Squills 2/2-2/9/14

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!

Spoiler

Editor-in-Chief
Iggy

General Editors
ShadowVyper
KnightTeen

Friendly Neighborhood Robot
SquillsBot

Friendly Neighborhood Cow
CowLogic

Literary Reporter
Not avaliable

Community Reporter
Sapi

Storybook Reporter
AfterTheStorm

Link Cowgirl
megsug

Poetry Enchantress
Clarity

The Adventurer
BlueAfrica

Quibbles Columnist
Aadygirl

Social Correspondent
Iggy

Associate of Pruno
Blackwood

Media Critic
Kanome

General Reporters
ArcticMonkey
Messenger
OliveDreams
KittyCatMeow
whitewolfpuppy
BloodinkSeesFootage
Paracosm

Past Editors-in-Chief
GriffinKeeper
AlfredSymon
Hannah

Of course, our content can’t come only from our staff. We also depend on you to help keep Squills successful. You’re all a part of a writing community, after all. If you’re interested in submitting to Squills, pop on over to the Reader’s Corner to find out how you can get involved by contributing an article or participating in other Squills activities.

Well, that’s all I have for now. So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy!

1. THE VALENTINE'S DAY GIVEAWAY
2. JANUARY 2014 REVIEW DAY IN REVIEW
3. SUBTLESANITY IS FEATURED!
4. DO YOU SMELL THAT? IT'S THE WINTER FUNK
5. GREEN ROOM GALLERY
6. MYTHICAL CORNER
7. I HOPE THEY DON'T MAKE A 'HABIT' OF THAT
8. STORYBOOK UPDATE
9. FIRE AND ICE
10. COW SAYS FEBRUARY 2nd, 2014
11. KANOME'S RANT OF MEDIA
12. NEW ARRIVALS
13. THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP - 2/2
14. SHAMELESS PLUGS
15. SUBSCRIBERS

THE VALENTINE'S DAY GIVEAWAY written by SparkToFlame < PM: >

Announcing! The first ever Squills points giveaway!

Love is in the air, and to celebrate the day of lovers, Squills is giving away 5,000 points to some lucky darling that likes this issue of Squills. That's right, 5,000 points! Who needs a significant other when they can have enough points to post every story they've ever even thought of writing? I sure don't!

Just make sure to like this issue of Squills to be entered in the drawing!

The winner will be announced on the sixteenth of February.

JANUARY 2014 REVIEW DAY IN REVIEWwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Last Sunday was the January 2014 Review Day. With 88 YWSers completing 712 reviews, it was a literary success, especially for the Cobalt Critiquers. The Cobalters won this month’s Review Day with a total of 35348 points. However, Paint the Roses Red did 343 reviews to the Cobalters’ 342, prompting many YWSers to call it a tie.

The Cobalters can also proudly claim this month’s top reviewer, @AEChronicle. Although he joined the site just a few short weeks ago, he completed a whopping fifty reviews. I hopped on chat to find out what inspired this new member to participate so heavily in his first review day and to see what we can expect from him in the future.



AEChronicle: Well, to be honest I thought everyone else would be doing as much or more.



AEC: I just reviewed as much in the Green Room as I could. When it got down to the point where I didn’t feel like reviewing the rest because nothing interested me, I went and sifted through previous works until something caught my eye.



AEC: A Frost Forest, by @fortis. It was a short poem, but very nicely put together.



AEC: I like to review anything and everything, especially those works which are well written, obviously. I did mostly poetry during RD though, because it’s shorter and easier to read.



AEC: I try to stay positive, especially when the mistakes I find are mainly grammatical. I don’t like to make people feel like they have a piece of junk. On that note, if I don’t find that there is much to work with, then I will try to say so in a nice way, and then give some advice and encouragement, since no piece of work is a total failure.




Here’s what some of our other members had to say about how this month’s Review Day went:

@Strange of Paint the Roses Red:






@Lucrezia of Paint the Roses Red:






@Aley of Cobalt Critiquers:






Congratulations to everyone who helped clear out the Green Room! Congratulations also to @ZLYF and @GreenTulip, our second- and third-place reviewers; @Magenta, who was our top typer; and @Birkhoff, who made it into the top-five typers with only nine (fantastic) reviews. Keep up the good work!
For more stats on this month’s Review Day, check out @Big Brother’s post in the Lounge. You can find it here:
The January 2014 Review Day Review

SUBTLESANITY IS FEATURED!

written by Iggy < PM: >

For her awesome and helpful posts around to the site to her amazing reviews to the fact that she only joined three weeks ago, it's no wonder why @subtlesanity is the featured member!

Fact: I was in chat with her right as a member of @Big Brother (@Nate, maybe?) changed the home page, updating the new featured member. Before BB could ever make the announcement topic, Subtle barreled her way into chat and declared the exciting news! Seeing her genuine response, I just had to get an interview with her.



SubtleSanity: Well, I was lurking around the forums at that time and reviewing, so I had to refresh the page every few seconds. I tend to look at everything in details so when I noticed the subtle change in names on the featured member. I was actually really shocked.



SS: It's awesome! People notice you so much more and come and talk to you, besides is a great honour to be featured. It really is. xD.



SS: I think that I was active a lot during my first or two weeks around here, I was on the forums a lot just posting stuff here and there. Because at that time, I still wasn't really into reviewing, I was either on the forums welcoming new members or just playing in Randomisty. And I guess some of mods noticed me. xD. And later on, I reviewed like crazy due to a self-challenge and also, it is very epic and addicting!



SS: *thinks hard* Erm, I think I just had this really ridiculous grin on my face, and an ice cream. yes, an ice cream.



SS: What? Ten words?? Alright then, let's see. Be active in the forums, be nice to new members and welcome them! Be random and be epic! And review lots and just be awesome and active! Ok, that's not ten words is it? Well, to sum it up. Be active, review lots and spam the forums! Don't actually spam it...but you guys get what I mean.

DO YOU SMELL THAT? IT'S THE WINTER FUNK.written by SparkToFlame < PM: >

Many of us find ourselves in well, a funk after Christmas and New Year's is over with. It's already February, and I feel like I haven't done anything productive in the last two months. When I realized I was dragging, I asked myself the all important question,

How do I get out of this funk?

And now, I'm here to share my wisdom with you all, if you're suffering from writer's block or any other writing sickness that causing you to be laid up in bed eating chocolate instead of working on your craft.

1. Find a new project.
That's right, you heard me. Do away with the old and welcome in the new.
2. Throw a new character into your existing project.
If you're not like me, and don't start new projects very often, mix it up a bit with a new character in your existing project.
3. Throw a huge plot twist in and see what happens.
One of my favorite projects I've ever done, my character turned out to be Hades' daughter, and her boyfriend was evil and hoodwinked her until her friend John came and saved her (in the meantime, they fell in love, of course). It was great, and the plot twists kept me guessing as much as the reader!

And there you have it, folks. Three fail safe ways to get your project up and moving. Myself, I chose option number one. It involves a take on Beauty and the Beast. It's going to be great. I'm excited. Good luck with your projects everyone! (I'm crossing my fingers we're all out of this funk soon!)

GREEN ROOM GALLERY
written by KnightTeen < PM: >


I'm too tired to be sarcastic. Running on four hours of sleep is not cool.

But, I survived. And I lived to see another day.
Well, guess what?

So did the Green Room.

No matter how many reviews we give, we are always going to write more stories that need them. It's a never ending cycle. But that's a good thing. It gives us a purpose.

Claire, The List, and the End of the World: Chapter 2 is currently the oldest work with no reviews.

It's an action/adventure novel chapter written by @cha3739, who has really cranked out the works since joining us last December.

The title of the novel, she says, is self-explanitory. Criticism is welcome. Compliments are even more welcome.

WARNING: work has a content rating of 16+ for language and violence. Don't like, don't read.

MYTHICAL CORNER

written by whitewolfpuppy < PM: >

Persephone

Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and the wife of Haides (Hades).

One day, she vanished into the Underworld, due to the kidnapping of Haides and Zeus. So the story goes, Demeter was heartbroken, wandering around the world for her lovely daughter. Only to find she was gone, deep into the Underworld. Though as the maiden was stricken with even more heart breaking news. She searched for the truth, learning that Zues had banished and promised Demeter’s daughter to his own brother. Struck with outrage, she walked away from the Earth, leaving it infertile.

Zeus consented, but because the girl had tasted of the food of Haides--a handful of pomegranate seeds--she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. Her annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain. Her return to the underworld in winter, conversely, saw the dying down of plants and the halting of growth.

In other myths, Persephone appears exclusively as the queen of the Underworld. Persephone was usually depicted as a young goddess holding sheafs of grain and a flaming torch. Sometimes she was shown in the company of her mother Demeter, and the hero Triptolemos, the teacher of agriculture. Her story is a mystery, whether she went to Haides or not, whether she accepted who her husband was and the roll that comes with it. That is for you to decide.

I HOPE THEY DON'T MAKE A 'HABIT' OF THATwritten by BloodinkSeesFootage < PM: >

In the past week, the Literary Spotlight has seen a new trend f religious themed "Christian" works in its listing. Including The Christian Defense by @WindSailor and the celebrated Why I Believe In God. by @TakeThatYouFiend - which received a whopping 32 likes!

It is the latter work that has also sparked a gargantuan controversy on YWS.

After a review from new member @Basilisk, more than dozen further comments were posted in response to what was described as something that belongs in a forum 'that debate religion,' by @racket
I managed to grab a few minutes with Basilisk and ask him a couple of questions...



Basilisk: Because I approach works depending on their subject matter. And this work revolved around religion- which I think is the root of human indecency. Such a short work that claims so much is shocking. I seek to destroy and eliminate complacency.



B: Not in any way, shape or form. It's rather unfair these people are allowed to live in their little bubbles of naivety without being popped.

It seems Basilisk has the ability to 'amuse' and 'frustrate' according to @Snoink. I imagine there will be many more interesting reviews to come.

Of course, don't forget to check out the work at the heart of all this debate. And also... the rest of the religious themed works on YWS.
Including works from our very own Squillsers such as The Blood of Eden {I} by @SparkToFlame and Psalm 23 . . . my meditation on it by @Messenger

Keep reading and reviewing!

STORYBOOK UPDATE written by AfterTheStorm < PM: >



As the month winds down, I’m picking out my personal favorite Storybooks of January. Let’s see where they stack up!

#4. Ranking in at Tobias Eaton number four is January’s Official SB, Do No E.V.I.L.. *cough* Considering the fact that I started this Storybook, I might be a bit biased. However, I didn’t choose DNE on this rankings list because of its premise or background. Instead, this SB deserves recognition for its amazing participants with their beautifully sculpted and varying characters, their enthusiasm to work together, and their seamless ability to glide from one character’s perspective to another. The members of this SB are truly great, and they earn a spot in the limelight. Ladies and gentlemen, the cast and crew of “Do No E.V.I.L.”: @Rydia, @BenFranks, @SubtleSanity, @lostthought, @Ranger51, @Iggy, @Griffinkeeper, @DarknecrosisX, @pandabear7, @PenAndSword, @Inkpot, @megsug, @Dante, and @TimmyJake.

#3. Long Live the DragonRiders , recently posted by @ladcat13, certainly deserves to be on the list of top January SBs. “Long Live the DragonRiders” takes place in the world of Dunia, a world where dragons once were emperors of the sky. However, a Darkness settles upon the land in the north, and that fabled era of great fire serpents has passed… or so Dunia believed.






Long Live the DragonRiders has not yet begun, but I’m eagerly waiting for its premier! Already, @Buggiedude2340, @BasiltheCat, @AlmondEyes, @kat13254, @SecreteJournalist have their characters up and are ready to start a fantastic journey through Dunia.

#2. Coming in at number two, @subtlesanity’s Storybook on an accidental project, professors with inhuman abilities, test subjects, divided loyalties, and tension has earned its rightful place on this list. Welcome to Experimented . Experimented’s sci-fi/dystopian setting of a future Earth and all its great chaos shapes this SB into a gritty, electrifying story. SubtleSanity wrote,






#1. And now finally I present to you my favorite SB for January: Fata Morgana. @Susurrus, the creator of this epic storyline, said,






When a New Year’s magic show between the great members of Fata Morgana is ruined by violence and sabotage, the society is thrown into the midst of wreaked havoc. Illusions meet reality in this epic SB, and hopefully “Fata Morgana” will begin soon!

It’s an interesting concept with intricate, strange characters all thanks to Storybookers like Susurras, @Cailey, @CowLogic, @Kanome, @Alvarin, and @ariaadams.

As January ends, I’m looking out for some more awesome SBs to feature, just like “Fata Morgana”, “Experimented”, and “Long Live the DragonRiders”! Have any suggestions? Let me know! Congratulations to these Storybooks and their participants.



When asked “Why do you Storybook?” y’all answered immediately! Here’s what the Storybookers say:

“I do it because I enjoy roleplaying, I like writing with other people, and I like creating characters and determining their fate.” ~@Iggy

“Because I love being able to have fun, make friends, and come up with cute characters all while improving my writing at the same time. ” @Skorpionne responded.

@TimmyJake replied, “Ok... I Storybook because I love writing stories, honestly! The whole idea of people collaborating together, building a story piece by piece, each adding their own personal touch, is really awesome! I have only been in two so far. Do No E.V.I.L. and Crisis After Christmas , and both have been such a blast.”

“Because it's fun to collaborate and write stories with other people. Storybooking is like writing one big novel with five other authors,” @reisepiecey said.

@Alvarin answered, “Well.. Because it's fun. I get to write, create characters and collaborate with others, and that's always a nice combination. Oh, and I think it has made my writing better. I'm definitely a lot better at creating characters than I used to. ”

Thanks for the input, y’all! Keep your eyes peeled for February’s Official Storybook and check out some of the great SBs mentioned above. Well, that’s it for this update! As always: Write on!

FIRE AND ICEwritten by Clarity < PM: >


Robert Frost. The poet who wrote “Fire and Ice.”






I quite like how his name is “Frost” and he wrote about ice…

This little poem caught my eye just the other day! I read it over and over again and loved it that little bit more each time the words processed through my mind.

Fire and Ice; two things which could destroy one another with very little effort. Kind of like human kind, no?

I love how these are opposites, yet fire melts the ice… which then turns it into water… which then puts out the fire. It’s quite fascinating, actually.

The poem speaks so true as well. It is said that the world will end in fire, by some. Then by others, it will end in ice. Another ice age? Or another meteor shower?

This poem also speaks deeper than how the world will end. As with all poetry, the readers can interpret it with many different meanings.

More often than not, these are completely different than what the author originally intended. So, here is one of the meanings that I interpreted:

The words fire and desire… they rhyme, but that’s not all. One of the connotations for fire is actually desire.

Ice and hate. Yet again, hate is a connotation of ice. And hate obviously destroys, does it not?

Could this be a metaphor for two emotions that can both be easily destroyed?

I want you to think about this instead of me telling you what I think. Poetry is, after all, a canvas for questions.

COW SAYS FEBRUARY 2nd, 2014

written by CowLogic < PM: >



To those whom it may concern

Eat your heart out

It does you no good anyway

The gritty cardiovascular muscle pumps away through the aortic valve

Yet suffers from arrhythmia at the slightest tingle

Like a thudding timpani or a slapping bass played by a robot with pseudo-random coding

Consistent, yet so irresponsible

Unpredictable, yet so powerful

Strike your boot heel across the soaking ground

And watch the sparks ignite, then die

Taking with them your unrealistic expectations

Your notions of a status quo that transcends basic causation and energy transfer

Your steadily beating, steadily wavering heart

And setting them down for a long night

Because when morning comes, those sparks make campfires

Around which we stomp and scream battle cries into the night sky

It is too late to cry, your eyes are rendered dry

And even the coals of recollection can't mend what that blasted organ left behind

Promise to forget and go back on your word

Because you realize imperfection is the soul of existence

So what is meant to be shall never occur, for some love is too perfect

Strike your boot heel across the parched ground

Start the cycle again

KANOME'S RANT OF MEDIA
written by Kanome < PM: >

Kanome here with another media review for you, the members of YWS!

Okay, from this past week, I watched an anime that made me laugh non-stop. This anime just came out last year, and I personally think it is one of the best animes I ever watched. The anime is called Blood Lad.



Okay, let me start off of what this show is about.

Staz Charlie Blood is a vampire who happens to be an otaku. He is apparently a boss of one of the territories in the demon world. One day, Fuyumi Yanagi, a human girl stumbles into the demon world by mistake. Excited to meet his first human, Staz’s excitement was ruined due to an attack that killed Fuyumi, turning her into a ghost. Staz then goes on a journey to resurrect Fuyumi back to life.

Personally, when I first saw this show, I laughed my butt off because of how much of an otaku Staz really was. I loved the animation and the characters. My favorite character, actually two characters, are Staz and his little sister, Liz.


↑ Liz T. Blood

This is a show that can make you laugh and see different kinds of demons such as Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, and more.

I recommend this to everyone who enjoys supernatural romantic-comedy shows just like Blood Lad.

NEW ARRIVALS
by KnightTeen < PM: >

I am proud to announce that we have reached 28,950 users!

Take a moment to welcome this week's newest members to the site!

@Basilisk joined only five days ago, and has already posted an essay for our perusal, as well as written several well thought out reviews.

@InuRa has only been a member for four days, and has already written ten reviews, in addition to writing Through My Eyes of Destruction and posting the first chapter of a horror novel .

@SheaKay is from a fantasy world callen my love life. I happen to be from that universe as well, only I live on the sister planet, a fantasy world called my non-extisent love life. Sigh.
Shea's portfolio consists of a work of poetry as well as a short story .





• @Nilinia • @clrowning • @WereAllMadHere • @babygirl55555 • @Outerhaven • @NikkiJamesWolf • @duigai • @fleabags3 • @XxxBeingMexxX • @sanjeevreddy • @destinywriter27 • @famouslastwords • @AmazingBacon • @Joana • @xxdarlenee• @devdev201 • @Nepeta17 • @DexterElliot • @adventurecloud • @MisfitWriterGirl • @LivieP • @mockingjaymelody • @WolfDragon49 • @silentlysuffering • @schmittmadisen • @SamWriter • @ravynss • @PurpleJune • @felllightbright • @ohheyitsjulie • @KotGRCommander • @christian • @Jblog • @zangetsu • @semory11 • @Caitybeldy • @pinkdinosuars • @cecewithapen • @CcIsAwesome • @Aru • @FrostBitten • @nightwriter19 • @ArianaStone • @DonnaPotter • @Othersider • @Hertzog • @ishika • @GraceCupp • @kennyx • @Whysoserious • @onehopeisadream • @annwill5 • @Ruby68 • @Caiti97 • @sushmaGS • @Jameel • @xCamii • @OrangeQuills • @leahnut • @MagentaDefined • @Randome • @keelah96bst • @sweetdreamer • @Narutosrealdad • @marshallsd • @MGS100 • @Scoeri • @DayPoet • @LachlanUlyett • @dontevenask • @frozenink • @SamDeanCas99 • @gracemrn5 •

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 2/2
written by: megsug < PM: >



Do you like clubs? Do you wish there was a new one every week? I’ve found the place for you. The prompt this week is:






The deadline is Febuary 4th, and the prize for first place is 1,000 points and a lot of reviews! It’s a simple contest that’s got good pay back. Check out the details for the contest here .


@Tenyo has created a contest to raise LGBT Awareness. To be eligible write a story from the perspective of an LGBT character. The prizes are:







The deadline is February 17th, and if you have any questions about LGBT, check this out.


Is it good? Is it bad? should the drug references and objectification of women be allowed to air on radio stations and tvs? @ReisePiecey brings up a good point:






Is she right? Let us know what you think.


Why do you review? @Adnamarine created a poll asking that question. @magpie94 says:







Others review for the competition or even the points. What do you review for?