Young Writers Society

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!





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. Basics: The NaNoWriMo Website
2. Hail the Conquering Hero
3. Ask Gruno
4. Books For Bairns
5. New Arrivals
6. This Weeks Roundup-10/19
7. Subscribers

BASICS: THE NANOWRIMO WEBSITEwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Well, folks, we’re more than halfway through October, and National Novel Writing Month is closing in fast. Last week, I told you how to prep for NaNoWriMo. This week, I want to go more in-depth on my third prep tip: using the official NaNoWriMo website.

Create your profile. Signing up for an official NaNo account allows you to validate your word count at the end of the month so you can be declared an official winner, get cool web badges, and receive special winners’ offers from the NaNoWriMo sponsors—reduced-cost writing apps and website memberships, for example. Plus, a site membership lets you connect with other Nanos from around the world and find those in your area more easily so that you can participate in write-ins and other events.

When you arrive on the site for the first time, click “Sign up!” and follow the instructions.



Once your account has been created, access different account pages by looking at the dropdown menu under “My NaNoWriMo.” The options let you go to your homepage, view your writing buddies, or edit information about your novel. At this point in the month, you can add details about your project to your profile.



Once your profile has been created, you’re ready to find some writing buddies!

Find writing buddies. Writing buddies are awesome, and during NaNo you have the chance to connect with fellow writers from around the world. You and your writing buddies can write letters, send care packages, and encourage each other when the writing gets tough. It makes for a good time. Plus, the more people you’re connected to in November, the more likely it is that you’ll reach your goal. You can find people interested in becoming writing buddies by reading the short blurbs left in the All-Ages Writing Buddies Thread .

Check out the forums. Something that’s really nice about the NaNoWriMo site is that, rather than constantly having to shift through the many forums provided, you can pick and choose which forums you want to see each time you visit the site. That way, when you go to the forums, only those you’re interested in show up.

Start by going to “Conversations” dropdown menu and choosing “forums.” This will take you to the main forums page, where you’ll see a long list of forums to choose from—grouping writers by age or genre, general forums for discussion or writing help, and forums for inspiration or procrastination. Go ahead and click around the forums a bit to see which ones interest you and which ones don’t.



Then, click on “forum preferences” in the “Conversations” menu, check “hide this forum” for whichever forums do not interest you, and click “save.” Afterwards, any time you visit the forums, the only ones that will come up are the ones you want.



You can also keep an eye on conversations you want to follow by clicking “watch thread” when you come across something useful or interesting.



If you’re seventeen or younger and not sure about participating in the adult, 50k version of NaNoWriMo, there’s also a Young Writers program. This program allows youngsters to set goals that might be more reachable for beginning writers. Go to the Young Writers Program website and follow the step-by-step instructions to make your profile and set your personalized word count goal.



Check back next week for my secrets to winning NaNoWriMo!

Get started at the official NaNoWriMo website or check out the Young Writers Program
Find writing buddies.

HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO

written by megsug < PM: >

Recently, our lovely and talented leader @Hannah stepped down from her role as Editor-In-Chief, and @ShadowVyper has taken her throne of ultimate dictator of the world the Squill's reporters. We snagged an interview with her because interviews are things we do here.



ShadowVyper: The first article I ever submitted was in the February 2nd, 2013 edition. A few days later I was added as Community Reporter... yes I did have to look that up. I'm terribly forgetful about these types of things. But, hey, now you can go stalk the article I wrote as a little noob Squillsian. ;D



SV: Honestly, I joined out of curiosity. I saw a post on the forums talking about a new YWS newsletter called Squills, didn't know what it was, and figured the best way to truly learn about its inner workings was to pitch in alongside @AlfredSymon and @Griffinkeeper as they were working to launch their new project. Plus I had an idea for an article that I had to reason to write otherwise.



SV: Squills is like my little baby. Particularly when Alf and I were the main drive behind it, we both put so much thought, effort, and time into it. Then much more time and effort was was put into it when we gained @Hannah as EIC and she turned it into the fantastic newsletter we have today instead of the super short daily posts like when it started.



SV: Officially? I believe I formally was asked to step up into an editoralial position in July of 2013, though I sort of started getting groomed as a rising editor back in May of that year, when Alf (the Editor-in-Chief at the time) started getting busy and asking me to take on more responsibility with the newsletter.



SV: Well, as a general editor my responsibilities were mainly editing the articles that our wonderful staff writers submit each week, and coordinating with the other editors about who would be posting the newsletter in any given week. Being EIC isn't super different from that-- I still help edit articles and still coordinate who posts Squills each week; but I also get to work on a more personal level with the reporters, especially the new writers.

I'm the person prospective reporters send their sample articles to, so I'm the very first person who gets to see the article, and the person who gets to welcome new writers to the Squills team. I think that's probably one of my favorite parts of the job-- getting to work so closely with the writers and encourage them to be their very best. All of our writers have such great personalities and are such great people.



SV: I think anyone who was dedicated to the cause, and who had a vision for Squills, probably could, yeah. I don't really consider myself anything spectacular-- I've just got a passion to see Squills grow and evolve into something even better than what it is now.



SV: Becoming a reporter for Squills is super simple, and I'd encourage anyone who's even considered becoming a reporter to apply. All you have to do is write a sample article for what you'd want published in Squills and send it to me, along with a note about whether you're looking to become a general reporter or if you've got a column idea. Then there will be a revision process, at the end of which, when all parties are satisfied, you will be offered a position on the Squills team and admitted to all the super-cool things we do internally.



SV: I became an editor by being super active with Squills-- getting my articles in on time, helping out wherever I could, and generally making myself available to help out or answer questions. My situation was interesting, since I became editor in the midsts of all the changes in July 2013 when Squills was revamped, and was more or less informed that I was now editor by Hannah, more than asked for the position.

The newest round of editors submitted their applications for the position when we announced to the Squills team that we were taking applicants, then Hannah and I evaluated all the applications we received and appointed the strongest applicants to being the new general editors, when @KnightTeen had to step down from her editoral position at the same time that @Iggy had to step down as EIC.



SV: Well, I actually became EIC by accident, believe it or not. I noticed that @Judas' application to become a reporter had been sitting dormant for far too long, and knew that Hannah rarely had time for YWS or Squills anymore, so I sort of broke the chain of democracy that we usually use in accepting new writers to the Squills team (since Judas had mainly good feedback anyway) and made an executive decision to add him to the Squills team.

I wrote a PM to the other editors letting them know what I'd done, and rather than being annoyed with me (as I honestly sort of expected, since I broke the "rules" that I helped create) Hannah thanked me for taking care of her responsibilities while she was gone and offered me the title of EIC. Honestly, though, I think that was probably just a breaking point. I think it was mostly the amount of time and dedication I've put into Squills over the past almost two years that sort of made it natural for the position to transition to me, once Hannah couldn't keep up with the job anymore due to real life things.



SV: Sure there are. Being a dictator is fantabulous. I particularly enjoy getting to refer to myself as the new friendly neighborhood tyrant, and getting to use my position of power to be mean and intimidate poor YWSers. Seriously, though, I enjoy getting to help people, and I can't think of a better position for me in than leadership of Squills to get to do that. I absolutely love being a YWS Mentor (and you all should seriously consider going and becoming one-- it's a fantastic system), but I've noticed that it's really difficult to really get the full experience of being a Mentor while being a student at a university. With timezones and hectic schedules and mentees that don't log in super regularly, I haven't been able to have much interaction with several of my young YWSers-- but with Squills, I get to have far more regular contact with far more people (even if they're not cute little newbs), and I like that.

It's also a perk in real life, because you can totally claim Squills on your professional resume.



SV:I just want to say a quick shoutout to all of the wonderful staff writers of Squills and the absolutely amazing team of editors we have. This newsletter would be dead if it wasn't for all the hard work they put into it. I'm not very good at affirmations, and don't praise them as often as they deserve, but they are a seriously awesome group of writers.

ASK GRUNOwritten by Gruno < PM: >

Welcome to Ask Gruno, the advice column in which stuff happens. Gruno will answer any questions you throw at him, be it advice, personal opinion, solutions or philosophy. My cousin Pruno has been busy at the wonderful school for Pruno people, so I will be taking over the column. Every now and again, Pruno may make an appearance, so never fear! May the question answering commence!

Dear Wonderful Ones,
Hello, you might not know me, but I'm Climber.

So, a couple of days ago I decided to climb up the tree in my backyard. I have not been able to get down. My rations are limited and my phone and laptop are running out of power. I might not survive. Please send help.

~Climber,

Dear Climber,
The answer to this is simple. You need to find a plug. Scour the tree and it’s branches and leaves for this source of electricity, and plug it in. You need to check YWS if you’re gonna survive this, so if your electronics run out of battery power… you’re in trouble. If there aren’t any plugs in your tree (seriously, you’re way behind) then I suggest you run inside the house really fast before your computer dies. Voila! Tree problem solved.

-Gruno

Dear Gruno,
What's your favourite quote of all time and why?

-BOO

Boo,
My favorite quote has to be “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen” by Leonardo Da Vinci. This is my favorite quote because it doesn’t say anything fancy. It’s rather simple. And the words ring true. We poets create art that makes you feel, and we artists paint or draw poetry on a canvas.
-Gruno

Dear Gruno,

What are the Etymological aspects of your names?

-Words studious esq.

Dear Gruno Fan,

This tradition actually started with Pruno’s Grandmother who was from Runia. The deal in Runia was your profession was your surname (Baker, Smith, etc.). Granny Roon fought with the women’s suffrage movement not too long after the USA gave women the right to vote. So she was given the surname Runo, for Runian because she helped make Runia a better place. So Pruno’s Mom (My Aunt) Was named Pruno, a mixture of her Mom’s maiden name and the color of her cheeks when she was born. Pruno was then named after his mother. Pruno’s sister, Truno (Teal) named me Gruno since teal is a green-blue color.

-Gruno


Sadly, that’s all for this week. We need more questions. You all have been fabulous as far as asking questions, but the more we get, the better. We live to answer your questions and solve your conundrums so if you have a query, click this link

Books For Bairnswritten by BiscuitsBatchAvoy < PM: >

Roald Dahl was born in 1917, died in 1990 and is the reason I write. Well, there are multiple reasons why I write, but he encapsulates them all. He made me want to write to have fun, to send out a message and to create something that will outlast me. He made me who I am and, if you are still reading, I'd love to show you why.

Roald's Rumination 1 - The Gobblefunk Generator

I know many of us are fantasy writers and as such will probably have used a fantasy name generator at some point in time. It's come to annoy me that these names never seem to come with meanings, or origins. I might as well put a bag of scrabble tiles in a tombola machine.

Enter Roald.






Roald Dahl doesn't just arrange letters, he creates seriously silly words with tangible connotations.



For The BFG, he created two hundred and eighty-three words in total, though not all of them made it into the final version. I wonder what he did with them...

This isn't the only time he's used language to add characterisation. In The Witches, the Grand High Witch rolls her r's and pronounces her w's as v's. If there are any German users reading this, I wonder if you can see where this is going ... Roald started writing as a direct result of WWII. Is it any surprise that his scarrrrriest villain speaks like a German soldierrr frrrom the Second Vorrrld Varrr?



Despite the gruesome, horrific and altogether serious nature of the Nazis and the Holocaust, Roald Dahl manages to adapt British fear of an old enemy to fit a child's terror of fairytale monsters. In my house, nobody was allowed to say the 'w word' until I was about ten. Maybe it should have been the 'v vord'.

'Babblement'. Say it without smiling.

'Ve arrrre the vitches! Ve shall turrrrn the childrrrren to mice!' Say it without the nine-year-old within you howling in terror.

He brings joy and he brings nightmares but whatever he's doing, Roald Dahl is never restricted by a list of set words that are said to 'exist'. He sets the letters free.


Battle of the Bairns

Now it is over to you, the readers of Squills, to outdo common online writing tools. Come up with a word which either breeds smiles or shivers. PM me the word, its meaning and its origin and the one that I judge to be the best will receive a special prize. [I will devise these later but they're not just going to be points donations.]

NEW ARRIVALS
written by BlueAfrica < PM: >

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

In just over a week of membership, @Theawesomefrance has already completed 26 reviews and earned her first two review stars. Wow! Head over to her wall and say congrats .

@Levity is a Navy veteran who has so far posted the opening of a new novel project. Check it out and give him some feedback .

@samanthas0107 has been pretty active in the forums. Go over to her wall and say hello .

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 10/19 written by megsug < PM: >

Are you ready? Are you sure you’re ready? Buckle in for he Roundup!


Last year @umima created a thread where a user used three words to describe another user. It’s as simple as that and has been recently revived. For example @wisegirl22 said of @EscaSkye:







That’s very kind! It gets a little stranger than that later on in the thread. You should check it out and leave three words of your own!


@EmilyLemke started a thread a few months ago, but it’s been getting some action recently. You’re supposed to write a character of your’s reaction to this circumstance:







There have been some pretty intense reactions so far. What would your character say?


Perhaps you’ve noticed all of the squid avatars swimming around the site recently. @Tenyo has gathered a school of them to celebrate their squidness. While it’s great at causing mass confusion, @KindlingDragonsFire has a rather religious take on it all:







Whether you’ve caught the squid or not, check out the lunacy.


@Tenyo brings an interesting discussion to the table. Basically, she wants to know whether expecting a woman to dress in a modest way objectifies them just as much as expecting them to dress sexually does. @Lebensborn had a pretty insightful point:






It’s all very thought provoking. What do you think?

SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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