people feel the feels!
(10 - 12) - A Dialogue Genius: You write lines which people will quote forever!


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Now onto the “Famous Quotes Challenge”:
Writers are familiar with famous quotes, but can they complete them? The first person to PM me with the right answer, receives the special QuizWizz badge! Huzzah!!

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good … .”


a)Food
b)Humor
c)Jokes
d)Stories

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The correct answer of this Famous Quote will be revealed in next month's edition of Squills, so keep a lookout. Huzzah!!




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SHAMELESS PLUGS


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