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. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
2. GREEN ROOM GALLERY
3. NOTEWORTHY NOVELS
4. ADVENTURES IN WRITING
5. RESOURCES RELAY - 04/03
4. NEW ARRIVALS
5. THIS WEEK’S ROUNDUP - 04/03
6. SHAMELESS PLUGS
7. SUBSCRIBERS

LETTER FROM THE EDITORwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

Dear Readers,

After thinking it through for several months, I’ve decided to step down as Editor-in-Chief of Squills. I love the newsletter—writing articles, editing, badgering people to join the staff, shamelessly promoting Squills at every turn—and working on it has gotten me through some tough times in my real life.

But now that I’m happy out in the real world, I don’t spend nearly as much time online as I used to. I’m traveling. I’m drawing and painting again and hope to get back to the piano. I’m designing clothes for myself. I’m gardening. There’s just so much to do offline these days.

Not to mention the fact that my reviewing and work on my own projects always get neglected in favor of Squills.

It’s time for me to move on to other pursuits, so I’m retiring completely: no more editing or article-writing for this girl. I leave you in the capable hands of @megsug, your new Editor-in-Chief, who has stepped up to the plate in recent weeks as I’ve drawn back from my editorial duties. Assisting her in leadership are @Gravity, who has done great work in her time as editor and has some interesting ideas in the works, and @Lavvie, the newest member of our team. Be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their amazing work.

Thank you for your loyal support to Squills and its staff. It’s been an honor to serve as your Editor-in-Chief.

Write on!
BlueAfrica

GREEN ROOM GALLERYwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

At the end of the Spring Review Day, the Green Room sits at just under two hundred works: 56 with zero reviews and 121 with one review. That’s down about a hundred fifty from the time I started this article on Thursday, but we can do better! Luckily, @Keepwriting has started a thread for clearing out the Green Room . If you review any of the works below--or any other work in the Green Room--you can stop by the thread and brag about your success. Additionally, you can suggest works to be reviewed or join the Knights of the Green Room and help in the valiant attempt to clear out unreviewed works. Whatever you do, be sure to leave some reviews!

The Chronicles of a Public Bus (part 3.05) by @Buggiedude2340

Mystery/suspense. The Bertrams go to a musical.

Yule’s Son Chapter Five (Part Two) by @Renn

Action/historical fiction. A savior appears in Brandr’s dreams.

Broken Glass (Chapter 2?) by @amberlemayy
Rated 16+

Teen/supernatural. Mixed signals from Trevor and follow-up questions from Andrea.

Peroxide (Peterick Fanfiction) by @CryingKilljoy
Rated 18+ for language and mature content

Fanfiction. Patrick and Pete are in serious danger..from themselves.

Child of the Sea (Chapter 13) by @NympheaLily

Fantasy/action. Devan is shipped off to an Eastern kingdom in exchange for important riches.

Untitled Novel : [Chapter 7 : If You’re Leaving and No One’s Home] by @Autumns

Realistic/general. Zaid muses about Niaz and Shazia’s crumbling marriage.

The New Generation--Chapter 15: Almost… There by @Artemis28

Fanfiction. Our heroes turn to Hades for help, but can he be trusted?

Chapter 1.2 New Novella (Untitled) by @klennon14
Rated 18+ for language

Action/sci-fi. A near-death experience brings Ronnie closer to insanity.

The Snow Angels: Part Two by @tigeraye

Realistic/dramatic. Melvin’s story of musical failure. Ah, well. At least he meets someone special.

Children of The Pipes Chapter 5: On Her Own by @nosirrah123
Rated 18+ for language, violence, and mature content

Sci-fi/action. Argent lives alone on the streets until she meets The Boy again.

(1) The Sorrows of Young Writer May 15 by @GNwriter
Rated 18+ for language and mature content

Dramatic. After his girlfriend leaves, a talentless writer stumbles back onto the path of self-destruction.

Unorthodox Thieves (Chap. 26): Not Exactly a Flesh Wound by @EnderFlash

General. As Claud tries to care for Reyna’s wounds, Lucius mulls over the possibilities.

NOTEWORTHY NOVELSwritten by Pretzelstick < PM: >

This week I come to you with one of the best columns that I love to report on, Noteworthy Novels. I know that this is always a treat for my Squillsans readers, as it is for me! On Monday, I interviewed @Falconer about her LMS II novel Taste of Life(Prologue and First Chapter ) and I really appreciated that insight that I received, and I hope that you will too!

Anyways, I'll stop babbling with this lengthy intro and instead get right to the point, right to the novel that we will discussing in this interview:



Falconer: I wanted to start this novel because I have always liked the idea of heroes standing up for earth. I thought that it would be interesting if there was a silent hero, going through life as a normal human, but yet the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders. I also wanted to try a mixture of realistic fiction and science fiction, and I think it helps me improve my writing.


F: Pyrok is an alien being who stands up for humans before they are all destroyed. She makes a deal with her leader, Ieva: Pyrok will have three human lives on earth, and then her decision will decide the final fate of mankind.



F: I chose Taste of Life because it seemed very fitting for what Pyrok does. She comes to earth for the first time and gets a taste of what life as a human is like.



F: My advice is to do research. Writing something that's partially realistic fiction, I've found it necessary, but it's also very useful in other genres as well, even fantasy. You can use it as inspiration, or as a way to keep things real and help the readers connect.

Also, sometimes it's okay to abandon your plans. I've planned for things that my character most likely wouldn't do, so I let the story follow the character's personality and thought process. It's helpful to think about what my character would do rather than what I want my character to do, so the actions and plot are more natural.



F: I love writing Pyrok! She's so bold and determined, and she's dangerous too. I like her decisive actions, I think she's a lot like who I wish I could be. It's fun to write about what she does in all kinds of situations. However, I never liked writing James. He was only there for a little while, but it was hard to write him because he was more inconsiderate, his actions were all over the place, and he didn't have a good relationship with any of my other characters, really.



F: Research. I wanted to make it as accurate as I could, but it was hard and time consuming to find some things. It was well worth it, though! I'm struggling with this even more so now, because I've decided to change the setting to a different country. It's scary, but I feel like it's really necessary for this novel.



F: I had an outline for Taste of Life up to a point, and now I just have some main points in my head that need to be reached. Other than that, I've recently been letting the story flow based on the characters' morals and personalities, with some guidance in the direction I want to head overall.



F: I think this has been one of my best writing experiences so far! I've gotten out of my comfort zone on several different levels. I've been working in a new genre, trying to improve my research, and trying to write stronger characters that are all important. It's been a crazy time writing this, but I'm glad that it's helped me to learn more about writing, and I hope I'll learn even more as I continue.

Good luck to you, my friend! Hopefully you will be learning more, because I personally believing that writing a novel or a longer project is a learning process. Hatt off for attempting and already achieving such success.

Until Next Time,
~Pretzel

ADVENTURES IN WRITINGwritten by BlueAfrica < PM: >

I’m trying out a draft of The Book Man from a different perspective. I don’t mean I’m going from third person to first or changing a straightforward narrative to a diary format. I mean I’m switching the main character.

It won’t affect the main plot too much—the antagonist will still be the antagonist, with much the same backstory and goals—but it’s a big change. Liza’s character arc is more dramatic than Christian’s and now happens onscreen (so to speak) instead of off. Certain scenes need to be rewritten from her point of view, which entails reimagining them. Switching up personal pronouns isn’t enough.

(I’m looking at you, Stephanie Meyer.)

Additionally, as the new protagonist, Liza needs to take a more active role in events. Luckily, that won’t be too difficult, even though it means a lot of new writing. She has a better reason to get involved in the story than Christian did. The writing’s going pretty well so far.

Honestly, coming up with a new title will be more difficult.

It’s still scary. I’ve been working on the same novel since the start of 2013; I’ve gone through seven drafts plus made minor edits whenever I thought I was closing in on The End. Now I’m tossing it all out the window and starting fresh. What the heck was I thinking? After three or four years spent working diligently on the same novel, why would I—or any writer—make this decision?

Better motivation. Character motivation has always been my greatest weakness as a writer. Which is really, really a bummer when you consider that plot is driven by motivation. Most of my plots fizzle out. The Book Man, after several drafts, more or less works, but only because I bent over backwards to make it do so. Thus: plot holes.



That, or weak attempts at filling in said plot holes.

Liza, however, has an obvious motivation from the get-go: her husband is missing, and she wants to find him. Because of that…

A stronger plot. The story progresses more logically with Liza as the protagonist. Her husband disappears; she searches for him; she runs into obstacles; she finds him but then faces other issues. As the story goes on, her motivation evolves from concrete to abstract, something more difficult to define. Self-discovery, maybe. Which leads us to my next point.

A better character arc. I’ve grown attached to Liza with all the changes she’s gone through as a character: from a cardboard cutout of a strong female who’s good at everything for no reason to a woman who’s stronger than she realizes and has the power to change her life.

And that’s just her arc from draft to draft.

Within the story, she undergoes a more dramatic character arc than Christian. While he participates in the story, Christian remains virtually unchanged from start to finish. He has more friends and speaks his mind more, but there’s no major shift. He doesn’t go out and seize life because he’s gone through so much that life no longer scares him. He doesn’t gain the confidence to go out and find some friends. He’s just sort of…slightly less shy than he was before.

Which, yes, allows for some changes in his life, but all after the story’s end.

Liza, though. Liza is an older woman trapped in a dull and miserable life. Her job offers no great personal satisfaction or wealth, she has few friends, and she suspects her husband is unfaithful. That doesn’t stop her from going to the police when he disappears, but they laugh her out of the office when they learn he’s been going out at night for months. Clearly an affair.

She doesn’t believe Christian when he comes out with her husband’s whereabouts. But with nowhere else to turn, Liza investigates his claims and springs into a fantasy adventure unlike anything she’s ever known. And in the process of searching for her husband, she finds herself.

It’s so much fun to write about.

To some people, “fun” probably isn’t a good reason to switch perspectives. But those people are wrong. That’s not to say you should shift your favorite secondary character to the forefront only because she’s more fun to write than the protagonist, but it’s something to consider if the secondary character makes for a stronger story.

RESOURCES RELAY - 4/3written by Pretzelstick < PM: >

And enter to the reading of another Resources Relays this week! So happy to be showing you to next links that I'be dug up from the dusty but resourceful section of the forums. Today you will see things like idea pitches and submissons for magazines.



@CTodd89 has posted an idea pitch, and needs help with filling a plot hole, or what's going to happen next. The genre that is intended is supernatural and psychological horror and this is going to be written as a screenplay. There is a pretty long summary on what the plan is so far, but Todd is asking for advice and help on how to develop it even further.

@Rosendorn provides this advice about how to make this plan stronger:






If this intrigues you in any way, then you should defnitivley go and check it out!




@Cailey opened a thread welcoming submissions for flash fiction and poetry for a magazine called Inkspots and Raindrops. Here is some more information on this oppurtunity:







If you are interested, than please get in contact with Cailey, there are tons of options and numerous ways to do so as she outlines in the thread.




@CDHogan is at the stage, where they know that they want to write a sci-fi book, but they feel like "I'm not sure how to write a book", so it's our job as sci-fi readers to go on and help them.

I thought @Kyllorac's reply was especially helpful, because it kind of gives a warning and a guidelines, and also outlines that different types of variations within a genre.





If you want to help them, then you should go on over and write your opinion on the topic.



@BlueJayWalker10 has recently opened a thread, because he wants to start reviewing to get over his writing block! As it says in the title of his thread, he's willing to review short stories, novels, fanfictions, and argumentative essays.





I at least, always appreciate when someone outlines their expectations and abilities. That's always a good sign of a solid review requesting thread. If you ever are in the need of a review, why don't you go and encourage this new member?

That's a wrap to my favorite awesomesauce column, fellow Squillsans. I hope that you enjoyed reading this, and will participate in various of these conversations that were mentioned, to retain being a helpful and active member of YWS in the Resources thread.

Until Next Time,

~Pretzel

NEW ARRIVALS
written by BlueAfrica < PM: >



@SerenaRaine has joined a conversation in the Welcome Mat. Click here to welcome her to the site !

@Winchester19867 has posted some interesting facts about themselves on their wall. Head on over and learn more about them .

@Ayushthepoet has posted a supernatural romantic poem called “The girl.” Click here to read it and leave a review .

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 4/3written by megsug < PM: >

April Fool’s this week made the forums a wacky place to be, so this week’s Round Up is half prank, half real news. I’ll let you discern which is which.


@Big Brother has posted top reviewers and most liked reviews of March. The Top reviewers were:





Congrats to everyone who was mentioned! Thanks for doing so much for the YWS community.


@Iggy announced who YWS would be supporting in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign this year.







Yes, in a surprise, Buchanan is running, and now anyone who can should get out and support him. Get involved, donate, put up billboards.

What Iggy forgot to say in her post is… April Fools.


Friday wasn’t just a day of pranks. NaPo started this week, and users have been making threads in NaPoWriMo forum all week. In case you don’t know, NaPoWriMo is National Poetry Writing Month, and participants are trying to write thirty poems this month.

@lizzybookclubqueen1 is trying her hand at it for the first time now and is a self-identified poetry baby. Both of her poems this month have been about YWS which is an awesome topic. She says her first one was inspired by Beer Barrel Polka . It goes:







Check out lizzy’s other poem and subscribe to her thread to see what she’ll post next!


@Rydia had an announcement Friday too. YWS has a publishing house it the works. It’s going to be beautiful. Everyone’s really excited. Rydia said:







So… sending manuscripts might be a little tricky…

SHAMELESS PLUGS

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