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. WELCOME TO THE REBELLION
2. 15 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN BEING A MONSTER
3. ADVENTURES IN WRITING
4. ASK GRUNO
5. NEW ARRIVALS
6. THIS WEEK’S ROUNDUP - 11/8
7. SHAMELESS PLUGS
8. SUBSCRIBERS

WELCOME TO THE REBELLIONwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

All the talk of noveling this month might have tired you out already if you’re not a novelist. Maybe you feel woeful because you aren’t noveling...but you’d like a challenge and a deadline.

If this describes you, you might be a NaNo Rebel.

Yes, it’s true: You can challenge yourself during the month of November without writing a novel! In fact, there’s a whole forum for Rebels . However, just because you’re not writing a traditional novel doesn’t mean you have to think of yourself as a Rebel. So, without further ado, allow me to present:



You may not be considered a Rebel if you…



(If you’re writing a novel by hand, click here to find out how to validate it.)

If all those people are not Rebels, who is considered a Rebel?

You are considered a Rebel if you…



(While there used to be a separate event for script-writers, Script Frenzy was discontinued in 2013 due to a decline in participants and donations.)

Since NaNoWriMo’s official stance is that any “lengthy work of fiction” constitutes a novel, there’s less of a chance that you’re a NaNo Rebel than you might think. However, if you are a Rebel, introduce yourself in this thread and let your fellow Rebels know what you’re working on!

Join the challenge here .

15 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN BEING A MONSTERwritten by Defyingravity01 < PM: >

Hey there!
So, I’ve posted several “25 Things to Remember” pieces on YWS and gotten an overwhelming response so I decided to write a few for Squills and see if you all enjoyed them. Also, since Halloween was a week ago, I figured I’d do something monster related. Hit the like button or PM me with suggestions for lists you’d like me to make. They can be funny, life or writing related. Just let me know!

1: Stick to what you want to be
You could be a ghost or a ghoul, a vampire or a zombie. You could even be Actual Cannibal Shia Labeouf if you want. Whatever you choose, make it good.

2: Don’t yell before attacking victims
Seriously, you’re never going to accomplish anything that way.

3: Be legitimately scary
So if you’re a vampire, sparkling really isn’t a good idea.

4: Don’t be like a monster in Scooby Doo and have the head of your costume come off
Seriously guys, what is this, 1970?

5: Don’t be scared by other monsters
Kinda hard to be scary when you’re screaming at others.

6: Unless you want to be killed by villagers with pitchforks, a mysterious castle is not a great place to go
Yeah. not smart.

7: Scary claws go a long way
There’s something about the screeching of claws on the side of a victim’s house that just scares the living daylights out of them

8: Watch Monster’s Inc and then Monster’s University
You might even go so far as to attend Monster’s University to perfect your technique

9: Attack during the day
Nothing bad happens during the daytime, right? Nope. Your victim won’t suspect a thing. Sorry vampires, this one doesn’t apply to you.

10: You need a good roar.


11: Don’t explain your entire plan to your victim before killing them
They will find a way to escape.

12: Don’t go after Molly Weasely’s kids
She’s way scarier than any monster

13: Use your victim’s name
Using their name will terrify them.

14: Try to avoid leaving footprints
Don’t want to start another Big Foot hunt, do we?

15: Old people and small children are off limits
Seriously, where’s your monstanity? Like humanity. Except you’re a monster.

These are all the things you need to remember to be a top notch monster. Forget them and you will be forgotten.

ADVENTURES IN WRITINGwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

I don’t know about you, but I can waste hours on TVtropes.org. It can be a useful site, but if I head there for any reason, then it’s goodbye, Productivity.

The common understanding of a trope these days is “a convention of plot, narration, or character type.” TVtropes.org defines it this way.






This is similar to the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of a trope as a “significant or recurrent theme,” while Merriam-Webster condemns tropes in general as “overused” and “cliché.”

Which, yes. They can be. Not necessarily so, however. But before I go further with that, here are some examples of tropes that might be familiar to you.

Old Master. Examples include Mr. Miyagi (The Karate Kid), Yoda (Star Wars, particularly The Empire Strikes Back), Master Oogway (Kung-Fu Panda), Gandalf (The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings), and Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter).

Loveable Rogue. Flynn Rider (Tangled), the Artful Dodger (most film and stage adaptations of Oliver Twist), Han Solo (Star Wars), the Man with No Name (Dollars Trilogy), the Dread Pirate Roberts (The Princess Bride), Loki (Norse mythology), Robin Hood (English folklore), the Marquis de Carabas (Neverwhere), Crowley (Good Omens), Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly), and the Winchesters (Supernatural).

Girl Next Door. Lena (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Gigi and Mary (He’s Just Not That Into You), Layla (Sky High), Boof (Teen Wolf), Julie (Flipped), Julia (The Wedding Singer), and Jane Bennett (Pride and Prejudice).

If you’re familiar with at least three examples from each of these tropes, you probably noticed some common characteristics. The Old Master is an elderly mentor who can kick butt when needed. The Loveable Rogue breaks rules, commits crimes, and generally swindles people but is so charming or attractive that he or she can get away with it. The Girl Next Door is someone easy to talk to, which may be because she’s down-to-earth, because she’s shy, or because she’s a nice person.

While the example characters in each list exhibit some traits typical of the trope in question, they’re distinctive characters who differ in many ways as well and may not even get along if you put them in a room together. On that note, while tropes are often considered “overused” and “cliché” (I’m looking at you, Merriam-Webster), they can actually be helpful. More on that next week, so stick around for the next edition of Squills!

Head over to TVtropes.org to waste a bunch of time find out more about different tropes!

ASK GRUNOwritten 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. 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'm think of being a superhero when I grow up. I'm having some trouble thinking of a name, but I want it to be something mysterious. Can you help me?

-Mystery Man

My Dear Mystery Man,
This is a very serious and pressing issue. I mean, a man’s superhero name is the equivalent to his identity. We can’t have you going around with a ridiculous name or no one will want you to save them.

I like Shadow Man, it’s very mysterious in my opinion. I also must add that if you’re going to be a superhero, you must be a Marvel superhero because Marvel reigns supreme.

-Gruno

Dear Fellow Gruno/Pruno

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



Dear Someone,
I would obviously name a tropical paradise island Gruno Land because come on, it’s a tropical paradise island. There is no other name better suited for something like that. Who wouldn’t want to live in a fantastic place such as Gruno Land? Everyone would! And then there would be a Gruno hotel, a Gruno waterpark, a Gruno themepark, Gruno restaurants, attractions and let’s not forget a museum!

Why does that sound so much like Dollyworld?
Love, Gruno


Dearest Pruno and strange green family member,
There's a Special Someone but they're only a fictional character. How can I show my love and devotion and still feel loved back. Is this hopeless. I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE HOPELESS.
-Lovesick

Dear Lovesick,
Here’s how you hook him.
You need to write fanfiction, a lot of it. And then you need to buy all of the book themed t shirts and posters. Cut the t shirts up and make them into a quilt and use the posters to wallpaper your room. Literally, tape them together and cover all your walls with posters. After that comes the soundtrack. So you need to buy all the CDs AND the albums on itunes AND the albums on google play AND you need to find a way to get the soundtracks on cassette.

-Strange Green Family Member


Sadly, that’s all for this week. We need more questions. You all have been fabulous as far as asking questions, but the more 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: >

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 11/8written by megsug < PM: >

Today and only today!!!! Four links for your viewing pleasure for the shocking cost of $/£/€/¥/₹ 0!!!!! Hurry and grab this week’s links today.


@Ronald559 asked for some information about publishing and got a gold mine of replies with facts and advice touching on self-publishing, getting an agent, marketing yourself, and so much more. Some of the most helpful information came from @Kyllorac:







Though @Rosendorn also lays down some awesome tips about finding agents and a listing different scams linked to publishing. For anyone who is interested in getting published, this thread is very useful.


@Noelle has started a lovely, nature filled art thread, including pictures of different things one encounters when outdoors. Probably my favorite (and @pretzelsing’s) is:



What’s really cool is Noelle doesn’t use any filters most of the time. Her pictures are au naturel and beautiful.


Participating in NaNoWriMo? Wishing you had a way to let everyone know how awesome you’re doing? @Nate has delivered yet again. There’s a bar you can put at the bottom of your signature and update as you work on your novel. All you have to do is:







Start showing off today!


@GoldFlame wrote a great article a few months ago about title capitalization and answered all the questions I never knew I had. From separating types of words into capitalized and lowercase to including weird things like parentheses and hyphens that could trip you up, she has you covered when it comes to title capitalization. Something I had never considered before is sentence case which is:







So you treat it like a normal sentence. If you’ve ever changed your title because you weren’t sure what to capitalize surely I’m not the only one who’s done that then this is the article for you!

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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