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. WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!
2. BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN
3. POETRY EXCHANGE CLUB
4. YWS AND EXERCISE
5. ADVENTURES IN WRITING
6. HOW TO WRITE A DIARY ENTRY
7. FESTOONED: NEW STARS
8. SOCIETY PAGES
9. EVOLUTION OF WRITING: THE TOOLS
10. NEW ARRIVALS
11. THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 8/17
12. SHAMELESS PLUGS
13. SUBSCRIBERS

WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!written by ShadowVyper  < PM: >

​Fall is nearing. Students all across the globe are buying new shoes and pulling out their crayons in preparation for the start of a new school year. Okay, so, maybe not everyone is pulling out their crayons. Regardless of if you're making the transition from middle school to high school, high school to college, or just trying to survive whatever grade you're in, everyone has their own fears and trials about the new school year that they have to face. 

This time last year I was just starting to realize that I'd be in college before the month was through, and wasn't sure whether to be more excited or frightened about it. College was new, mysterious, and downright terrifying. Being home-schooled my entire life, I especially feared the transition into dorm living and having deadlines that were actually rules rather than gentle suggestions about when I should have a project completed. Even with all the nerves attacking me, though, I was excited to take this next step in my life. With this in mind, I set out to see how this year's freshies feel about making the transition into college. 

Are you more excited or apprehensive about going to college?



   
~@Iggy (Preschool/Kindergarten Ed. Major, Class of 2018) 



   
~@KnightTeen (Journalism & Mass Communications, Class of 2018)



   
~@megsug (Environmental Science Major, Class of 2018)



    ~@Alpha (witchcraft, Sciences with Nanotechnology Major, Class of 2018)

I'm glad to hear that they're all generally excited! College is great, but only if you decide to put your mind to making the most of it. Whether you want to take advantage of the social or academic aspects of being college student (don't expect much sleep if you want both ), you're sure to find something just right for you! Since they're all so excited, I wanted to know what exactly it is that has them all eager to go. 

What are you most looking forward to? Are there any student organizations, classes, or otherwise that you intend to make the most of during your time as a student?




   
~@megsug (Environmental Science Major, Class of 2018)



    ~@KnightTeen (Journalism & Mass Communications, Class of 2018)



   
~@Alpha (Sciences with Nanotechnology Major, Class of 2018)




   
~@Iggy (Preschool/Kindergarten Ed. Major, Class of 2018)


Aw, their geeky-ness makes me happy. I thought I was fairly alone in looking forward to science classes (my organismal biology and chemistry classes this semester are going to be awesome), but it looks like all the incoming freshmen have at least one science class that they're looking forward to (eventually) getting to take. Stay strong, Iggy, you'll know to sign up for the cool classes right away from here on out. c: 

But surely different majors and different class years have different perspectives about the best part of uni. Personally, my perspective has changed quite a bit in even the one short year that I got to attend college. Last year I was scared witless quite nervous about moving so far away from home, but at the same time the most exiting part was getting to be independent-- do and go where I wanted, be with whoever I chose, be in charge of my own schedule. This year, I'm most looking forward to seeing several professors that I miss insanely badly, and some of the really great friends that I made. 

So, I decided to hunt down some other current college students, and ask them what their favorite part of college have been so far. All that I interviewed seem to be the very tame, mature college students (I mean, we are YWS'ers after all, right?) but I decided to cover the bases right away.

What is/was your favorite (Squills appropriate ) part of college?



   
~@Master_Yoda (Electrical and Computer Engineering Major, Class of 2015)




   
~@Aley (English Major, Class of 2015)



    ~@GeeLyria (Psychology, Class of 2017)



    ~@Lapis (Comp. Science & Software Eng., & Math., Class of 2017)

I love how broad of a range those answers covered! That's just a bit more proof about how different of an experience everyone can have in college, depending on what aspects they value highly. But, regardless of if you actually like the food at your campus (I really envy everyone who still enjoys the dining common after a year on the meal plan), or the freedom, or simply the atmosphere, there's bound to be some things that cause you dismay. So, I asked the freshmen what they were anticipating as one of their struggles. 

What do you fear the most about the prospect of going to college? Leaving home for (possibly) the first time, living in a dorm, surviving the increased course load, the dining common? Something else?



    ~@ Alpha(Sciences with Nanotechnology Major, Class of 2018)



   
~@megsug (Environmental Science Major, Class of 2018)



    ~@Iggy (Preschool/Kindergarten Ed. Major, Class of 2018) 



    ~@KnightTeen (Journalism & Mass Communications, Class of 2018)

Those fears definitely resonate with me! From the practical issues of not having a car, to the emotional fears of leaving your family and struggling with depression, to just the social fears that come with being homeschooled before being thrust into the social situation of college, those butterflies that are sure to be dancing around in all their stomachs are definitely justified. I'm sure that those things won't be nearly the issue that all the freshmen think they will, though. It'll all work out in the end, as I'm sure all the current college students will tell you. But I won't let them get away with just assuring you that everything will be fine; I made them share what their struggles were, especially during their time as a freshman. 

What were the biggest struggles you faced, especially during your first semester/year?



    ~@Aley (English Major, Class of 2015)

So stop worrying about it,@megsug and @KnightTeen.



    ~@Master_Yoda (Electrical and Computer Engineering Major, Class of 2015)



   
~@GeeLyria (Psychology, Class of 2017)



    ~@Lapis (Comp. Science & Software Eng., & Math., Class of 2017)

Never fear, though. Once you get the hang of college, a lot of those issues became far less challenging and easier to deal with on a day to day basis. Finally, because I'm not mean stop laughing, it's true and won't leave you on that note. Rather, I had all of the current college students share some of their upperclassmen insights. 

What advice would you give to the incoming freshmen?



   
~@GeeLyria (Psychology, Class of 2017)



    ~@Lapis (Comp. Science & Software Eng., & Math., Class of 2017)



   
~@Master_Yoda (Electrical and Computer Engineering Major, Class of 2015)



    ~@Aley (English, Class of 2015)

​
There you have it! Be diligent, love your major, be social, and just enjoy yourselves. College is great. You'll all do fantastic this year, freshmen and seniors alike. c:

BACK TO SCHOOL AGAINwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Well, Squillsians, August is upon us and school is right around the corner—for some of us, anyway. Perhaps you, like @Blues and @Auxiira, don’t start up again until September. Others, like the slowly drowning @Pompadour and @BiscuitsBatchAvoy, have already gone back. And then there are those like yours truly, who returns to school next Monday, after an entire year off.

Ah, summer. How sad we are to see you go. But the YWSers I talked to had a good attitude about it, like Biscuits:



   


Indeed it is, especially with the Christmas-in-July feeling of back-to-school shopping. Blank notebooks, fresh pens and pencils, clean lunch bags, fully functional calendars, folders that aren’t ripped in half from carrying too much homework... @KatyaElefant finds it just as enjoyable as I do:



   


Of course, it’s not quite as nice if you’re a university student who has to spend your own money on school supplies, but it lends an air of excitement to the whole ordeal. And while summertime is nice for lounging and catching up on your sleep, the drive of the school year can motivate you to get more done, as @ThereseCricket points out.



   


Not surprisingly—coming from a site of writers—mathematics is a dreaded subject amongst many of our members, while English is a common favorite. However, YWSers’ school interests range from foreign language classes to science classes to music classes and beyond. But it’s more than favorite classes that our site members are looking forward to about the oncoming school year. Biscuits is most looking forward to



   


@Deanie, on the other hand, is just looking forward to the end ceremony that will move her up from secondary school.



   


Biscuits, Blues, and Cricket are also finishing up secondary school, although Cricket has the unique experience of being homeschooled. For those of our readers who don’t know much about homeschooling, she had this to say:



   


Of course, the strength of an education in a public school system depends on the specific country, state, district, school, principal, and teachers, but it’s interesting to learn about unfamiliar methods and systems. There’s a huge variety on YWS, thanks to the internationality of our members. Not only that, but with members from the ages of not-quite-a-teenager to adults-married-with-children, we have students of all levels: middle school, secondary school, university, and even a few grad school students like @Lava hanging around.

Whatever level you’re at, it is a School Time of Year—or just about—but don’t despair! We’ll all head back to school together. And at the end of the day, there are plenty of YWS friends for you to talk to about the whole experience.

THE POETRY EXCHANGE CLUBwritten by ArcticMonkey  < PM: >

Giving and getting reviews is a necessity on YWS. There are always new things being introduced to this site to get people more involved in reviewing and create a community of reviewers. There have been many strategies so far, such as the Knights of the Green Room, Club Turtle, Adopt a Novel, Review Days, and Mini-Review Days. A recent addition to all of this focuses on poetry: the Poetry Exchange Club , created by our very own @Aley. 

So how does it work? Every week people submit poems into the ‘wizard’s hat’ and then they are exchanged. You get two weekends to actually review the work you’ve been assigned to, and in that time, the next week of poetry exchange participants is collected. If you don’t review, then the poem is taken over by others to review, and you’re unable to post until you actually do the review that was required of you. Essentially, it works on the honour system.



Aley: I came up with the idea for poetry exchanges in general a while ago. I wanted to do something that would help circulate poetry and help people get more reviews on their poems that they really want to see reviewed. I have been experimenting with bumping up the time-frame from the original two week period to a one week period, but the exchange went so fast that a lot of people didn't really notice what was going on with it, and there was a lot of stress by the end. In response to that, I am attempting, now, to create a rolling exchange.




A: I came up with this idea to answer a problem with the original poetry exchanges, time. While people were willing to do the exchanges, a lot of them fell at a bad time for some people, so instead of working around the time-frames, I'm hoping to make it a continuous thing where you choose the time that works best for you. This is by you signing up on the week you have enough time to review 1-4 poems. So far the most we've had one person do is 2, but I'm hoping that once I get this out in the open, it will pick up.



A: The biggest problem is participation. For instance, this week has no one signed up in the exchange yet. There's also people who don't remember they signed up after a week, and they don't end up reviewing, which is a problem as well.



A: The club itself is only a test run. I'm hoping to make a forum in the Writing Activities thread once I know that it has the chance to work. Right now, the kink is in the timing, so I'll be fiddling with that in the club and trying to figure out what is a good length of time to give someone to review. After I figure out all the particulars, I'll be making a thread in the Activities forum to open this idea up to all YWS in a public way where I can actually tag people to tell them the poems they have to review. That will be after I get the right people helping me give this a solid test run.

Well, it's a fantastic idea in the making. If you like reviewing or writing poetry be sure to check it out, because once more people join the Poetry Exchange Club , it will be even more effective.

YWS AND EXERCISEwritten by Defyingravity01  < PM: >

TV. Cell phones. Fast Food. The couch. Books. Bed. These are all very random things. What do they all have in common? As writers, we might say "They're nouns." But for me personally, these are all hindrances from keeping your body healthy. They are all distractions from exercise and in this day and age, exercise is essential to your daily health. I sent 8 survey questions to 30 YWSers. 8 of them were willing to answer the questions. I found the results to be very interesting so... Let's see the statistics!

When asked how often they exercise for at least 30 minutes at a time, the YWSers were given the options of "Never, Sometimes, Often". The majority (4/8) said sometimes. Only 2 said often and 2 said never. What I found interesting was actually question number 6. Is time a dilemma?. In other words, do you find yourself not having enough time to get active? 3 YWSers said yes. So most of them agreed that they could, technically, find enough time to exercise. 

Should physical activity be more of a priority in schools? Only 2 said No. But the reason was the same. The people surveyed who said no were passionate about their answers. PE is forced in schools which makes it so much less enjoyable. Both people said it should be encouraged if it were in a friendly environment.

So how does this all relate? People who were involved in a sport seemed to enjoy physical activity a lot more and also found it easier to get motivated. Plus, the YWSers who were involved in a sport were more eager to see physical activity encourage more in schools. I also found that a few of the surveyed people preferred to exercise alone because they were self conscious about their abilities. Half of the participants said PE in schools was too forced. 

Here we see a correlation. This study shows that physical activity in schools had a direct impact on the people surveyed. There were 6 who thought PE should be more encouraged. Of these 6 people, there were more who found it harder to get motivated. The two who said it shouldn't be encouraged more had great motivation with a 1 and a 2. These were also the main people who said physical activity in schools should be less forceful. 

The conclusion I came to is this: the people who found PE in schools intense got motivated more easily. I think if schools approached physical education from a different angle but at the same intensity will encourage better motivation as the children progress. It also shows that if you start people exercising at an early age, the habits will carry to an early age. It's not rocket science. Just exerscience!

And what does this all have to do with writing? Well, if you want to live long enough to publish all the novels you have floating around in your head, you better stay healthy and exercise a bit, huh?

ADVENTURES IN WRITINGwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Hello, and welcome to the second installment of our series on backstory. This week, we’ll talk about how to determine whether or not a particular piece of information belongs in your novel. It’s tempting to include all the backstory you’ve dreamed up, especially for a favorite character or event. But—allow me to use my Bill Nye the Science Guy voice here—CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING.

In real life, information about people and events can be fragmented and misleading. A close friend may sit down and tell you about something traumatizing that’s haunted him since childhood, if he trusts you enough and needs to get it off his chest. If you exude an air of quiet sympathy, strangers may act similarly, though they’re likely to exclude the lurid details. Either way, think about how this happens. For one thing, it takes a certain kind of person to open up in this manner—while I frequently invite confidences of this kind, for example, I rarely tell strangers or casual acquaintances anything about myself. Thus, if I were a character in a book, it would be realistic for an old woman sitting beside me on the train to tell me at length about her children but unrealistic for me to volunteer information about my travels.

Additionally, even a friend who decides to take you into his confidence this way will not tell you every detail about the event or his feelings during and since the event. Nor will he tell you that he’s leaving things off; he’ll simply pass over pieces of the information, perhaps giving it away through clipped speech, hesitation, or changing facial expressions.

Of course, our readers expect less disjointed information about our story than the kind of backstory they get in real life. Otherwise, they may not be able to understand the characters’ motivation and the development of the plot. However, including all of the backstory you’ve so painstakingly planned bogs down the novel and makes it awkward to read. The first step to finding that balance of enough backstory/not too much backstory, therefore, is to figure out whether a certain piece of information belongs in your manuscript in the first place. Here are three questions to ask yourself when trying to determine this.

What kind of backstory is it? The basic kinds of backstory are personal, relational, societal, and event. Personal backstory is the history of your individual characters: their family makeup, level of education and academic performance, socioeconomic status growing up and how it affected them, and so on. This information can help the reader understand why certain characters cause or react to the events of the story the way they do.

Relational backstory is the history of a relationship between two or more characters, be it a friendship, romance, familial relationship, or enmity. If the characters’ relationship is stormy, the reader will need more backstory to understand why this is so. For characters with a good relationship, bits of their shared history will probably come out in dialogue, but a reader is less likely to question their relationship unless one of the characters rubs him the wrong way.

Societal backstory is the history of a nation or group of people, such as the land of Ingary in Howl’s Moving Castle or the wizards in the Harry Potter series. This includes things like politics, wars, treaties, method of government, and attitudes toward other peoples or nations.

Event backstory is everything directly leading to an event, such as the character decisions, actions, or prior events that caused it. This kind of backstory intersects with the other categories, as societal history and character actions and interactions all play a part in causing the events of the plot. The backstory of the inciting incident—the event that sets the rest of the plot in motion, such as Primrose Everdeen being named as tribute in the first Hunger Games book—is often important to the reader’s understanding of the rest of the story.

Generally, personal backstory is the main category that you’ll want to include in your novel, as it clues readers in to your characters’ motivations. However, societal backstory can be equally important if your novel revolves around a society—for example, virtually any dystopian novel—and relational and event backstory can deepen readers’ understanding of character interactions and events that further shape them.

How does it influence the story? The personal backstory of the main character and the event backstory leading to the inciting incident are usually the most influential types of backstory to the plot. The MC’s history influences her decisions throughout the story, which in turn influences the events and other characters’ reactionary decisions that make up the entire plot.

However, certain aspects of the MC’s backstory will be more influential than others. For example, let’s say the main character’s mother died when the MC was young. If her mother died at the hands of the villain, thus inspiring a sense of revenge that drives the plot, then it’s highly influential to the story. But if the MC’s mother died of a plague, then this piece of information is significantly less influential. It’s still important; a childhood experience of familial death can shape a person’s personality and affect their decisions. Unlike the first example, however, this backstory doesn’t drive the entire plot—but it still heavily affects the character’s decisions while other pieces of backstory may not influence the plot at all.

Can the readers understand the story without it? Let’s look at the previous example of the villain killing the MC’s mother prior to the story’s beginning. If the plot leans on the MC’s desire for revenge, the reader needs to know why. Sure, the villain might be a complete bastard who kills and maims countless people—shouldn’t we be able to understand why she wants him dead?

Well, yes, but that’s a generic kind of anger. It’s true of any number of characters living in the MC’s world and thus fails to explain why the MC, in particular, must be the one to go after and defeat the villain. While the reader can accept that anyone would want to go after the villain, knowing the backstory of the MC’s mother will give us a real sense of purpose for this character’s actions throughout the story.

Now let’s go back to the version in which the MC’s mother died of a plague instead. When the mother’s death has nothing to do with the MC’s motivation for going after the villain, the reader can understand the main plot without knowing about it. Of course, because it still affects the character’s decisions, knowing this piece of backstory could deepen the reader’s understanding of the character, but it’s not strictly necessary.

Naturally, not all of the backstory you decide to include will be necessary to the plot or the reader’s comprehension of it. Sometimes, you’ll choose to include backstory about a character, people, or event because you like writing about them or because you feel like readers might enjoy having more information about them or because it fits what’s happening in the story at the time. But, because more influential backstory needs to have precedence over superfluous backstory in the writing of your novel, make sure that the bulk of the backstory you include is important to the development of the plot or characters and can aid the reader’s understanding in some way.

Now that you know which backstory to include in your novel, next week we’ll discuss some ways to get it across without entire chapters turning into long and boring infodumps. Join us then for the third and final installment of our series on backstory.

HOW TO WRITE A DIARY ENTRYwritten by Defyingravity01  < PM: >

Knowing how to write a diary entry is a key part of being a writer. Sometimes it's nice to see your own thoughts on paper as a therapeutic ritual. Surprisingly, diary entries included in writing can often provide a deeper insight to a character than what the narrator can provide otherwise.

Diary entries in modern writing are often used by the main character to give insight on their thoughts or the thoughts of another character. For example, in Lina LaCour's novel hold still, the main character, Caitlin, explores the diary of her best friend Ingrid who committed suicide.  Other great examples of books that include or are composed of diary entries are Letters From Rifka, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Princess Diaries and Dracula.

The first unofficial step to writing a diary entry is pretty simple. First, write the date. Sometimes if the character has written more than one entry on this day it can be helpful to include the time. Next include the cliche "Dear Diary" or "Dear Journal" intro. After you get this technicality out of the way, it's time to get down and dirty.

Step 1: Starting a diary entry can be difficult. Many times it's helpful to write what you or your character is feeling. You could also start by stating what you or your character did that day. Some awesome ways to start are by saying "I'm so (insert feeling, confused, angry, etc.)", " I don't know what to do", "I have good news and bad news", or even "I woke up feeling (angry, happy, excited etc.) but now I feel (happy, sad, confused)". Diaries are very emotional. So your character should tell the audience how they're feeling.

Step 2: Elaborate. Now is the time to start going into an event or idea that caused you to state the previous introduction. Describe it in detail. If this is for a book or short story then it should be first person, past tense. For a book that is comprised completely of diary entries, this part should be written the way you would describe a series of events in a regular novel or short. The key to this part of the entry is making your reader forget that he or she is reading a diary entry so they can focus completely on what's going on.

Step 3: Why do you care? How does this affect you? If the circumstance or event you described was positive for your MC, describe how it would benefit them and vise versa. If the person is apprehensive about the events then in the diary entry they should spell out what they're afraid might happen. For example: if a woman is writing about her husband going off to war she would be worried about him dying or being seriously injured so she might say something like: "Now that Mike has been drafted, I'm so afraid. He could die or be crippled for the rest of his life. I can't stand to lose him." 

Step 4: Wrap it up. What is the character going to do. Is there anything they can do? Maybe they will take matters into their own hands or maybe they will ask someone for advice. The possibilities are endless

Step 5: Write 'Sincerely' or 'Love' and then the author's (or character's) name. If your character is particularly quirky or forgetful, a postscript (PS) might be in order.

Tips: A lot of times you get stuck. We all get writers block and you may experience this when you're writing a book comprised of diary entries or an actually diary for yourself. A great way to overcome this is to look up journal prompts. Like regular writing prompts they can often give you the little push you need to either spice up your story or figure out what you're really feeling. 

One other thing I find really useful is to Approach the entry by writing about somebody else. Many times when people write a journal or diary entry, they feel concern or confusion about someone else's actions. Sometimes people (real people and characters alike) just don't feel like rehashing an experience or don't feel the need to reflect that particular day. So you could write about another person's problems or even things somebody else does that inspires you.

One last thing! I love exploring works of topics I've covered. I also want to know what you learn from these. So I encourage you guys to send me submissions over PM of works that relate to topics I cover. In other words, I want to see what kinds of diary entries you guys can write. If you send one in, I might even feature you in an article. I also encourage you to send a message just telling me what you think or with any questions/topic suggestions you may have. Happy Writing!

XOXO,
Gravity

FESTOONED: NEW STARSwritten by Hannah < PM: >

This week’s Festooned sees the return of a familiar face. If you’re a long time reader of Squills, you might remember the amazingly fun and useful Quibbles column, in which @skorlir presented proper grammar alongside his quirky writing voice. He’s been off studying and working on internships, but has also made time recently to return to YWS and start dishing out reviews once again. If it’s your first time hearing of this wonderful creature, here’s the rundown. He gives harsh, thorough reviews and also combs through the code on YWS. He even once created an interim spoiler code! And the basics:



Name: @skorlir
Location: n/a
Recently Acquired Star: Third yellow star

When I asked him to address the YWS community, this is what he had to say.

SOCIETY PAGESwritten by ShadowVyper  < PM: >

Hey everyone! As you all know, our beloved @Iggy has recently retired from the Squills team; so this column has passed into my hands. Hopefully I'll do the position justice, and bring you all the juiciest, best stories from around YWS each week. 

So, without further ado, let's start with the scoop on the lovely lady who started this column all those months ago. The one, the only, original Lady S, @StellaThomas made a bright come back, showing off her fancy new dark green name. Wasting no time, she proclaimed that she's decided on editors for her new project, Spotlight. @Lapis is also keeping us all updated about his new, awesome project-- a website called The Young Science Society , which you should totally go join. Now. FOR SCIENCE!

@therealme wrote a catchy little poem complaining about school on her wall-- surely not about her science classes, though. Science is love (refer to the links above). Regardless of the subjects, however, @Messenger popped in to tell us that his school is going fine, even though he’s going to hurt his ankle in three days during a soccer game. Some psychics... @Omniclysm is also having a good school year so far, and seems to have a very cool English teacher that I'm actually not going to snark about.  

@Cole has been to see Guardians of the Galaxy, and fell in love with a Groot. Meanwhile, @RavenMoonStone has evidentally fallen in love with The Doctor, judging from the amount of fangirling going on over at her wall. All the while, @Auxiira is silently sitting back reading blogs hating on fake fangirls, because she wants a tee shirt; and @fortis is currently (at least was, a few days ago-- so you should go bother her anyway) looking for new things to read and review. Just drop a link on her status and wait for the wonderful phage-y chick to analyze your piece. 

@AlexSushiDog is feeling the pain of wanting to write things (for fortis to review, maybe?) but sadly has no drive to get-r-done. If you see him around, be sure to give him an encouraging word or chase him with a pitchfork. Whatever works. @megsug has the drive to write, but no clear plot in mind as she progresses with a story about gender-confused twins. Showing a bit more productivity, @Parcosm was very excited to break the writing hiatus he'd been on by writing words, presumably instead of writing pictures. @Blackwood, @Noelle, @fortis, @Deanie and @Rosey%20Unicorn also deserve a pat on the back, for supplying us with new or updated enstallments of their stories (also by writing words, one can infer.)

Speaking of words, @BlueAfrica has no kind ones to say about a machine at her work, and @Carina is ranting against life, while @Shadowlight seems to be giving in to the struggles she faces. Stay strong you all! The weekend is here at last! Speaking of the weekend, one has to wonder where @ReisePiecey vanished to so mysteriously. Hopefully she'll update us when she gets back!

Some people had cause to celebrate before the weekend, though, as @Noelle hit the 1,000 review mark, and @TimmyJake compled his 500th review. Be sure to congratulate them, then head over to @Stori's wall to wish him a happy YWS'versary.  

In a less happy turn events, @SparktoFlame left Wild and Wonderful West Virginia to go live in her new home; and @whitewolfpuppy is still on her hiatus from YWS to take her SAT, and apply to colleges. Best of luck and come back soon, to both of you!

Speaking of leaving, if you haven't seen @Kanome on much lately, it's probably because she's been working double shifts. </3 Poor girl. Ten hour shifts kick me in the teeth; I can't imagine what it would be like to work double shifts! But, even with those horror stories flitting around, @AlexSushiDog isn't scared of looking for work. @Craz, on the other hand, is lamenting the fact that she's got so much work to do she can't even read in peace.

All the while @ArcticMonkey is behaving very much like a philosopher and over-thinking the story she's reading; and @Judas is starting an argument on his wall by a troll he jokingly labeled feminism, which is being taken far too seriously by everyone except @Lumi, who is desperately trying to lighten the mood. Perhaps Lumi should head over to an alternate wall and convince @Blues to stop fantasizing about eating people, even if he does have Sweg. Someone should really also try to talk @Alpha out of stalking Morgan Freeman, too. On second thought, nevermind. The post caused @cabonCore and @BlueAfrica to chip in with some amusing fangirling. Carry on. 

In an entirely unrelated turn of events, @Judas is getting himself arrested for viewing things online... and I seem to have started an all out battle by bringing the #ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to YWS. Be sure to help me out in convincing my victims nominees to stop being such babies (yes, I'm looking at you @fortis, @Judas, @Auxiira, @Lapis, and, less babyish but still arguing @TimmyJake)

That's it for this week! Be sure to keep me updated with your wall posts, and you just might make it into next week's Society Pages!

x ~ x ~ x

Lady S

EVOLUTION OF WRITING: THE TOOLSwritten by Defyingravity01  < PM: >

Writing has been the medium of communication and information for years. It has been used to express and to tell stories as well as inform. It hasn’t always been around, however. Humans dates back to prehistory which is the period of time before writing. So how did writing come about and how has it evolved to what it is today? I’m doing a sequence of 3 articles to cover 3 parts of writing history. Writing tools, written works and authors. 

Writing was first done with bone fragments in soft clay. The soft clay was kept in tablets or even just in blocks and was often used with a stylus like bone This writing was around in 4000 BC and depicted images like plants and animals. Other than images, early writing was used to keep track of money and trades. The earliest form of writing that we know today was called cuneiform and was invented by the ancient Sumerians

Since this is boring me a little, I’m going to skip to the Dark Ages. Throughout the few thousand years to the Dark Ages writing didn’t really evolve. The Egyptians used scrolls for a while but eventually when the Roman Empire became the place to be, clay tablets became more in style. This was when metalwork was a little more common so the new styluses could be metal or bone.

As we get to 600 AD, we discover the quill. Yes, you’ve seen them in Harry Potter, you’ve seen them on boring documentaries. QUILLS! Sounds like Squills. Anyway, quills are pretty cool. They were made from geese feathers and usually only lasted for about a week. US President Thomas Jefferson went through so many quills he had a whole flock of geese bred to suit is writing needs. According to History, he wrote almost 20,000 letters in his lifetime Quills are also the longest used writing instrument known to man. They were the main writing implement used from 600-1800 AD.

When graphite pencils were first invented in France and then independently, Australia, quills faded out. Eventually in 1884 and insurance broker invented the first fountain pen. Then in 1945, the ballpoint pen was invented. This was during WWII when soldiers needed pens to survive the rough conditions of the battlefield when writing messages.

The lesson we learned here? Pens are great. And they haven’t always been around. This is just the beginning of my “Evolution of Writing” Series. The series will be of three articles. Next week’s article is on the evolution of genres. So… until next week,

XOXO,
Gravity

NEW ARRIVALSwritten by Hannah < PM: >

THE NEW ARRIVALS WRITERS ARE ON STRIKE.

YWSERS ARE SLACKING AND APATHETIC.

THE NEW ARRIVALS WRITERS DEMAND YWSERS FIND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT NEW MEMBERS THEMSELVES THIS WEEK.

What do we want? WELCOMES! When do we went them? NOW!

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

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 8/17written by Hannah < PM: >

Back-to-school links, late or early. Get a free imaginary notebook when you try all three!



Maybe you’ve been a fan of Robin Williams since you were a child, watching your way through Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber, Jumanji, The Last Rainforest. Or maybe this was the first time you’d heard of the actor. Either way, Iggy wants you to get familiar with the movie Dead Poets Society.

The basic idea is just a get together to share poems by dead poets. Quite an attractive thought to the bursting poetry community on YWS that generally shares only their own poetry. If you’d like to listen to the voices of YWSers read out the poems they love, and perhaps recite your own, click the link for more information about the August 23rd event.



Here’s how he puts it:






What’s the first bit of advice that comes to your mind girls? Pop on over to the link to educate the amazing timmyjake, and join the company of @Rosey%20Unicorn, @StellaThomas, @Zolen, @Prokaryote, and @Nica in figuring out just what’s making timmy’s audience uneasy.



There’s always been an art section on YWS, but there hasn’t always been quite a straightforward place to ask for and receive book covers, banners, character sketches, book trailers, and more. But that’s no longer a problem, since the introduction of the Art Services club. Looking for a little visual interest? Click that link up there and see what the team of awesome artists can do for you!

SHAMELESS PLUGS

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Every Tuesday for the next couple of weeks I am going to be hosting a giveaway on my blog! Subscribe by email over there to get notified for future giveaways as well on the life side toolbar here !

This weeks giveaway is of the book Legacy: Glow by Phillip Mcsween :D





Come have a poetry bash with us! Full details here !

That's all folks~ Now send us yours.

SUBSCRIBERS

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