Young Writers Society Testimonials.

So, you love the Young Writers Society?

So, you are excited about the YWS' upcoming birthday?

So, here's a question for you all:


How has the YWS helped YOU?


We all know we love YWS like no other. Not only can we write freely, but we have the opportunity to better that writing through critiques, suggestions and general comments. There's the community and the blogs and the thrilling tea parties on the roof. The fourth birthday of this fine establishment is rapidly approaching, and as a birthday present to the newly aged website we're offering some testimonials.

What attracted you to the YWS? Why have you stayed? How has the YWS helped you out since you've been here?

It doesn't matter if you're a new member, or the oldest on the books - hey, you could even be Nate. - the YWS helps us in so many different ways. So feel free to leave a post: how has YWS helped you?



*Hearts* Le Penguin.

YWS has inspired me to have a go at NaNo this year, even though I am pretty sure that with the amount of uni work I have, I am going to epically fail. That, and I only thought of a plot at about 11pm yesterday, and what I was writing until 1am probably doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. YWS has also helped me meet a lot of really cool people online, and I lub you all. *schnuggles*

I've never really found an online community as close as YWS. One of the main reasons I stayed at YWS was because of how close everyone was and how nice they were to me. Everything looked so well put together here too, compared to the other writing sites that I'd joined and promptly forgotten about.
I've also made tons of new friends, learned random facts and other things that I try to use in my writing, and loved how serious everyone was (is) about writing.

Which reminds me, I'm behind on my NaNo...

-alwaysawriter

I am totally addicted to YWS. There is no other way to put it. Even with all my schoolwork and regular work I still can't wait to get home and run around YWS for hours. It's really taught me alot, being in this community. The people are amazing and I wouldn't go to another site if they offered me a million dollars cause there is no site like YWS and I doubt there ever will be.

Well, aside from the Writers Society, but Nate made that too so it's naturally awesome and amazing like YWS.

In a time where so much is going on, YWS gives us a chance to unite. There are people from all over the world bonding and connecting like never before and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know that I'm apart of this great sight. One November 4th, I will have been on this site for one year and because of YWS, my writing has grown. I used to only write poetry but now I'm exploring different types of fiction and getting help from people who taught me so much about making something your own and just to keep writing no matter what. YWS is an addictive site and I'm on it more than Myspace, which is like almost everyday. If it were to fall into an internet black hole, I'd gladly defy the laws of physics or science whichever and jump in after it. My mom once told me that YWS is not a great site to be on. Posting your work there is bad but I'm not listening to her. And even if I did, it would take a gun to my head to ween my off of this site. Sorry for the goriness but I love this site and thank Nate from the bottom of my heart for creating it.

~Angel

It got me out of my shell, writing-wise. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact that I actually discovered I wasn't total crap (for lack of better term) at poetry, I never would have joined the club at my high school, taken extra english classes -- aka the scifi/fantasy and Creative Writing classes I did that helped me decide my major, and what I want to do with my life. Ok, so maybe that's a bit much, but it has helped me define myself as a writer, not just that crazy musician kid and geek. I'm a specialized geek!

That, and the critique ring we have here -- just the simple act of reading and critiquing others' work has helped me so much in terms of my own style and diction and everything because paying attention to those in work forces you to think about it in your own.

All the technical stuff aside, I've met some crazy awesome people, learned a hell of a lot from them all, understood what it really means to be a leader (and screwed it up plenty, too, if you ask me) -- and it's been a crazy ride. I can't believe it's almost been four years since i found this place, kudos to the YFW crowd -- EBM, Crysi, El, Tara, KJ, Arvy and Co.

Ok, I'm done being sappy, now.

Mine shows how I have no life at all. But YWS has helped me a TON.

I heard about it through another site that I really didn't like due to the fact that there was cussing everywhere on it. The atmosphere there was horrible too. Well when that site still had a good person in charge they tried to make YWS and them a brother sister thing. That didn't work out because their family was complety rude to everyone here. I decided I'd come try this site out and everything else is history.

But it has helped me sense I know absolutly no one in this stupid little town I live in. I have no life here and only see my friends every thursday. Also before this site I thought a crit was where you posted your story and others told you how completly horrible it was. I learned how to crit work the right way and then turn around and do the same to my own work. I've gotten so much better at my writing it is unbelieveable.

Without YWS I'd be a pain in the butt to live with and I'd have absolutly nothing to do when I had writers block.

YWS is a HUGE help and I hope it NEVER dies.

((Sorry for the caps))

TNC

YWS is my best friend and my favorite chocolate bar and my get out of jail free card.

Duh, my writing has gotten better. That's pretty much a given here. But YWS introduced me to so much more about writing that I ever thought I'd know...now I'm actively trying to improve my craft outside of the site and the school litmag (of which I'm now editor-in-chief). It was sort of the push in the backside that I, at the age of fifteen, needed to realize what the heck I'm doing.

I found YWS through writing.com, which was way too big. I stayed because even though the site was really tiny (I was member #52), the community was awesome and people were really nice about helping me with my writing. Since then, I've been in and out a few times, but I always come back because I love writing and I love Nate and the members who have made this such an awesome little corner of the Internet. So...thank you everyone, and HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S YOUR GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like Owl, I found this site after I'd been to writing.com. I was looking for a writers' forum and this one turned up. Now I'm here, a year after I joined, and it's still a great place.

What I love most is getting to meet so many awesome people. Where else do you meet a Japanese-loving kitty (Black Cat Sachiko), a big, bad bear (Jared), and so many others?

I've professed my love of YWS so often in the last year and a half but I never get tired of it. This site is amazing. It gives young writers a place to congregate and grow into better writers, helping and learning from their peers. It's... it's impossible to describe the epic feats of YWS and I love this place to pieces.

*snuggles site*

Oh, where to [s]star[/s] [s]sart[/s] start?

...So I still have much to learn.

But! YWS has been my home. I mean, sure, this house I'm sitting in right now is home, but what would I do at home without YWS? Right now, if I had never found YWS, I'd be...well, doing my homework, but! I'd be playing more video games. Like my brother. And dad. And mom. And sister. I'd be just like them. I still kidna am, but I would be if YWS didn't just appear out of no where. I would be more of a computer guru *wants to go into computer science*, but instead, I'm a writer.

A writer.

Jabber, the Writer. Who would've thought that would be put together? I write? I never knew I could have any skill in the area. I always stumbled through school papers and such, just wanting to get them over with. YWS helped me fight my fears. I was afraid of writing, but now? It's what I do. Sure, without writing, I'd be all about correct grammar like my dad. YWS helped me find another side of me that I could never have found by myself. I started writing without YWS, but I wanted to just give up because I was so bad at it and didn't have any patience for it. After getting used to YWS, I'm so thankful for sticking to it. This is what I do!

And then there's the social aspect. I have so many friends. Everyone, including the people who join the site right this very second, shapes me. You all have been so friendly, and I could only do the same in return. So very rarely have I ever gotten upset with anyone if I have. You guys are my family. What could I do without you? I have no friends in my real family, besides the immediate brother/sister/parents/cat thing. Everyone's either too old or too young. But you guys are perfect for me. I can always come here when I feel down and immediately be cheered up just by seeing a familiar username.

YWS has changed my life. YWS has given me hope.

YWS has helped me.

Jabber, the One and Only!

I have seen a lot of different writing styles that I never thought of before. Also I have gotten a lot of my questions about writing, and about different topics about writing answered by very good writers. Everyone here is really nice, and I have gotten some of my things reviewed and I have gotten ideas on how to make them better.
So over all it's been good here.

it has taught me a wider vocab, because when reading other people's works, i can see new words and i am then able to use them in my own works, because i never knew they existed before.

It also has allowed me to write about wider topics, rather than just romance/action. I've never liked fantasy (hated the stuff) until here and read people's works. Amazing, it really was.

YWS helped me, as Meshugenah said, to get out of my shell. Up till a couple of months ago, I would never have shown anybody any of my works. YWS has a great community and everybody is helpful, which really appealed to me. I could not have chosen a better site in which to share my writing.