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. You can also subscribe to the Squills Fan Club , or PM SquillsBot to receive a notification each time a new issue is published!

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

1. ADVENTURES IN WRITING
2. EASTER TRADITIONS AND MEMORIES
3. KANOME’S RANT OF MEDIA
4. FM INTERVIEW WITH ROBUSTO
5. NEW ARRIVALS
6. THIS WEEK’S ROUNDUP - 4/12
7. SHAMELESS PLUGS
8. SUBSCRIBERS

ADVENTURES IN WRITINGwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Last week, I told you we’d talk about vocabulary use in writing...and then I went all English teacher on you and defined diction, denotation, and connotation instead. This week, we’re moving past the terms and getting into the how and why. So here are three things you need to consider in your choice of words when writing.

Character. The first thing to consider when deciding what kind of diction to use is your viewpoint character. Artemis Fowl is a prime example. I was an avid reader who nonetheless had to keep a dictionary by me when I read the first few books in the series, but it makes sense that words like “dissected,” “pseudonym,” and “authentic” appear in the prose: the title character is a child prodigy.

(The other important characters tend to be extremely intelligent as well, although few of them work at Artemis’ level.)

If Artemis was a normal twelve-year-old, or uneducated, or more interested in basketball than academics, then these words would have seemed out of place. A character’s education, interests, social class, and geographic location will affect the words and phrases they use in dialogue, which in turn affect the words and phrases in the prose.

Additionally, you’ll want to consider the point of view you’re using. In third person, you can get away with a certain amount of diction that’s beyond your character’s grasp, but first person is limited by the words the narrator would actually use.

Style. Your words need to fit the tone and style of whatever you’re writing. Example: my husband once wrote a poem that was beautiful and flowery...except for “da po-po” (meaning “the police”).

To be fair, he had to write this poem from words and phrases his classmates wrote all over a sheet of paper, but I think you see my point. “Da po-po” just doesn’t fit into a poem about constellations and nebulae and the condition of the human spirit. It draws attention to itself and jolts the reader out of the work. This particular example is a little extreme, just because it’s so colloquial and obviously out of place in a flowery poem, but complex or academic terms can be just as out of place in a simpler or more colloquial piece.

Time period. Finally, diction should match the time period of the setting. This isn’t always fully possible. For example, you aren’t going to write an entire story in Old English just because it takes place in the Middle Ages. That would be awesome, but very few people would be able to read it.



However, some language is going to fit this time period better than other language. For example, characters in the Middle Ages should avoid words like “groovy.” They might use interjections like “what,” “woe,” or “misery” or swear by saying “By God’s bones!” rather than expressing anger with obscene names for body parts.

Now you’ve got a few tips to get you started. Next week, I’ll dig into some dos and don’ts of choosing different words.

If you missed the last article in this series, you can find it here .

EASTER TRADITIONS AND MEMORIES

Written by Kanome < PM: >

Easter is that time of year where family comes together to celebrate a special event by coloring eggs, egg hunts, and eating amazing chocolate bunnies. Easter is celebrated all around the world because of religious beliefs, cultural beliefs, or just to celebrate it for some good ol’ fun. I have asked members of the Young Writers Society of how they spent their Easter this year and what they think Easter is.



@Messenger: I went to my church as usual. They did a cantata about Jesus. Then I went over with my family to another family's house and we all ate and talked.



@JKHatt: My favorite part of Easter, when I actually do something for it, is eating the eggs because food. And all we do is paint them and hide them, no big lunch or anything.

@jayflames1: My favorite part of the Easter day is the gifts in the morning, me and my sister get gift baskets filled with candy and smallish toys, similar to a stocking on Christmas. Easter in general, being about Jesus is awesome... and the greatest and super cool. I’d say Jesus is the best part though.



jf1: Don’t think egg coloring has a meaning behind it, I think it was just a thing people decided to do.... well I guess that's a meaning, but eh... I think it was started because of the color that spring brings back.



@Holysocks: Rabbits and eggs represent Easter because of the goddess or whatever, and it's supposed to be a holiday about fertility, I believe.



@QueenAnne: Christ coming back to life and all that jazz... but I think it's because we just secretly want an excuse to eat more chocolate.

M: I celebrate Easter to celebrate Jesus' death burial and resurrection to give us a way to repent from our sins and go to Heaven.

Easter is a special holiday for many countries. It is celebrated for the coming of spring, which is a great way to celebrate a season as wonderful as this one. You can create great memories with family, friends, even with your friendly neighbor down the street on this special holiday. There are also many traditions to be celebrated on Easter. That means there are more reasons than just one you’re used to while celebrating Easter. I hope everyone had a great Easter this year, cause I sure did.

KANOME’S RANT OF MEDIA

Written by Kanome < PM: >

Kanome here with a new media review for you, the members on YWS.

I watched this anime about a few months ago, and I found pretty interesting and hilarious. It had mixture of comedy and romance, with a dash of fantasy.

This anime is about a girl who just turned sixteen. On her birthday, she meets a man she has never meant but he claims that they used to play together as children. Next thing she knows, she is engaged to this man! Along with the two lovers are her older sister with a huge loli-complex and his younger sister who acts like a grown up, but there is something odd with her new lover and his younger sister. I am talking about “Engaged to the Unidentified.”



Engaged to the Unidentified is a comedy for everyone to enjoy. A little ecchi (signs of mature content) here and there, but other than that, it’s a pretty amazing show. It only has twelve episodes, so if you enjoy short series like this one, then I recommend this show 100%.

This show was recommended by a friend of mine, so now I am recommending it to you, members of YWS.

The theme is mainly comedy, but there is a little romance in it, but the show focuses on the three girls in the show. That’s what I like about this anime. Even though the title is representing a romance anime, it’s doing something completely different. They are focusing on the closeness of the three girls. That is truly amazing in my book!

If you have anything you like for me to review, PM me.

Kanome out.

FM INTERVIEW WITH ROBUSTO

Written by Kanome < PM: >

Hello, Squillians. Today, we are going to talk about our newest featured member. He is known for amazing short stories plus the amazing storybook, Pokemon MysteryDungeon: The Seventeen Plates of Arceus. Of course I am talking about the one and only, @Robusto. Today, I had a little chat with him and this what he has to say for you guys.



Robusto: Extreme joy. I had never expected it to actually happen, considering how little I actually upload.



R: Most definitely the storybooks. Even if I have a genius plot laid out, the other people that interact help make it incredibly more interesting with their own characters. And it helps inspire my own stories.



R: A little over a year. I started in December of 2013 I believe. It was sort of a New Year’s resolution of mine to start posting stories online.



R: No, I did not. But I'm happy it happened.



R: Think of what's never been done before, then take it a few more steps. Do something that future writers will want to imitate. And most importantly, don't try to please everyone.



R: And thank you for taking the time for the interview.

Until next time!

NEW ARRIVALS
written by BlueAfrica < PM: >

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

@WhiteWater393 may have just joined the site, but he seems determined to win at this thread . Are you a worthy opponent?

@FaeHope has earned her first review star! Head over to her wall to congratulate her .

@RebelWriter has posted a narrative called His Memory Never Fades, If you like horses and heartbreak, this is the story for you! Go here to read it and leave a review .

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 4/12written by megsug < PM: >

Just four links can take you to a world of mystery, of magic, of YWS.


@CaptainSaltWater is making banners for people. They’re really nice too! This is probably my favorite so far:







Request a pretty banner today!


@Aley has created a thread letting us know the four ways to format poetry the way you poets out there want it formatted. The first method is html coding like this:







For a more indepth explanation of this method, the other three methods, and html coding, go check out the article.


@OliveDreams has come back from a hiatus, and she’s ready to talk about books she’s read while she’s been gone. She’s got Robin Hobb on her fangirling list, so she’s obviously in the know about the best things in life (right, @Flite?), and several other titles that I’ll now have to look at since she loved them so much. She’s also about to read these titles:







So go, be the book crazed community you are and fangirl proudly.


Have you seen the cat picture yet? No? Go get educated and in on the next biggest mind bending debate after the infamous dress debacle. Is that cat going up the stairs or down? People seem to have opinions on why it’s going which direction from shadows to tail position. @Birkhoff kindly keeps the discussion on track with interjections like:






So, which way is the cat really going or do we even really care?

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

We love to run articles and questions, but we also love to advertise for you. Let people know about your new blog, a poem or story you’re looking for reviews on, or a forum thread you’d like more traffic on through Squills’ Shameless Plugs. PM @SquillsBot with the exact formatting of your advertisement, contained in the following code.

Code: Select all

Place advertisement here. Make sure you include a title!

Squills: Now Hiring

Translature

Have you noticed the sudden rise in the number of non-English languages you see on the People feed? Do you happen to know one of these languages?

There is now a new magazine you can submit to - Translature - where you can submit your work in a non-English language along with a translation into English AND get a chance to record yourself reading your piece in that language!

What:
Any creative work!

When:
Last date for accepting entries : 26 April 2015


For details, click the image. Grab your chance to be featured on the first-ever issue of Translature!






That's all folks~ Now send us yours.

SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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