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. HOT SEAT
2. STORYBOOK COVERAGE
3. TWO CENTS
4. THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP
5. SHAMELESS PLUGS
6. SUBSCRIBERS

HOT SEAT: DUTIFULwritten by Aley < PM: >

This week saw the dawn of a new work in the literary spotlight. The story is about a young girl who endeavors to follow the fabled tales of detectives for all ages, and manages to find quite the mystery for herself. Marked as an Article/Essay it's an unlikely pick for the Literary Spotlight, but @Dutiful, the writer of "Detective Divya" explains it's actually a nonfiction account!

You can read the story here: Detective Divya .

Without further ado, I bring to you the interview.



Dutiful: Of course! This is exciting



D: I was really happy! I didn't know it was in the spotlight until I woke up in the morning and saw the PM from Big Brother. It was a great way to start my day



D: @ Sweater was the one who made me write this xD This was an actual incident that happened when I was a kid and I guess he thought it had to be shared with everyone



D: I spent a lot of time reading through a lot of works on YWS, and I learnt a lot from them. So I guess my guidebook was YWS xD



D: Off the top of my head the first that comes to mind is a few of @ Pompadour's works that I simply adored and admired (but can't remember their names at the moment), and of course Sweater's Shaamsnama is beautifully written as well. I'm pretty sure there's more but I can't remember them



D: YES! In fact, I have one that happened last December which is what I'm planning on writing next



D: The first part 'That Girl with the Sixth Finger' was supposed to be a standalone essay/article of sorts, but then I thought I'd make it into a memoir so I guess that's why? It didn't seem fitting to put it under Novel/Chapter either I guess. Also since it isn't fiction I guess Short Story isn't apt for it



D: Not at all. Plus, wouldn't that defeat the purpose having of a memoir? xD



D: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INTERVIEWING ME THIS WAS REALLY FUN AND EXCITING AND NICE also I'd like to add that I'm bad at interviews and I have no idea how I did this one xD

If you've got some time to read a detective novel, be sure to check out this piece of non-fiction. It's just as suspenseful as anything imagined!

Until next time!

STORYBOOK COVERAGEwritten by megsug < PM: >

As summer break continues, storybooks heat up whether they’re just being created or in full swing. Get into a storybook yourself before the school year slows the forum down again. Here are five storybooks for you to join, jump into, or follow!

Join
Killings in Whitechapel started by @Gravity is based off of Jack the Ripper with a twist. Jack the Ripper isn’t just killing prostitutes but a variety of people, and the potential characters know the victims. The SB will take place in Whitechapel, England (Jack the Ripper’s historical hunting grounds), and participants will help create victims and suspects. However, Gravity will be the only one to know the identity of the killer.

It will be a 16+ storybook, so be sure you’re prepared!

The month’s official storybook is a fantasy one. The character profiles for Wordsmiths: A Preemptive Disaster created by @Astralhunter is an application to the Adventurer’s Guild. The Guild exists in a word where people known as wordsmiths can write things into being. However, the power of these wordsmiths only work with the inspiration of others. Help save the Archduchy of Ishaven from creatures created by a wordsmith inspired by a ne’er-do-well.

Astralhunter will be putting the first post up July 17th, so sign up before then!

Jump In
A Town Called Jade is a western storybook created by @ChildOfWriting. Because it’s about a town, participants can come and go, and people are invited to come in. Currently a deputy, freelance outlaws, ranch hands, an Apache tribe member, and a Navajo tribe member are up for grabs. If you have an idea for an occupation that ChildOfWriting doesn’t have listed, PM her and ask her if she can add it.

Follow
Pokemon MysteryDungeon: The Seventeen Plates of Arceus organized by @Roberto is 15 pages long and has been going on since December 2014. Participants play pokemon. The Though updates can be slow in coming, there’s plenty to read while you wait!

Veering to another fandom, Return of Hogwarts will cater to the potterheads in the crowd. Creater @NympheaLily and a few other users have been gallivanting around Hogwarts for a month now. They just got off the train and are headed toward the Sorting Ceremony. With short posts, this would be a great, fast-paced storybook to follow.

If you want to join a brand new Harry Potter based SB, check out Ilvermorny created by @ty7lucky

TWO CENTS: SKINwritten by Aley < PM: >

One of the difficult things to develop as a writer is our ability to avoid taking criticism personally. We have to learn to accept criticism because that's the only way we can tell if we're actually making any ground. If we don't have an outside reference point to gauge our abilities, we cannot tell if we are improving because we're too close. Think about when you see a vehicle moving beside you, but you think you're the one who's moving. We can trick our brains into believing we're improving, when in reality, we're just making different mistakes, or even the same mistakes differently.

Now some of us may believe we can get away with just reading, and improving that way, but you cannot be sure if you're able to read critically enough to improve without having something to improve against. You might read all your oldest work and think it's crappy because you just don't like the plot any more rather than seeing the writing flaws you're still doing.

So how do we learn to take criticism? A lot of us do it gradually, accepting reviews, and developing a sense of self-awareness from that, but for those of you struggling with reviews, here are my two cents about how to develop a skin easier.

First and foremost, don't dive in blind. When you post here, or elsewhere, you're going to get reviews that you don't like eventually, you're going to get reviews that you feel are offensive eventually. It's just part of human nature to end up with controversy, so be aware of that before you post, and if you're going to be too upset if someone says that your piece is absolute rubbish, then don't publish it until you can take that criticism.

Consider yourself a third party after you post. Don't look at the story as your baby, look at it as something someone else wrote which you just read and now you're looking to see what other people thought about it. Taking yourself out of the equation can help create an environment where you can look at your work critically for what it is, rather than imposing your emotions onto the poem.

Lastly, when you do get really mad about a review, take a step away and breathe for a while. This is a reviewer who was trying to help, and just didn't do it diplomatically enough for your sensitivity level. Later, after you've built up the ability to look at your work critically, go back to the review and read it again. If you still think it needs some sort of comment, then do so while you're calm that way you can be diplomatic in your approach.

Have a topic you want to hear about? Ask! I'm more than willing to take requests.

THIS WEEK'S ROUND UP 7/10written by megsug < PM: >

Looking for poetry advice? Wanna talk about the food of your heritage? Your Dreams? Check out This Week’s Roundup.


@Aley has compiled a lot of information at punctuation in poetry to go along with the articles she did on capitalization in poetry. She includes five choices of punctuation along with vocabulary and a bit on capitalization. Trying to find the best fit for your poem? Aley suggests:







Check it out to find out the pros and cons of several different types of punctuation in poetry to find how you should be punctuating your verses!


@Lareine is curious to see people’s favorite food from their culture. @Holysocks has a largely Ukranian background and she:







What favorite food harks back to your heritage?


@jumpingsheep is posting their covers for different projects. The Chaos series covers are beautiful. The first one may be my favorite.



Check out their other fantastic covers!


@Dracula wants to know what people are dreaming about, and @SacredPen seems to have had a strange one:







How would you summarize your latest dream?

SHAMELESS PLUGS

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.

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Place advertisement here. Make sure you include a title!

Poetry Wars has officially gotten underway with voting between two poems commencing in The Lounge.

This is your chance to say which type of poetry you like better, so check out the two poems, totalling 22 lines together in the Battle Thread: Poetry Wars: The Battle and decide which contestant you think did a better job!

Once you're done, head on over to the main thread of Poetry Wars and offer up your own poem as sacrafice for a chance to be pitted against other competitors.

The next round and the results of this round will be out next week, so get voting while the getting's good. You can even choose to offer yourself as a guest judge if you're eager to share all your thoughts on a subject and get the inside scoop of Poetry Wars.





That's all folks~ Now send us yours.

SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

Find enspoiler-ed a list of our subscribers!