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!

See an empty position you'd like to fill? Find position descriptions and instructions to apply here

1. REVMO TIPS
2. SOCIETY PAGES
3. STORYBOOKS UPDATE
4. TWO CENTS: FAVORITES
5. ASK GRUNO
6. THE WORD OF THE WEEK: ADSCITTIOUS
7. SHAMELESS PLUGS
8. SUBSCRIBERS

REVMO TIPSwritten by Kays < PM: >

September is coming up in a couple of weeks, and that means RevMo is upon us! Today we're going to go over a couple of tips that'll help maximize your experience in the month and tricks that'll bring you to the victory line. First off, let's answer the question: What is RevMo? RevMo is reviewing month where members attempt to write fifty reviews during the month of September. More information on the event can be found in the RevMo club !

Now that's out of the way, let's talk. We want to be successful during RevMo and reach our goals. The first step to doing this is pacing yourself. If you're aiming for the traditional fifty reviews, know that if you're planning to review each day that you'll need to do approximately 1.7 of them. Of course you're not able to submit 0.7 of a review and a more accurate number is 2 reviews a day, give or take a few days where you only have to do one.

People more interested in this way of reviewing are called tortoises in reference to Team Tortoise which is not only a club but also appears at the bottom of the reviewing leaderboards showing who's done a review every day of the month. On the other hand, we have hares! Hares are sporadic in their reviews and can go from doing one review on Monday and doing four on Wednesday. Depends on what they're feeling.

Of course, labels don't matter as long as you're reviewing! Remember to say what you liked and what you didn't like and why. That last part is especially important in helping out the author because yes--there is another human being on the other side of that screen. Don't forget to take breaks too! Your mental health is important--you're not going to be able to write fifty reviews if you're attempting to do them all on the first day. Reward yourself by reading a book or watching an episode of your favorite show--whatever you do to destress. Finally, implement the Golden Rule into your reviews. Write reviews that you'd want to receive!

Keep all this in mind and you're set to brave the storm in September! The writers in Squills, the moderators, and YWS believes that you can write some awesome reviews because you're awesome. Don't forget that. With that being said, have fun and good luck RevMoers! I'll see you at the finish line.

SOCIETY PAGESwritten by EternalRain < PM: >

Well, the people’s tab certainly has been through a lot! It broke from the too-many-times-quoted “Ugh”, and fortunately was fixed very soon.

The people tab has been flooded with songs from the new hashtag #musictag ! In this tag, you just let other people know your favorite songs and artists, among a few other questions! @TheSilverFox’s go to karaoke song is Wish I Knew You by the Revivalists. @Willard’s favorite artist is Jeff Rosenstock.

Many people are getting hyped (or not so hyped) about school. @ChieRynn starts in a few weeks and knows some of their classes. @Carina isn’t looking forward to waking up early and the stress. @honeymoon’s post about school, which is very relatable:






@Sonder and @racket are leaving to meet their new siblings! They’re off to China, which should be lots of fun.

#nerdconfessions, is, well, nerdy confessions (which can sometimes be very embarrassing!). @AkeliaTaske likes to make food from the fandoms she’s in, and @DragonWriter22’s desktop background changes from different places in Middle Earth.

Towards the end of the week, we’ve got the tag #yourorigins , which is basically how your parents had you. @FalconryGirl9086’s parents had planned for one kid, but ended up with twins! It’s a fairly new tag so join in with #yourorigins !

In the reading world, @DemonGoddess just finished the tenth book of Wings of Fire and @BlueAfrica got a Goodreads account. @soundofmind used to, like many other fans, thought Hermione’s name was pronounced “Her-me-oh-n”.

In other news, @Lael has gotten 10 mosquito bites in the past couple two days, @Holysocks’s town can now come back to their houses because some of the fires have ceased, and @honeymoon is thinking about commissioning her artwork!

Let us know what you’re up to these days with wall posts or tags!

STORYBOOKS UPDATE written by Princess Ink < PM: >

Today brings forth an update in the Storybook world!

First is an important announcement in the Roleplay Realm. The Storybook Crew has presented to us The Dragon Master Challenge! Every five levels you can earn a special sword—those who want to participate should post in here ! This will surely delight ardent RPers, such as the group from the The Role-Play Geeks ! Already the Roleplay Realm’s activity has increased due to the challenge to earn the swords, with fascinating roleplays mingling in the front page.

Meanwhile the Storybooks in the main section are bustling around with their own gripping premises and casts of characters. Here lies a couple of these remarkable Storybooks.

A Tagbook: The Good, the Bad, and the Google [Bot] is a Western-themed tale created by the lovely SB Crew member @Wolfical. Inside, the nefarious Google [Bot] has kidnapped the Sheriff Nate, and his loyal deputies. What will the YWSers do? Check it out, and enjoy a Western YWS saga!

A Busy Storybook: Battle School , a combination of science fiction and fantasy, is @jimss23’s Storybook. Even though the academy in which this Storybook is set is called Battle School, it’s more like a place for talented students all over the world to learn about magic and science, and embark on quests. This storybook has a large amount of lore, including a detailed history of the lands and explanations of the magic.

A Closed Sequel: @LeftyWriter has started Animorphers 2.0 , the sequel to the successful—and completed—Animorphers . The original one featured a group of teens whose DNA was modified to allow them to morph into animals. Now, in 2.0, there is a new, younger set. Plus Japan wants to track both younger and older Animorphers down to kill, America wants them to continue the experiments on the Animorphers, and a rebel group is keeping an eye. How will the Animorphers survive in such a world?

An Intriguing Concept: Le Cirque d’Avalon, initiated by @CoffeeCat, is about a magical circus. The members of this circus own Arcana Cards, which detail their title and special abilities. A cursed past haunts this circus: none of the members are allowed to ever exit the circus—unless they are the winner of the year’s Arcana Battles, contests between circus members. Nobody but the founders of the circus are quite sure how it all started...

So that's it for today, YWSers. Hope you enjoyed this time's update--till next time, keep exploring the Storybooking Tab!

TWO CENTS: FAVORITESwritten by Aley < PM: >

You may not notice it, but our perspectives, our experiences and biases, have a lot to do with what we like and don't like. For instance, do you have a memory attached to smells? Places? These experiences bias you towards things that smell like that.

For me, I have a few biases that play with me regularly, like vanilla and my dad. When I was growing up, my father had an old car that smelled like, well, old car. He decided to get vanilla scented oil and dip a terra cotta stick into it, then stick that in the car vent to make the car smell like something other than old car.

For him, it was just a solution to a problem, but for me, it made me think of home every time I smell vanilla.

One of the things we miss when we create a character are personal memories like that. We forget to add little things which can stop them in their tracks, or send them hurtling down memory lane. Sometimes we add them, but they're never actually brought up in a story, and other times we have a ripe situation for using them, but we haven't added that little quirk yet.

But how do you decide what to add as a special something for your character? For me, I tend to add little things based on smell because smell is one of the most under-utilized senses when I write my stories. Frankly put, I tend to forget about it.

Having my character have a memory triggered by scent makes me more aware as an author of the scents in the setting. This makes my writing better in my opinion, and helps draw the character into the story.

You could also do something with taste, color, or sound too, if you forget to deal with one of these senses. The key is that it triggers either a fondness or a frustration in your character, something unpredictable by other characters unless they're very familiar with them.

This can be one way that you show bonds in a story too, if you have a character actively try to get a sensitive character away from something they don't know is coming.

Three friends walk into a bar. The two on either side of the one in the middle, grab the middle one and drag them out of the bar much to the rebuke of the middle friend. Why? Maybe there was a girl wearing cinnamon and they know that cinnamon brings up the memory of their friend's mother, who has recently died. These types of sweet stories can really bring a wholesome, familiar feeling to a relationship, and make it seem more realistic.

To find what you want your character to be sensitive to, look at their past. Plan out their life before the story started, and think about all aspects of dramatic situations. Ask yourself what they remember about people around them.

And if you have trouble with that, try interviewing your character for a job. Ask them interview questions like "What was the most challenging time in your life and how did you overcome it?" then make up an answer! Eventually these made up answers will create a picture of the character's beliefs, experiences, and relationships.

In short, you'll learn their favorites.

ASK GRUNOwritten by Gruno < PM: >

Dear Gruno,

What is your favorite element? (Water, earth, fire, air)

-Fire

Dear Fire,

My favorite element is obviously Earth, were my snazzy green clothes lost on you?

-Greenie Weenie Gruno

Dear Pruno and Gruno

If you were describing yourself as a made up animal, what what you look like?

-The Awesome Person

Dear Person Who is Clearly Not Awesome If You Don’t Know the Answer to this Question,

Clearly, I would be a beautiful unicorn, or a pegasus. Or a unicorn pegasus. A pegacorn? A unisus?

Anyway, I am the most beautiful runian on the planet and clearly only the most magical, majestical, fantastical, mythical creature can represent how great I am.

-Gruno the Unicorn

Knowledgable Ones

What happens if you "get scared half to death" twice?

-Curiosity

Dear Curiosity,

First you pee yourself and then you become a zombie.

Sincerely,
Gruno

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

THE WORD OF THE WEEK: ADSCITTIOUSwritten by megsug < PM: >
Pronunciation: ad-si-tish-uhs

Part of Language: Adjective

Definition: additionally; not intrinsic; added from an external source

Used in a Sentence: The adiscitious orc armies allowed the Wizards of Desperation to win in their siege of Perfunctory Keep.

Origin: From the Latin word adscit which means admitted or adopted; created in the 1700s

Related words: adscititiously (adv)

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.





Welcome to S.T.A.R. Labs, base of operations for the hero known only as the Flash...except, of course, to Harrison Wells (and his various doppelgangers), Joe West, Iris West, Wally West, Eddie Thawne (RIP), Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Felicity Smoke and the Arrow Gang...

Man, Barry's really bad at keeping his identity secret, isn't he?

Whether you love the comics, the TV show, or an older incarnation of the Flash, S.T.A.R. Labs is the club for you!





As you may have heard, RevMo, or reviewing month, is coming up this September and we want you, yes you, to come and participate! Do you want a challenge? Do you want a try-to-attempt-to-write-fifty-reviews-in-one-month challenge? The RevMo club is open to all and we're gladly taking in new members before the month is upon us. Join us in our epic quest to rock some authors' socks off and do reviews today! I hear that if you tell them that Squills sent you that you get animal gifs via PM! So, are you up to the challenge?

That's all folks~ Now send us yours.

SUBSCRIBERS

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