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Young Writers Society


Squills 03/08/15 - 03/15/15



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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:42 am
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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!

CREATIVE STAFF


Spoiler! :
Editor-in-Chief
ShadowVyper

General Editors
BlueAfrica
Gravity

Friendly Neighborhood Robot
SquillsBot

Literary Reporter
AstralHunter

Community Reporter
Available - PM SquillsBot if interested

Resources Reporter
Available – PM SquillsBot if interested

Storybook Reporter
AfterTheStorm

Poetry Enchantress
Aley

Quibbles Columnist
Available - PM SquillsBot if interested

Link Cowgirl
megsug

The Adventurer
BlueAfrica

Social Correspondent
ShadowVyper

Associates of Pruno and Gruno
Blackwood
Gravity

Media Critic
Kanome

Code Master
Avalon

General Reporters
AriaAdams
AstralHunter
Holofernes
OliveDreams
Omni
Skydreamer
whitewolfpuppy


Past Editors-in-Chief
GriffinKeeper
AlfredSymon
Iggy
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. 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!





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:43 am
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CLASSIFIEDS: WE’RE HIRING!
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written by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Are you an avid reader of Squills? Do you dream of writing as part of our regular staff someday? Well, dream no more! We here at Squills are interesting in hiring several new general reporters, as well as potential columnists.

What We’re Looking For

We want people who are enthusiastic about YWS, interested in writing for the official site newsletter, and willing and able to dedicate the time to writing one article every other week. As you may have noticed, our newsletters tend to be on the short side lately, so this third quality is extremely important if you’re interested in applying as a staff member! As Squills is the official site newsletter, we are looking for writers who are willing to work to revise and edit their articles as needed so the newsletter can maintain a high standard.

What You Could Write

If you read Squills regularly, you know that we have several columns (such as Two Cents and Adventures in Writing) as well as general articles about site updates and events, member interviews, random polls, and contest coverage. While you can apply to be a columnist, if you have ideas for a fresh column, all Squills staff members are expected to contribute to general articles as often as possible. For example, I always cover New Arrivals as well as my regular column, while @Aley or @Omni often snag a Featured Member interview. There are some articles that absolutely must be covered, so if we don’t have enough general reporters, the columnists need to lend a helping hand!

How It Benefits You

In addition to winning the people’s fame and ovation forever, you get to be part of a great staff that writes a fantastic newsletter. Furthermore, this newsletter caters to a site of over 30,000 members! If you contribute regularly as part of the Squills staff, this can be a nice touch on your resume. I will willingly write letters of recommendation for regularly contributing staff who have been a part of the team for at least three months. Our other editors may also choose to do so at their discretion. Plus, as a staff member, you have the opportunity to contribute to the running of Squills by throwing out ideas for publicity, new columns or articles, events, or anything else you can think of! And when the current editors retire, we hire new editors out of our existing staff, so there is also opportunity for advancement.

For details on how to apply, see this thread in the lounge.





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:44 am
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TWO CENTS: REVIEW
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written by Aley < PM: >

Everyone wants a little bit of love, and people say that we are selfish beings. From the moment we're born, our arms are wide open searching for attention, crying for some comfort, and mouths wagging for food. We are not a quiet breed, and those who enter the world quietly, are considered highly abnormal. That being said, we all want a little bit of love and one of the best ways, on YWS to get that is through reviews. On YWS as most of you are plainly aware, reviews are the bread and butter, so here are some of the things I do to review.

Usually when I'm reading something to review I'm interrupted at least once or twice between the time I start reading it, and the time I finish. Sometimes this is an interruption for hours between the first line and the next, other times it is just moments of looking away from the screen. While not the best for reading a piece of work, it has helped me develop some tools that help me get back into the work when I come back to it. The one I do the most is re-read the last line I was on, or the last stanza as the case may be. This helps remind me what came before it and consider where the poem is going afterwards.

Another tool we can use is summarizing by stanza. If you're interrupted a lot, consider each stanza separately, or each paragraph separately and summarize it in your own words in a single sentence to think critically about what you just read. This can help with comprehension and reviewing because you'll come up with a unique meaning when you skim over the poem again. This also brings up another tool, skimming. After you've read a poem once, skim over it a couple times to pick out different things like rhymes, metaphors, internal rhyme, images, and attempt to recall the feelings you had when you read the poem. Again, this helps with comprehension, but also gets you more familiar with what you just read so when you're writing your review, you can quickly access the quotes you want to use.

When you're actually going to review, my rule of thumb is to give a critique that is well rounded, and complements the user's experience on YWS. What I mean is that if someone doesn't have any stars yet, they haven't had much experience reviewing, and giving them a very detailed long review can be intimidating. Instead of focusing on technical aspects or individual lines, you can focus on broad things like theme, style, flow, or overall impressions of the piece. This doesn't mean you give a worse review, it just means that you tailor your review to something acceptable by the audience. When doing this, you have to be sure that what advice you give is unique to you though, don't say the same thing as other reviews.

After you've chosen how much content you're going to put into the review, decide a frame to put that content in. Find a couple things you like about the piece and things you can say to the author that will keep the review from being hard to hear. Start out with things you liked, then go to something that they can improve, and also how to improve it. The key to writing a good review is not being able to point out what's wrong, but being able to aid the writer with methods for improving what is wrong. It's sort of like the difference between telling someone they're going to crash, and telling them how to prevent it. We want to give them the knowledge to protect and improve themselves from getting the same review again and again.

This means if you don't know how to improve something, don't necessarily bother saying it. Also, this means you have to back up what you say and why you're suggesting these things. If you think a poem should explore a different stanza structure, back it up with how you see the poem and what parts of the poem you think would be better suited to go together. If you think a poem needs to avoid constantly using end stops, give a reason why end punctuation and end stops can be bad and annoying. Don't just assume that the writer is going to agree with you, give them evidence to help support your point.

Lastly, and probably the most important thing with reviewing is to remember that these are people who have spent time and effort writing on both sides. The review takes time, and the writing takes time, so respect is essential. Respect the writer's right to edit or not edit the work as they see fit, and respect the reviewer's rights to believe that something is poorly written, or needs improvement. We're all learning here, and we're also all human. Sometimes our mood gets away with us when we're reviewing, and sometimes we respond negatively because we didn't want to hear what the reviewer had to say. Accepting that fights and differences of opinions is the first step to dismissing them as exactly what they are, a difference of opinion that should never stop you from reviewing. It's going to happen, but not every time.

We're honestly gifted a wonderful thing having a writing website focused around reviewing. A lot of other sites have it so that the only reviews you get are small comments like "Oh my god I love it!" and they never help you improve. Here, we have an unlimited chance to improve as a community of writers. Contributing to that might feel like jury duty, but it can also build reputation, respect, and knowledge. The best thing you can do is when you get a review, review something your reviewer wrote too.

In closing, I think it's important that we all check out the following articles tucked away in our Knowledge Bank with this subject because they have a lot of amazing advice about reviewing too:

The YWS Critiquing Sandwich
Battle Tactics: Reviewing the Unreviewable
Critiquing Poetry
How to Write a Good Critique
When Reviewing, Consider
What Isn't a Good Critique?
Reviewing: The Gentle Way
Need Help Writing a Basic Review?
How To Make a Poetry Review Go Further





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:46 am
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STORYBOOKS!
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written by Skydreamer < PM: >


First off I'd just like to give a shout out to long lasting SBs, these SBs have either lasted more than two months and/or have more than three pages! They seem to be hanging on strong despite life and work which often distract from SBing. Not only that, but the SBs are also just interesting.

Lincoln College Prep SB

This SB was started last year in October, by @Nike, and was made to be similar to an SB called Harmony High which lasted for a long time. And it's still going on, four, almost five months later, with posts that stretch out to eight pages! It's definitely worth a glance at. Not to mention, it has eighteen (active and inactive) characters!

Pokemon MysteryDungeon: The Seventeen Plates of Arceus

This one started a little later in December of last year, by @Robusto but is holding up quite strongly, still going on! It's also at eight pages now, with such an interesting topic, it's cool to check it out and see what kept it going for so long.

Now, onto some new and regular SBs that seem to be off to a good start!

City of Memories

Started by SB veterans, @Auxiira and @Craz, City of Embers is an interesting and intricate tale of how memories become the currency of a highly advanced future world. If Sci-Fi and wonder are something you're interested in, this SB is good for you.

Here is a quote from the post about the SB,



Memory implants were developed, and people made new lives for themselves, becoming someone else, literally. The Collector runs the show in Nikara, collecting significant memories to stay at the top. Extractions and implants are normally done in clinics, but gangs will do illegal procedures - for the right price, of course.



Pretty fascinating, right?

Another fascinating SB is called Decay

The title is very cool and it seems to be a dedicated fantasy SB that focus' on relationships. That's really great to practice writing about character development.



THE CONCEPT: A ragtag band of unlikely heroes is sent to investigate problems along the coast. Along the way they will develop relationships - ones that draw them closer together or create chasms between them - and figure out what, exactly, is going on in the region.



It's a pretty tight, held together SB which hopefully means it'll have more meaning, impact and a chance to last. The writers are great and I hope it succeeds! If there's a spot open, it's really an SB to consider.

Next and last we have, The Lost Ones

Have you ever dreamed about starring in a movie? What about writing about starring in a movie? Same difference, right? Well, this interesting Storybook is centered on how a famous director almost losing his stardom, takes on a new project in the name of the SBs title. It's,



a science fiction epic about an alternate history in which Germany had won World War II. In the alternate present, the Third Reich ruled the world. Each month, as a rite of passage, seven eighteen year olds from each of the former allied nations are sent are to the Amazon Rainforest to face a variety of deathly challenges.


a very unique SB storyline and I encourage anyone interested to join it!

There are a lot of other great Storybooks to check out, and if you'd like to, please head over to the Storybooks tab and check them out! Also there is a club where you can post new storybooks, and find new storybooks. Just click this!





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:47 am
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FM INTERVIEW WITH WOLFARE1
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written by Omni < PM: >

The newest Featured Member shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that knows her. Her reviews are crazy good, not to mention that she is a machine at doing them. She has a great novel in the works, and she's very active and inspiring in the Storybooks forum. She's a powerhouse, and if you are active in any part of YWs, you'll be bound to see her. If you don't know who I'm talking about yet, it's none other than @Wolfare1. I sat down with her (virtually, through PM, but the mentality still stays the same) and asked her a few questions.

Squills: Hey, Wolfare!


Wolfare1: Hello there! ^^

S: How did you feel when you found out you were the newest Featured Member?


W: S: Well, I sort of started crying. xD Since it was kind of midnight for me, it was kind of difficult to express my joy in a quiet way, so I was shivering and crying.

S: Is this the first time you or one of your works have been featured?


W: In the best awards, a short story I wrote over the summer was one of the few selected for best story. So, no I guess, but it was still exciting, nonetheless.

S: How long have you been a member?


W: I've been around these parts for a little under 10 and a half months, joining mid-April. Goodness, I'm getting old.

S: What do you think are your best achievements since you joined?


W: What counts to me as an 'achievement' is getting out of my little shell and starting a novel. Since it's something I've always wanted to do, it makes me so proud to be able finally put the words on paper in something that I can look back on an be satisfied with. I may not have finished it yet, but I'll get there.

S: What do you think made you stand out enough to become Featured Member?


W: To be honest, it really came as a surprise to me, since I'm sort of that awkward person just... there (except with people that I have befriended. Good luck shutting me up then.) I'd like to think it's because of my reviews and being somewhat diligent during review day, because, if you're going to do around 47 reviews, you have to be dedicated.

S: What do you do around YWS?


W: I'm particularly interested in storybooks, having participated in a few, made one or two. Otherwise, I review. It's particularly enjoyable, I think, because it exposes me to other styles, some for better or worse, and I get to help others in the process. Win-win :D

S: What do you like to do outside of YWS?


W: Not very much. Aside from school, I run occasionally, read, or play piano/violin. Sometimes my friends pull me out of my anti-social shell, as well.

S: What advice would you give to a member if they wanted to be the Featured Member or an active member?


W: Bribery seemed to work. Or maybe host a gladiator fight? Moderators seem to like that. But in all seriousness, basically, just get involved with stuff, activities, forums, reviewing, things of that nature.

S: Thanks for taking time to do this interview!


W: I should be the one thanking you~

Until next time, Squillsians!





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:48 am
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SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW
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written by SquillsBot < PM: >

Though there are some works that are "hidden" or unknown which are great, the spotlight still captures a lot of good prose. One of them is Glasses by @Meandbooks a new member who has been greatly involved around the site since she's joined.
Squills asked her some questions on being in the spotlight, and about what inspired her piece.


Squills: What inspired you to write/post this?


Meandbooks: Well, I wear glasses, and there's always been some things I love about my body, but other things (like pimples!) that I hate. And some days, when I'm feeling down, I look in the mirror and all I can see is the bad stuff about me. I zoom in on what I think of as my flaws and ignore the good things. I don't just do this with my appearance, I also do it with my schoolwork. These last couple weeks have been pretty stressful for me, so I ended up doing this a lot, and it just made me miserable. But then one day I had my glasses off and I was looking in the mirror and I realized that it was a lot harder to see what I didn't like about myself when everything was slightly blurry.The general shape of my face and the color of my hair, both of which I like, stood out more than the little flaws that drove me crazy.So I thought to myself: 'This is a great metaphor for perfectionism. I should use it in a poem or something.' And over the next few days the poem just kinda took shape. When I was done, I liked it, so I decided to post it on here.

S: Were you surprised to see your work in the Spotlight?


M: Yeah, I was pretty surprised, especially by how quickly it exploded. I was pretty sure some people could relate to it, but I thought it needed a lot of work. XD

S: What would you change about it?


M: There's one line in the first stanza that's driving me crazy. (It's the one about teeth.) I really don't think it flows that well, but I can't figure out how to make it better. Nobody else has mentioned it, though, so maybe it's just me. Also, I would have liked to include something about school-related perfectionism, but I just couldn't get it to work.

S: What was the reaction you were hoping for? Did you get it?


M: The reaction I was hoping for was that people would see the poem as a metaphor for all perfectionism, not just appearance-related perfectionism, but I think I made that too subtle. I wanted the glasses to be a metaphor for focusing on the small details as opposed to the big picture (kind of like a magnifying glass), but I don't think I got that across fully. People have mostly commented on the physical aspect of it. So I partially got the reaction I was hoping for, but not quite.

S: What writing advice can you give someone, based on your poem?


M: Hm... writing advice. I'd recommend drawing inspiration from your life, and when you come across a theme or metaphor that you haven't seen done before, go for it! (That's basically what I did XD). Also, you've got to be willing to cut ideas that just aren't working, or your whole poem will suffer. Mainly, though, you've got to read good poetry to be able to write good poetry. In the last couple months I've started reading poetry a lot more, and there's no way I could have written something like this then. Reading poetry will really give you a sense for what conveys what sort of effect (plus a healthy respect for the power and subtlety of punctuation ).

Lots of thanks to @Meandbooks for her lovely, and inspiring, input!





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:48 am
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NEW ARRIVALS
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written by BlueAfrica < PM: >

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

@Labrador has been very active in the forums so far! Head to this thread to learn more about him and welcome him to YWS .

@rockycait has already earned her first review star. Go to her wall to congratulate her .

@TheElderOne has posted a short story called “The Apple,” a Biblical tale with a futuristic twist. Go here to check it out .



Other members who haven't had a chance to be as active, but are no less a member of our family are...



@KristenGrace1920@scrubforest@ookooma@Chaser0100@odulcich@wd13@xxsmileyxx@wholocker78218@Collin101@Inked@cheyenne191@HenryVIII@cdog121201@kerdel411@ajb007@nadiaannalyn@MeghanRose@Leiareally@CrazyWriter271@muktiplexminds@gmryder@Ellah@Charlie69@mollywintz3@afreenhussain@rapunzel007@Aweimer1@lekalekahaha@sue9540003577@CuriosityOfAWriter@Hex@karingkiwikat@Tiasshy@bluenekogirl@SweetMarie@NjRose@KingBlad001@Shampoo@Dynasty@conwayah1@PerfectTruth@KLovesA3@jamielynn@Max1996@shive777@Authorpink@Maj@Cns28271@kevin25a@TaylorGray@percy@RebelWithoutCause@PearlLopez@ThatOneHipsterWierdo@sparklecupcake@corndog548@PatriciaB@Staystrong2288@ThroughOpenEyes@MrK123@MrK321@CrazedCitizen@cryptless@TheTwister@Demieuj@MeltMyHappiness@kuttu@ldimarco@skiingpenguin@RockPaperCoffee@BoyVSInternet@Kaboom@BurningPotassio@Oulayarockz@lethargy@Aeros@eusouJT@aud290@EnlightmentLifeStyle@AWORDOFMYOWN@Komalsrana408@dreaminggirl@Nobody426@EllaBellaPortofella@NovemberPain@JS007@Studmuffin69@ollietaylor@tfav@tbalkin7@lilytig50@RememberThatTimeI@joyz@OFwritersANDofMEN@chelly101@housesick@Maddie07@rpphoto@tennishead@lydarquam@chajas@NekoShiro@Directioner@thisisaly@dawnwriter@writergirl01@egingras90@needalifedesperately@kristykale





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:49 am
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THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 3/8
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written by megsug < PM: >

A month of reading, a month of poetry. What else could you need?


@Nate just wants to make us all aware that March is the month of reading. He’s invited us to talk about the books we’re reading and if they’re any good. @Meandbooks was happy to share:



The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I love this book so much. It's epic fantasy at it's best, and it's really awesome. He's my favorite author. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves high fantasy and fantasy worlds. His are so incredibly thought-out and detailed, it's amazing.




What are you reading to celebrate March?


@Afternight has a question many novelists struggle with: are my chapters long enough? @Tenyo had some pretty insightful observations after reading some of his chapters:



You have… what needs to be included, but not the rest, and it's the rest that brings it to life.




Ten suggests describing a public place. You’ll see where you hit a place where you’ve covered all the basics. Instead of stopping there, continue, moving onto descriptions of light and smaller details. It’s a good read for any novelist.


You can tell by the gleam in the poet’s eyes. NaPo is just a month away, and people are starting to get excited. @Arkhaion has been intrigued by the idea of themes:



A theme? A theme? I was thinking maybe elements of the periodic table



Let us know about your excitement, your theme, or you confusion related to NaPo!


@Firestarter wants to know what controversial opinions you have on writing. A few have already replied. I think the one the most people would raise an eyebrow at is @carbonCore ‘s:



"Writing is fun." No, it is not. If writing is fun for you, nobody is going to read what you're writing…



Share your controversial opinions or reply to someone else’s.





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:49 am
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SHAMELESS PLUGS
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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!


And now for this week's Shameless Plugs!


The Adventures in Writing Description Contest



@BlueAfrica is hosting a contest based on her Squills column, Adventures in Writing. For contest details, check out the forum ! The deadline has been extended to March 31st, so if you haven’t entered yet, you have plenty of time!


The Second YWS Cup



@Firestarter is running the second YWS Cup! Sign up here to be in with a chance to win an Amazon gift voucher. The YWS Cup II is a reviewing contest in a knock-out format. Each round, you will face another competitor in a week-long battle to see who wins! If you are interested, sign up before March 1st to ensure your place.




That's all folks~ Now send us yours.





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Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:51 am
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SUBSCRIBERS
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written by SquillsBot < PM: >

Find enspoiler-ed a list of our subscribers!

Spoiler! :
@SquillsBot@Carina@ShadowVyper@ArcticMonkey@Hannah • @Avalon • @Holofernes • @VeerenVKS • @megsug@StoneHeart@Skydreamer • @Draknghar • @Aley@Rydia@Alpha@skorlir@KnightTeen • @AriaAdams • @neko@Aquila90@DudeMcGuy@kayfortnight@Cole@Blackwood@manisha • @Widdershins • @HighTop • @cgirl1118@KittyCatMeow • @Strange • @ChocoCookie@carbonCore@Auxiira@Iggy@Blues@Paracosm@Sparkle@FireFox@Dakushau • @AlexSushiDog • @wizkid515@yubbies21@PiesAreSquared@FatCowsSis@CelticaNoir@BenFranks@TimmyJake@whitewolfpuppy@WallFlower@Magenta@BrittanyNicole@GoldFlame@Messenger@ThereseCricket@TriSARAHtops • @buggiedude2340• @AdrianMoon • @WillowPaw1@Laure@TakeThatYouFiend@dragonlily@Cheetah@NicoleBri@Pompadour@Zontafer@QueenOfWords@Crimsona • @DeeDemesne • @vluvswriting@GreenTulip@Audy@EllaBliss@Isha@Deanie@lostthought@CesareBorgia@Omni@Morrigan@AfterTheStorm • @AstralHunter • @Autumns • @Wolfie36 • @Pamplemousse • @Ecirahs • @gia2505 • @BiscuitsBatchAvoy • @Zhia • @Noelle • @Lylas • @Tortwag • @kingofeli • @Wolfare1 • @malachitear@GeeLyria • @KatyaElefant • @Clickduncake • @CaptainSaltWater • @Seraphinaxx • @pretzelsing • @WritingWolf


Do you, too, want to be enspoiler-ed and receive a personal weekly notification when the Squills newsletter is posted? Shoot a PM over to SquillsBot to let him know, and you'll be pinged along with the next issue!








I was never insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.
— Edgar Allan Poe