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. POETRY ANALYSIS
2. THREE GUESTS, THREE QUESTIONS
3. SOCIETY PAGES
4. STORYBOOK UPDATE
5. CLUB COVERAGE
6. ALL THINGS BOOKS AND READING
7. CHRISTMAS CAROLS
8. TWO CENTS
9. LET'S TALK MEDIA
10. LINK ROUND UP
11. SHAMELESS PLUGS
12. SUBSCRIBERS

POETRY ANALYSIS: ameliewritten by Kaos < PM: >

So, how this works is a poet from the site is chosen to be analyzised of their style and how they write poetry. After this, this person is interviewed on why they do what they do and everything of the like. Our first poet ever to be on Poetry Analysis is @amelie! Not only are they a great poet, but a great member in general.

From my own perspective, amelie often writes about things that aren't always clear. We see this throughout her poetry as there isn't really one true meaning in any one of them, and it leaves room for interpretation to be had. She seems to go into things with more of a concept or idea and basing it around that.

There isn't a clear or direct theme for her poetry and more of a story to be told rather than a lesson or moral to be learned from amelie's poetry. Around these concepts and ideas we see her use strong imagery to tie it together. Structurally we haven't really seen from her and it doesn't seem like one of the things she really focuses on as much.

We haven't seen her really write outside of free-verse, this isn't something that's particularly bad but this tells us that she likes to write with more freedom instead of rhyme or structured poetry to make her really think twice. Other than me giving all of the thoughts, I've gotten an interview with amelie herself, and this is how it went!



amelie Most of the poems I write come from an idea I have, and then I jot down some images that I can scatter throughout the poem.



A: When I'm writing a poem, or when I'm reading someone else's poetry?



A: I honestly don't think about that too much, but I tend to leave a lot of room for different interpretations in my writing I feel like.



A: Personally, I like to see originality in poems. Something that's well-written with a creative idea behind it.



A: That's tough- I've gotten some comments about being able to relate with the concepts I use, so that may be something!



That's all I had from the interview with amelie! It turns out that amelie does enjoy using multiple meanings or interpretations in poetry but doesn't really think about that too much. In the interview, we get to see the process of how she writes her poetry and more in depth than just my own personal analysis, so I'm grateful to have gotten it with her. In the future, her style may end up changing, but it's healthy for writing to change.

THREE GUESTS, THREE QUESTIONS:
CHRISTMAS
written by marmalade < PM: >

It’s Christmas! My most favorite time of the year and I’m sure even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you still love seeing the pretty lights and the smiles on people's faces. People are seem to smile more around Christmas and I think that’s lovely! Anyway, another great thing about Christmas, is the fact that I can write Christmas themed articles! So I hope you are just as excited to read this as I am to write it! Thank you to @DeepRoses, @EverWinter, and @spectator. For letting me interview you!





EverWinter: Yes, I do celebrate Christmas. Since my family is quite religious, we really do try to focus more on Christ's birth and life instead of gifts and the more commercial side of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas, to me at least, is to remember Christ's birth and mission in life and to help others. It's a truly selfless time of year.



E: My favorite thing about Christmas is the snow. It's just beautiful. Especially at night. My favorite memory has to be every Christmas Eve, my family has a party where all the kids get together and spend 5 or 6 hours building a Gingerbread house while watching Christmas movies. The gingerbread house is huge. It takes up our entire dinner table. It's been things like the Tower of Babel, a pirate ship, a full blown castle, and last year it was the Empire State Building.



E: I like to make a list of the people who have been key in my life for the past year, and then my mom and I spend a couple days baking cookies and making some sort of craft for them, and we deliver them on Christmas Eve. Usually we also find a family in need and get them food and presents. I’m doing both this year, and I am really excited for it.





DeepRoses: I do, in fact, celebrate Christmas. I believe that the true meaning for Christmas is not only getting gifts and being with family, but also celebrating the birth of whoever savior people may believe in. I also think it is about spreading joy and happiness across the world.



D: My favorite thing about Christmas is all the smiles and joy spreading around. I also love the Christmas music and decorating! My favorite memory is getting to go to my grandma’s house a couple years ago and spend time with all my family.



D: I love to give people random surprise gifts and send people I don't even talk to anymore sweet Christmas wishes. I love to see and make people smile, especially on holidays.





Spectator: Yes, I celebrate Christmas. This probably sounds classic, but I believe the true meaning of Christmas is spending time with family (even though it is painful sometimes) and friends, and reminding people you love them. Also don't forget CAPITALISM which is the most important part of Christmas



S: Well, we have a sing along a couple days before Christmas. And all our neighbors squeeze into our house and gather around the piano and sing. It's crowded, but super loving and warm. I love having a bunch of neighbors who we are close with because it feels like I'm a big sister to 15 kids!



S: I like making homemade gifts and also buying people gifts and writing cute cards. Also just spending time with people and baking cookies or watching movies or skating or whatever

A big thanks to those who I got to interview and a merry Christmas to all!

SOCIETY PAGESwritten by EternalRain < PM: >

Welcome to another edition of the Society Pages! After Mea’s lovely column last week, I bring to you this article.

Many people are trying to get in reading goals for the year or any books they wanted to read by the end of 2016. Despite whether or not it’s for a goal or not (or maybe even for school!) @ChieRynn is reading the classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

@Steggy has posted an extremely fun fact about the English language (of course, why it is so complicated) attached with the hashtag #alittlefunfact . The post was:







In other English, writing related news, @Sachiko has queried the agent of Maggie Stiefvater, the author of the crazy popular young adult series the Raven Boys (which is presumably a very good series!). Let’s send lots of luck and good thoughts to Sachiko.

@Zolen is wondering why nobody talks to Zolen. Someone go talk to Zolen!

@Mage posted a message, addressing it “to all the YWS poets”.






It’s quite lovely and I have to agree - the poets here on YWS are amazing!

As far as final exams go, let’s take a step into what’s been going on. @ChocolateCello has finished with all of theirs and now completely ready to get back to writing and baking. Lucky @Mea doesn’t even have finals! They’re approaching an end, though, and even if you have yet to take any - just remember to relax. Finals are stressful, but everything’s going to be okay.

#fivereasonstosmile seems to be making its way back around YWS, albeit kind of slowly. @amelie has a great reason, and it’s so simple: friends. It seems as if that’s always an obvious choice, but really - what better way to smile than from friends? They’re really the best source. If you ever want to share your #fivereasonstosmile, especially since the holiday season is upon us, definitely share!

@Auxiira had a puppy come into their work because he was too young to be out on his own.

And to top this article off with some extra super positivity, @DeepRoses is continuing their #positivetoday hashtag. The point is to write a couple positive things that have happened to you that day. One of her positives was that she ate cookie cake for dinner. I’ve no idea what that is, but it certainly sounds delicious!

Since the holidays are rolling around, share your experiences, any gifts you get, or any gifts you’re giving!

STORYBOOK UPDATEwritten by SirLight < PM: >

Welcome to this week's Story Book Update. Inside you'll find information about the current situation in the forums, a look back through the archives, and some stats gathered just for you!

THROUGH THE EQUATION

Clue: Heathermire Hall is a Storybook (SB) made by @Wolfical. While there are other SBs that center around the theme of murder and whodunit, this one is unique due to the board game it is inspired from, Clue® board game - which means game mechanism! Also, the participants are introduced to an extra game that is held in the Discussion thread. Wolfical sums it up as,

IT CAME FROM THE IMAGINATION

This week, a couple new story books have joined the forum. Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse! by @XxXTheSwordsmanXxX revolves around zombies and the place they are in, Clayton, also known as the New York of North California. It is a progressive, futuristic city, described as having multiple skyscrapers and maze of roads and buildings. The zombies might not be a good news for the citizens, but they do indeed make the situations more fun and upredictable!

Protectors of Gantaro by @Casanova would please readers who are tired with the conflict between vampires and humans. Humans are fragile little species, so elves take their place instead, waging war against the vampires. A third group called Protectors are made to stop the chaos and bloodshed. Also, the queen of elves and leader of vampires certainly think love between the two races is okay since the queen born a child out of it named Ryu Cevenost who is kidnapped.

Dirty Paws by @felidae ends with a note that the SB is sort of based from the movie Zootopia and that brings intrigue on what it is about. The setting is Freeze Town, the barbaric and old-fashioned capital of the North, the truth hidden by the message given to the visitors, which calls it a sophisticated and modern capital that welcomes all sorts of werepeople. The truth, of course, is there when you read the link!

IN MY EYES

Since this would be the first article of its revival, I have yet to to notice a spectacular SBer that stands out in terms of the the quality and quanity of their posts. Maybe next time!

CLUB COVERAGE
written by marmalade < PM: >

It’s been awhile since we’ve done a Club Coverage, so let’s hope into it! Clubs are a great place to meet people and make friends. You can create clubs and or join and just have a blast.

We’ve been seeing some recent activity from:

The Role-play Geeks a club for people with a passion in roleplay.
Character Coffee Shop a club where you are write and act as your characters and interact with other writer’s characters. It’s the perfect place to really get to know your characters. To understand them, you must become them.
Story Interviews the place to get interviewed and to interview other writers in order to help better everyone's manuscript! How lovely, everyone benefits!
PawPrints such a cute name for such a great club! This club is for those avid readers who can’t get enough of those juicy books.
The drawing Club pretty self explanatory, this club is for those artists who love to draw! If you want to better your drawing or just connect with other artists, this is totally the club for you!

Some new clubs include:

Villains a club just about that, Villains! Apparently, if you are a villain isn’t the club for you. “Now it's your turn. This is the new era of villains.” Kind of, spooky~!
Fencing United this club is self explanatory. If you fence, you should join and if you don’t fence...maybe still join, I’m not sure! I’m sure there are other clubs for you non-fencers!
Western Writers is a club for just that―Western Writers. That means if you write Westerns this is the club for you!
YWS Theatre is a club for the theatre kids of YWS. You love theatre, you should totally join and meet other lovers of theatre!
Squirrel Lovers is a club for squirrel lovers, it’s a little odd but it’s nice to know there really is a place for everyone!
Operation Sunshine which sounds lovely! It’s a club with the sole purpose of making people smile and be happy. How nice is that?

And I was able to grab @Mage the creator of club Operation Sunshine for an interview!



Mage: Hi marmalade! Thank you for giving me the opportunity! I was inspired to create Operation Sunshine after seeing one of my YWS friends post on her wall about how she was having a bad day. A couple of months ago, I started posting pictures of things people like on their walls when they're having a bad day, so I did that for her. I was left with a really happy feeling afterwards. Then I was suddenly struck with a club where our sole purpose is to brighten people's days! I wanted to share the positivity and love with everyone.



M: Aw, thanks. Since the club hasn't been running for that long, I haven't had enough time to do a lot of things for it yet. I think one of my favorite things to do so far is to come up with "mini-missions", which are basically suggested positive and kind things you can do around the site. The newest of our mini-missions is to support people when they're having a bad day.



M: I would tell them that they should join if they want more positivity in their lives! It's super fun right now, and all of the members are really kind and awesome.



M: You're welcome!

That’s a wrap for this Club Coverage! Hope everyone has a happy and a merry Christmas!

All Things Books and Readingwritten by Pretzelstick < PM: >

Welcome, come one and come all for the last edition of Squills in 2016! Looking around on the bookish community, there’s a general consensus that there have been some really great books that were released this year. I’m so glad that I got to share some with all of you, it was a pleasure, and of course I will be continuing this newsletter on for the upcoming year.

Also wanted to push everyone over to the new thread that @TriSARAHtops has created which is all about the 2017 Popsugar challenge and loads of fun to participate in.

Something I can't let go of:
Book Lover: On your Bucket List


There is an extraordinary hotel located in Óbidos, Portugal, called “Courtesy of The Literary Man” It currently has a collection of 45,000 books and the goal is get to 100,000 copies. The bookshelves are everyone: in the dining room, the lounge area, the office room, there’s even some placed on the bed. I would highly recommend taking a look at some of these pictures- it looks like a book-lover’s paradise and it has definitively gone onto my bucket list of places to travel to. What I love the most about this is that it encourages literacy-it’s the essence of the reading spirit itself being displayed and it’s just such a joy to see.

What's New in the World of Books:
The Wonder
by Emma Donoghue
Release Date:September 20, 2016








This book is truly a treasure for the historical fiction genre, because I let my whole mind and body feel the atmosphere that Donoghue has created. This takes place in the 1850s, in a rural Irish town, tucked away in some little corner of the world, as I like to think, so it was intriguing and doing something that you don't really see that often in literary fiction.

The best thing about this book for me, is that her writing literally transported me and injected me to that specific 10 day period of time and place. You really come to feel the various characters' frustrations and you grow to love main character(even though she's not the narrator)-Anne. You can really identify the sexism and non-sensitivity or lack of action that is happening all around by most of the secondary characters.

Amazon -- Goodreads

#Reccomendsday:

This is a write-in column where I use get your recommendation requests/questions.

Big thank you shoutout to @SirLight for pitching in with a question last-minute just as I was about to draft this articles. I can’t stress enough how I seriously appreciate all of the audience that reads my articles and how much it means to me, that in some small way at least, people are relying on me for their book recommendations.






Let me address something right off the bat. I don’t believe in reader-shaming or judging, so there should be no worries whether you loved the Divergent series or hated it. It’s all personal preference, and actually providing me with that detail really helped me try to see which direction I should be going with my recommendations.

My first book is going to be part of a series that has sci-fi dystopian elements in it which I really enjoyed! Disclaimer: I actually read these books out of order, meaning I read #2 in the series without realizing that I skipped the first one. I have a commitment to go off only the books that I have personally read, but you are most welcome to go back to the beginning of the series.

The Thief's Daughter by Jeff Wheeler


Brilliant book that really captured my attention, the only thing that I may regret is not reading the first one of this series before this one. Anyways, I absolutely thought that the way the story was written, it felt like a woolen rug being weaved together. This here really explored such common phrases: "loyalty is what binds us all" and "history repeats itself", and what true betrayal means and looks like on the devastating circumstances that are happening all around him and kingdom. It added another layer of what risks you would take for your King, and how far you can go to retain the love that you've kept your whole life.

The magic was a creative process, for the reader and the author I'm sure. It's similar in the fact that the fountain-beings possess specific and special sorts of magical skills, but then they get that source of the magic from a central fountain. In this book, the magic system was subtle, but very complex so I appreciated when Owen taught and explained this reasoning and practice to Etayne.

The relationship between Owen and Evie was just darling heartbreaking and it felt so natural while reading this. I know that many people stereotype romance, saying that it's cliche and too sappy, but in this book it was truly unique in the way that it just fit for this to gradually develop. So even if you're not a fan of romance here, there are no inappropriate scenes included within this book, so don't be scared off by that.

Amazon -- Goodreads

This next book I’ve been absolutely gushing about since I have read it. Seriously, I can’t shut up about it and I thought that this might be my chance to recommend to not only one requestor, but to everyone on earth to go and read this book!

Labyrinth Lost
by Zoraida Córdova



This unique book had everything that I was looking for. Fantastical magic, diverse POC characters, and a healthy portrayal of lgbt relationships. I'm a big advocate for "we need more diverse books" and so I was so appreciative that there were LGBT characters and Latino ethnic minorities represented here, and thankful that this was published in the world. It was just a beautiful story that I could imagine it being played-out on screen and that was simply delightful. Another fellow reviewer (Lola Reviewer), had mentioned that this would make a fantastic cartoon series and I couldn't stop thinking about that possibility because I completely agree with that observation.

There are some loyal siblings relationships, and I loved the banter between them. They are all so different within their magic life; Lula (healer), Alex (Enchantrix), and Rose (psychic) and it follows the MC coming-of-age story. We are introduced to their unusual world of spirits and rituals that are inhabited in their familial heritage; and enraptured once something happens and Alex's whole family disappears into Los Lagos(reminiscent of Wonderland) and she has to go and rescue them. A villian is lurking, and ghosts/souls of dead people, and all the weird and beautiful creatures that one can imagine.


Amazon --Goodreads

Quote of the Week:






Happy Reading y’all!

~Book Whisperer

CHRISTMAS CAROLSwritten by Aley < PM: >

One of the fun things about Christmas time is Christmas music. This holiday season, I wanted to take a look at where they came from, why they're still popular, and what makes them stick around for so long.

To start, Christmas music allegedly came from an old Pagan ritual of singing about the seasons, but it took a while for it to catch on as songs about Christmas which is considered an adaptation of rituals between the Christian and Pagan religions according to several sites 1 , 2 , 3 .

Because of the time gaps between the rituals of singing and Christianity, I find it hard to believe that caroling came only from these early roots of singing about the seasons, but it does explain our drive to sing about winter. History is one of those subjects where there is always a bias about what happened. It is nearly impossible to find an objective point of view which has preserved the test of time.

That being said, I think it's only safe to say that when the Pagan traditions left the European area, so did a lot of the singing until it was picked back up in the church, and then modernized creating carols which people would sing door to door. It harkens back to an oral tradition of recording stories in something memorable, but why are Christmas songs so popular?

The holiday season is the only season that has its own set type of music. If you think about it, at least here in the US, we do not have a classification for songs about fall, despite there being several songs about it. Songs that feature fall seasons are merely that, and stuck under a different genre.

While searching for why these holiday songs like "Frosty the Snowman" and "Noel" are so popular, I didn't come up with much. My theory is that they're popular because of the catchy tune and having to sing them in choir as a kid. Due to the timing of school, a choir can prepare kids for two concerts, one at the mid-point which happens to fall at Christmas time, and one at the end. That can help preserve the old music because nearly every generation knows those songs.

Also, Christmas songs are written in a way that makes them relatable to more than just one religion now, so while we maintain some of the old Christmas songs, the newer ones are more about the spirit of Christmas which can stem back to the need to share between groups of people to ensure that everyone lives. When one village is suffering from not enough food or supplies, it was necessary to provide from a village which was doing okay, and that spirit of giving has stayed with us ever since.

In the cold of the winter people try to provide that light with catchy jingles, and obnoxiously happy music, but it's the holiday season, why not?

TWO CENTS: HOLIDAY SEASONwritten by Aley < PM: >

Hi everyone!

If you're completely unaware, I'm not exactly a religious person, so when I was growing up with "Christmas" it was more a social tradition than a religious one. Everyone gave gifts to everyone else, that's what Christmas meant to me. I didn't even know about the whole birth thing until I was attending school and other people told me. That was just how I was raised.

What this did was created a set of unique Christmas rules that my family developed as tradition rather than following along with the rest of the world. Mostly, my mom didn't want to clean up all of the wrapping paper at once, and my sister didn't want to wait until Christmas for gifts, so the two joined forces and we started something we call "The Twelve Days of Christmas" which basically means that my sister and I will open one present a day for the 12 days before Christmas. One year we even had to write the song!

For me, this was a fun way to bridge the gap between what other people do, and what my family did. We aren't people who are social, so in many ways, it was our one way to really participate in the holiday season, and make it our own.

If you're a minority in a group that is holding tradition for a country, I think it's important to claim that tradition and somehow meld it into a part of your life so that you can discuss and get excited about events that aren't culturally yours. For instance, if I was living in Mexico or somewhere that really went all out with The Day of the Dead, I would want to be a part of it, and being as I am, I would have to change that holiday to fit my beliefs too.

I'm not saying go out and share how you change it to those in the majority, I'm just saying that one way to not feel quite so steam-rolled by all of the nativity scenes that pop up, and the name-dropping that goes on at Christmas time, is to change the situation.

I hope that my story about how my family handled Christmas and all of its attachments can help you enjoy the season a little better, and give you some food for thought about how to make this holiday season special for you and your family.

LET'S TALK MEDIA: A CHRISTMAS CAROLwritten by Mea < PM: >

This tale by Charles Dickens is probably one of the most well-known Christmas tales there is, to the point where “scrooge” has become common parlance for the miserly. There have been dozens of adaptations and retellings from the Muppets’ singing to Doctor Who’s flying fish. But this Christmas, I decided to return to the original story and see how it had held up since the last time I had read it in sixth grade English class.

It’s a very short book - just over a hundred pages, only 80 in some printings. It’s a quick read, even accounting for the older language. I read it in just a couple hours.

For those who miraculously are unfamiliar with the story, here’s the gist: Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable miser living in Victorian England, reluctant to even give his employees Christmas Day off. One night, he is visited by the chained ghost of his long-dead business partner, who brings a message: Scrooge will be visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, in an attempt to get him to change his ways.

I really enjoyed the book. I did even back in sixth grade, and I was happy to find I still do today. (And it was easier to read, too!) It did seem like Scrooge was won over a little quickly, though - I had thought that the change came during Christmas Present’s visit, but Scrooge seemed pretty genial even during the visit of Christmas Past. Although I suppose he did reject Christmas Past at the end of the visit.

The book’s language is beautiful and its tones effective. Marley’s visit, as well as the scene where Scrooge wipes away the snow on the grave to reveal his own name, both gave me chills. It was honestly creepier than I remembered it.

I think my favorite part of the story was the sheer joy embedded in the language and description. Everything felt so merry, even with hardships such as poverty and illness that Bob Cratchit and his family had to face. They weren’t ignored, but they simply didn’t matter as much to the Cratchits. The descriptions of the food, and the games, and the people rushing about on the streets show all the things I love about Christmas - the way we decide to be a little merrier, a little more giving.

I’m sure some find it too preachy, whether because they don’t celebrate Christmas or because they don’t want to be told to be happy when their lives are hard, or to be kinder to others when they’re dealing with the effects of abuse. But I really appreciate the book’s message, that generosity and goodwill brings much more happiness than Scrooge’s attitude at the beginning of the book. It’s not about celebrating Christmas. It’s about taking a few days out of the year to connect with those around us, to share a smile, a helping hand, or just be merry for no reason other than being alive. Maybe it’s naive, but I think there’s a lot of value in that.

It’s a classic for good reason, and although I haven’t liked the few other books by Charles Dickens that I’ve read, I can’t help but love A Christmas Carol. Maybe I’ll start a tradition of reading it every Christmas.

Have you read A Christmas Carol? How does the book compare to the various movies and other adaptations you’ve seen? Do you like the description or do you find it overdone? Discuss all that and more in the discussion thread !

THIS WEEK'S LINK ROUND UP 12/18 written by megsug < PM: >

This week’s round up is full of contests and challenges!


@TriSARAHtops put up the reading challenge for 2017 which we have had a thread for two years running. One of the hardest categories in the advanced section is:







Will you be up for the challenge?


The Poetry Crew is hosting a contest involving tankas. The tanka has to be themed off of winter. For those of you who aren’t poetry pros, a tanka is:







The tankas will be judged by a group of five and the prizes are pretty rad. 1500 points for third place, 3000 for second, and 5000 for third. The deadline is December 22, so get those tankas in!


@SirLight has challenged users to write a 2000 word story about an idea they had. It’s too complicated to explain in a little blurb, but the other criteria are:







Winner gets 400 points. Check it out!


Are you a professional writer or do you write as a hobby? @Megrim wrote an article to help people find out.







Check it out for tips and important questions Megrim brings to the table to determine whether or not you are a hobbyist or professional.

SHAMELESS PLUGS

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