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. People's Tab Roundup
2. FM Interview
3. Ask Gruno
4. NaNoWriMo Pre-Challenge
5. Adventures in Writing
6. New Arrivals
7. Subscribers

People’s Tab Roundup HEREwritten by Pretzelstick < PM: >

I wanted to clue you all in on the activity that is going on in the People’s tab, just because I think that it’s a very fun article to read and write. If you find any of this interesting and want to see it, then I would recommend going to the user’s wall and scrolling through their feed, as I will not take the space and time to have a link for each individual quote/post. Let’s get into the juicy adventurous peoples tab, shall we?

@Hattable is famous for posting things daily from TheMetaPicture, which amuses many people, and he has gained many followers and views this way. Here is my favorite post of his:



I reposted this picture, but the original one that Hatt posted on his wall got 21 likes! I think that every fan-girl must see this, and even if you’re not a fan, it’s just so cool how these trucks kinda came alongside each other.

@Amareth has been faithfully posting a #songoftheday post, which I have been really liking to check on. It’s quite cool, and you can surely get some musical inspiration if you check it out. Here is an example of one of the music videos that was posted- this Saturday:



Amareth deserves some recognition as she has been doing this all of Sep. and also the beginning of this month as well. Any one of these songs will affect your mood, someway somehow.

@Dreamy has been pretty consistent with posting quotes from books and people on their wall from time to time. I am a quote-lover, and other than our quote generator at the bottom of our website, I also look to Dreamy’s page to find some quotable character’s lines. This line from Alice in Wonderland, still boggles my mind, and I can’t quite get a hold of it because it confuses me still. (Can someone like PM me and explain whaaaaaaaaaat this even means??)




@Deanie has been posting wonderful advice and tips during the whole month of #RevMo, everyday in fact, and a lot of reviewers have gotten great use of it. These things all still apply, and in my opinion I love to know what other people do in their own reviews. Here is one that I really picked up on:




That’s all that we have today for the People’s tab roundup. I hope that you enjoy and check all of these things out. See y’all next Sunday for another grand edition of Squills!

FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW WITH RAGINGLIVEwritten by Elysium < PM: >

Hello! Elysium your community reporter here with our previous Featured Member, @RagingLive! Let's get right in!



RagingLive: Yes and no. I had a few people predict it too me, but I don’t think that I quite believed it. I would tell you about the happy dance I did in my bedroom, but that might get a little awkward!



RL: I would have to say the chatroom. When I’m having a bad day those guys always find some way to cheer me up, and when I’m having a good day myself, I can usually find some way to share it with others. Other than that I’m usually trolling through old works buried in the literary section.



RL: Someone who is kind, very helpful, and always goes out of their way to do something for another member by offering advice, giving quality reviews or just day-to-day support. I have been blessed enough to know many of these people and I have learned from quite a few them over the time that I’ve been here.



RL: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I know that it’s easier said than done, especially for people like me who are always afraid of that they will be bothering someone. But once the newness of YWS wears off and you’ve learned how to operate the site, learn by watching. When posting a work, watch how someone reviews. When reviewing, study that person’s writing style.



RL: I think it had to do with National Review Writing Month. I didn’t aim to get all fifty reviews in eleven days, but I’m glad I did what with my fall schedule going haywire



RL: Yes, but more this year than last year. Unfortunately I had never done that much reviewing as it always seemed more of a burden than anything else and I instead had a novel going. I stopped the novel in July and wasn’t getting on very much until RevMo came along. I tried to get as many reviews as possible done before the school year started, but now I’m struggling to keep up with Team Tortoise in the midst of Sophomore year and booked weekends.



RL: Write, write, write. Maybe you have a story going and you have an inspiration for yet another, but take time to jot it down because you never know if you can use it in the future. Also, I’ve learned how important it is to review. Everyone will have their good days and their off days, but even if you just review for one person, you’ve helped someone. If someone reviews something for you, please take time to let them know that you appreciate their review. Even if it’s a short “thanks for the review,” at least they know that you read it, and it just might brighten their day!

That's all for this edition of Squills! Thanks for reading!

*Note: All questions were asked by @megsug before our hiatus.

ASKGRUNOwritten by Gruno < PM: >

Welcome to Ask Gruno, the advice column in which stuff happens. Gruno will answer any questions you throw at him, be it advice, personal opinion, solutions or philosophy. This week 3 questions will be answered. My cousin Pruno has been busy at the wonderful school for Pruno people, so I will be taking over the column. Every now and again, Pruno may make an appearance, so never fear! May the question answering commence!

Dear Gruno,
I broke my head open, while being unemployed. Do you think if I scammed the bank, got enough money, opened up a brothel AND sold my Star Wars baseball card collection, that I can stitch my head back up?
-Boris Yeltsin

Mr. Yeltsin,
I don’t think that will be enough. I think you also need to invest in a fruit/technology company, raise your child on your own after your wife dies from AIDS and sit at bus stations telling random strangers your story.

Love, Gruno

Dear Duo,
There are many famous duos in the history of mankind. Some harmonize in song, some are partners in crime, and some put their two brains together to make the world a better place. Think of them all! Which duo(s) do the two of you most associate with?
-Single Sally

Dear Single Sally,
To answer your question I would have to say Tom and Jerry. Tom is the stupid clutzy cat who is always trying to outsmart the amazingly handsome, smart and talented Jerry. Tom is always so short tempered with Jerry when Jerry does absolutely nothing to deserve this cruelty and just gives the Tom cat what he deserves.
I think you know Pruno is Tom and I am Jerry, It’s obvious.
-Gruno

Dear Fellow Gruno,
If you discovered a new island that nobody else knew about, what would you name it and why?
-Someone

Dear Someone,
Obviously Gruno-Land. What else would I name a tropical paradise island?
Love, Gruno

Okay my fellow Runians! I love writing this column just as much as you all enjoy reading it. However, if you guys don't submit questions for me to answer, I will have to find another job and then Pruno will have to change his major of answering questions to asking them! If you would like to ask more than one question, that's absolutely fine. It would also be much appreciated if you hit the like button and told your fellow YWSers about Ask Gruno, AND Squills. So, if you have a conundrum, hit this link

See you next week!

NaNoWriMo-Pre Challengewritten by Gravity < PM: >

Just like how people start playing Christmas music on the radio before Thanksgiving and Halloween candy and decorations are put out just after the mad school supply rush, NaNoWriMo is a practice authors prepare for in advance. Some start preparing for the next year after the minute November ends, some prepare a month before and some only minutes before, it’s up to the author. Whenever that prep time may be, the result is always the same: the intense pressure and suspense and the golden question: Will I win or will I lose?

If you are not familiar with the event, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is the biggest competition a writer can have with his or herself, the biggest test a writer can take. The biggest test of discipline short of actually publishing a novel and meeting a deadline. The goal? 50,000 words in 30 days. The stakes? Bragging rights and the honor of being able to say you have enough discipline to write an entire novel in one month.

Some are participating, some are not and the reasons vary widely. I interviewed a few YWSers who happened to be online at the time of me writing this article, and these were the results I got.

@Atsmai says,






@Brikhoff says,






The stresses of NaNo are pretty great which sadly affects how many people decide to participate. Some do it once and then decide it isn’t for them.

@Holysocks says






Some people decide to do it and some people don’t. Everybody has their reasons. If you’d like to be quoted in next week’s NaNo article, PM me and let me know where you stand! Title the PM “Next Week’s NaNo Article” and then tell me about your view on the matter.

Until next week,

XOXO,
Gravity

ADVENTURES IN WRITINGwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

After last last week’s article about hooks, I asked YWSers what some of their favorite and least favorite hooks are. Here’s what they had to say.

@GoldFlame’s favorite hooks






@Carlito agrees that a good hook should inspire questions that the reader wants answered. She says,






She also loves






However, while YWSers like hooks that leave an air of mystery, they’re not a fan of hooks that “focus too much on trying to lure the reader into their story,” as Goldflame says. Such hooks are left






While I agree that hooks left deliberately vague are often obvious and annoying, it depends on how this is done. A book that starts, “Bonnie was seriously regretting that she’d left her spear on the kitchen table” would interest me. Who is Bonnie? Why does she own a spear? (And why is this behavior casual enough that she left her spear on the kitchen table the way the rest of us might leave our phones or keys on the kitchen table?) What’s happening that makes her regret not having her spear on hand?

Of course, whether or not I’d read past the first chapter would depend on how the writer handled the opening after this point--but the opening sentence would interest me enough to at least keep me reading the first paragraph.

On the other hand, openings where the writer deliberately lacks description or leaves off details the character clearly knows, just for the sake of “mystery,” get annoying. But too much detail can deter readers as well. Carlito gives some examples of types of openings with either too much or not enough detail.






Additionally, as @Stegosaurus says, stale or cliched openings






Examples of cliched openings can be found here , here , and here .

Of course, writing an opening that is interesting, relevant, and not cliched, is







Trial and error...and help from your favorite websites for writers! @Blaspherica says,






If you have trouble with your own hooks, try requesting a review in the Will Review For Food forum. Readers can best let you know if your opening is interesting, if you give too much information or not enough, or if there are any other problems that make them stop reading. Be open to their criticisms and suggestions, even if you think your opening is good. If you’re writing for an audience, with the intention to publish, then it’s readers’ opinions that matters. If they’re not hooked, you need to know why so you can make improvements.

What are some of your favorite literary openings? What about openings you can’t stand? Join the discussion here .

NEW ARRIVALS
written by BlueAfrica < PM: >

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

SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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