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. NOTEWORTHY NOVELS
2. SEVEN REASONS WHY
3. LOVE IS IN THE INTERWEB
4. FEATURED MEMBER: GRAVITY
5. ASK GRUNO
6. NEW ARRIVALS
7. SHAMELESS PLUGS
8. SUBSCRIBERS

NOTEWORTHY NOVELSwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

The holidays are almost upon us. As such, I have decided to introduce a Christmas-based novel to you. @Deanie’s novella The Twelve Days Before Christmas is a short work of fiction based on the familiar Christmas tune “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The main character is a girl named Maria, who finds herself lost in the woods shortly before the holidays. Three elves appear and threaten to eat her, but luckily, a mysterious young man named Ben saves her. As they travel back to Maria’s house, the two children face angry geese, dancing ladies, leaping lords, a feuding Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and repeated run-ins with the evil elves. Will the feud between Santa and his wife ever end? Are the elves really as evil as they seem? And can they be defeated in time for Maria to get home for Christmas?

This week, I talked to Deanie to find out more about her novella.



Deanie: I am someone who loves a good challenge, and I started writing TTDBC because of one that @Auxiira set up last year during Christmas! It was to write something based off the song, so I started a novella. Little did I know I would be working on it half a year later and love the characters so much! So I have Auxiira to thank for this.



D: Although she's not my favourite character, I think Mrs. Claus was my favourite to write. I wanted to make her a more complex character than the rest, and I wanted to do it in a way that the kids could keep up with her. She was someone who was fed up of doing the same jobs and wanted to try something else, which I wanted some stay-at-home mums who eventually got jobs to relate to. Mrs. Claus's husband didn't like the idea of change, so gradually she pulled away and became the "bad guy". And bad guys are always fun to write!



D: I think Maria and Ben are most like me. I like to think I have Maria's good intentions in me, even though sometimes things turn out wrong in the end. I also like to think I have Ben's loyalty to friendship, even though he sometimes needs to explain himself better before he does certain things.



D: The difficult thing was writing for my target audience. Seeing as it was kids, I didn't want the story to be blandly simplistic, but I didn't want it to be so complex that they couldn't understand either. In the end, I figured that kids can understand and keep up with more than we expect, and after realizing that, it was easier to write.



D: Yes, I have done a round of basic edits with my red pen and the help of the reviews I received. I am going to let it be for a while, and then I’m going to revise the beginning, which I find is too simple from the rest of the novel. Maria's character back then needs some editing too.



D: If anyone is having trouble writing a whole novel and sticking to it until it's finished, I would suggest writing a novella. It's much easier, and the feeling of finishing something is brilliant!



Deanie’s novel currently lives in a single-reviewer home. Head over to the Adopt a Novel Club and claim it as your own ! If you don’t have time to commit to the full-time care and keeping of a novel, you can read The Twelve Days Before Christmas at your leisure here.

SEVEN REASONS WHYwritten by AfterTheStorm < PM: >



1. He may be a 30+ year-old man who secretly lives five cellars below by an underground lake and is, in fact, the resident ghost of your establishment, especially if said establishment happens to be an opera house.

Warning: he might attempt to lure you to his lair by pretending to be an angel, specifically of music. (In which case you should sing with him in an awesome musical number but break his heart a few acts later.)

2. As it turns out, he has the potential of being a high-functioning sociopath (Do your research!) who has a tendency to be “all mysterious with [his] cheekbones” while “turning up [his] collar so [he] looks cooler,” says John Watson, witness.

3. He might have fallen from above and is actually an angel of the Lord who was cast out of heaven. Plus, he holds the possibility of making deals with demons in the past, despite his cute appearance or love for cats.


4. While he seems like a super man, saving your city and all, he could have an alter-ego who’s simply an ordinary guy with a really bad haircut. The relationship you believe you’ve established with this hero is built on lies because he’s probably just your coworker.

5. His real identity may be a vampire. You should have seen the signs of his inevitable vampirism fifteen scenes earlier.


6. His oddly endearing personality makes for a good traveling companion, but he might truly be a centuries-old alien who keeps talking about his special “blue box.” You can classify him as a potential madman with great fashion sense.

7. And lastly: the seventh reason of why you should never trust a man wearing a coat is…

…because of this jerk. (He’s planning your next wedding.)

LOVE IS IN THE INTERWEBwritten by Gravity< PM: >

Love is something that has baffled scientists for years. Some people believe feeling love, or even a crush for somebody else is a result of chemical reactions in your brain, others believe it isn’t possible. And some people wait their entire lives for that special someone. It can be difficult to find your soulmate, if you even believe in soulmates at all. Since the creation of the interweb (internet, whatever) Dating Sites have become a tool used more and more for someone to find their perfect match. There are even some YWSers on here who are having a baby! the question is, how do people on YWS feel about romance on the internet?

I surveyed well over 20 people and managed to bully convince 12 to answer my survey questions. The participants in the survey will remain completely anonymous due to the nature of the survey, and also, it was just meant to be fun!

There were four questions. The survey participants were asked the following:
1. Do you believe having an online crush is possible?
Agree, Strongly Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

2. Have you ever had an online crush?
Yes/No

3. Would you ever date/consider dating a YWSer over the internet?
Agree, Strongly Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

4. Would you feel more comfortable being romantically involved with a YWSer versus other sites on the internet?
Agree, Strongly Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

11/12 participants of the survey said they thought having an online crush was possible, although 4/12 said they had never before experienced an online crush. Only 25% of the participants said they would date or consider dating another YWSer over the internet, and 7/12 said that if they were to have a relationship online, they would feel more comfortable with a YWSer.

There are people who believe having an online crush is impossible because you can’t completely get to know a person that way, one survey participant (when asked if they would like to add an additional comment said:





But the opinion of another participant differed. In the additional comments box, they put:






And then, one survey participant said this…






And this person PMed me AFTER submitting their interview, just to make sure I published it. @Blackwood, you are a very special person. And I bet you wish this survey wasn’t anonymous.

Romance over the internet is one of those things that aren’t completely black and white. On one hand, you have the opportunity to get to know a person without looks or status being factored in. On the other and, how well do you really know this person, and why waste your time with a relationship that seems so insignificant?

To conclude, every YWSer feels differently about this subject. MY advice? If it feels right, go for it. If not? Why ruin a good friendship?

XOXO,
Gravity

FEATURED MEMBER: GRAVITY

written by megsug < PM: >

This week we woke to the reign of a new featured member. @Gravity was called out for all of her baws moves around YWS.



Gravity: I was stunned. At first I honestly thought it was some kind of joke. I logged into YWS and sawsaw that I had 16 notifications and thought it was weird, and then I couldn't 't believe it happened.



G: A little over a year now. My YWS "bday" is September 144.



G: I find it really hard to review, but I was Review Captain for October which was huge. I really like chatting with people and I try to make an effort to get to know YWSers. I've also done a few writing contests and am participating in a storybook. Not to mention Squills, which I feel horribly incompetent at sometimes, but overall I try to do as much as I can. That's all you can do, you know? Just go with the flow, do as much as you can and see how it works.



G: My favorite part of the site... I really enjoy the chatbar. I love getting to meet YWSers and make online friends. I also love the Lincoln Wood College Prep Storybook, it's the only nly successful storybook I've been a part of and I always log on hoping to see a notification there. Other than that, I really enjoy reading works, even if I havI have a hard time reviewing and publishing my own works of course. Overall I like all the sections except maybe the actual Chat Rooms and Blogs.



G: Every Week? 50 billion times. I have a school computer so I I log on in all of my classes and I'm in and out for most of the day.



G: I guess just make yourself as available as possible. Get involved with ith Squills, publish works, give good reviews, participate in a storybook. Try something new. Featured Member means you have the respect of YWS, it's a title that is not given, it is earned. So earn it. Be nice to people, be a presence on the chat bar and don't be afraid to put yourself out there.



G: I guess I just want to say how honored I am to have recieved this title. There really are no words to say how much this means to me and I can't wait to see who the next FM is.

ASK GRUNOwritten by Gruno < PM: >

Dear [insert preferred form of address here]
What is your most hate malapropism?
-Grammar Nazi

My fellow Grammar Holocaust Dabbler,
You may refer to me as Ultimate Ultra Evil Overlord Gruno. My most hated malapropism is probably when people say “I could care less”. That implies that there is, in fact, room for you to care less than you already do which means that you do, in fact, care somewhat. The actual phrase is “I couldn’t care less”.

-Gruno

Dear Most Magnificent Ones!
Do you have any advice when it comes to brushing a dog's teeth? My dog is purely rebellious when Tooth Maintenance Day arrives.
-Future Doggy Dentist


My Dear Dentist,
I don’t think there’s really any way to get your dog to cooperate on this one. The only thing I can suggest are those treats you see on commercials that are supposed to simultaneously treat your dog while brush their teeth. Other than that, at PetSmart they have beef flavored toothpaste for dogs. Oh and also, try using just a regular toothbrush.

-Gruno

Dear Lord and Masters,
How do you take over the world?
-The Lower Class

Dear Mr. Hobo,
You hypnotize a politician and manipulate him into doing it for you.
-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 questions we get, the better. We live to answer your questions and solve your conundrums so if you have a query, click this link

NEW ARRIVALS
written by BlueAfrica < PM: >

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

@haywireimagination has already gotten their first review star and might be interested in partnering on a Storybook, provided they get more information about how that works! Head over to their wall and say hi .

@EmRhea has published a short story called Ambition. Go read it and give her some feedback .

Since joining YWS, @FireBird99 has earned her first review star. She’d like to know: Why did you join YWS?

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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