Young Writers Society

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Well, that’s all I have for now. So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy!

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1. FM INTERVIEW (PT 1): SOUNDOFMIND
2. FM INTERVIEW (PT 2): LUPA22!
3. SOCIETY PAGES
4. STORYBOOK UPDATE
5. CONTEST COVERAGE
6. YOUR TORTOISE PRESIDENT IS...
7. GENRES GALORE: FANTASY ON THE SHELF
8. TWO CENTS: ROMANTIC POETRY
9. SHAMELESS PLUGS
10. SUBSCRIBERS

FM INTERVIEW (PT 1): SOUNDOFMINDwritten by Kays < PM: >

Hi there YWS! We're here with another two-parter for FM Interviews. This first part contains an interview with the lovely @soundofmind who I am joyous to have gotten an interview with her. Active in Storybooks and in the Roleplay Realm with a charm like no other, here's how the interview went down!



Soundofmind: To be completely honest, no, haha. I always thought you had to like, do a butt ton of reviews or something. And I was like: "Well dang, I'm just always sittin' here in the Storybook tab," so I was like, OH WELL. GUESS IT'S NOT MY CALLING. Lol.



So: I think when I joined a bunch of Storybooks and was super active in the Roleplay Realm too that might've gotten some attention?



So: Uh... I dunno. Maybe my *does finger guns* IRRESISTIBLE CHARM?



So: Yeah I've got it nailed down. And I'd like to hope that every dog I come in contact with would fall in love with me... 'cause dogs are a good judge of character, and I take it very personally when they reject me.



So: YOU KNOW, I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS A LOT. And I think I would be a Lemon Beagle. Which is just a beagle, except the coloring of their coat is different. It's typically white with light brown spots instead of the trademark black spot on their back. I may or may not have decided this solely because of how I've bonded with my own dog of the same breed. Totally not biased.



So: *xfiles theme plays*



So: Always have and always will be, matey.



So: You know, that's a very good question. But as all pirates know, you're not supposed to drink saltwater.



So: WHO NOW?



So: S.S. Janny has been sailing for a while. She's a faithful ship. I love her with all my innards.



So: Well there's Janice, my stomach. Davey and Al are the small and large intestine. May's my kidney, April is my gall bladder, and Tooti Fruity is my heart. Though a heart is arguably not an innard... it is inside you though, so what do I know? Aye, I'm a pirate, not a doctor.



So: Well, I think there a few things a good pirate can do to become featured member. I think the thing that helps the most is to make connections with people. Especially if you're interested in Roleplays and Storybookss, I think the first step is to make it enjoyable for you so you'll be more active. And for me that's been by talking to the people I RP/SB with. Sometimes I make cool friends through that. It's a fun way to get to know people... uh... sorry, bit of a bunny trail. BUT YEAH, to become featured member I guess, just be active and invested in the places of the site that interest you, but more specifically the parts that like, need strength I guess. Even if you're not like a huge writer, maybe you like to talk to people? You could always welcome new folks in the new people forum? And just be friendly?

I MEAN, TAKE MY ADVICE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT (badumtsh) BECAUSE I AM A PIRATE. But yeah, that's just my take on it I guess. Doing a lot of helpful and good reivews helps too, I'm sure. But yeah. That's all I got.



So: Well, thank YOU for talking to ME. T'was an honor... matey.



That's all we have for today of Soundofmind! Now we'll be passing the torch off to @Lumi who is going to give us the ending and our second FM Interview!

FM INTERVIEW (PT 2): LUPA22!written by Lumi < PM: >

Aaaaand we're back in "the studio" with more Featured Member Goodness. This time, it's flavored watermelon! During our exclusive interview today, we got to sit down with @Lupa22, an ancient relic on YWS who is a steady force around the site. We happen to adore Lupa22, and our time with her had to be spent wisely! *tips hat* That's why they sent me! Let's get to it, shall we?


L: At the risk of sounding cliche, being Featured Member is an awesome experience. I get to see my name right there every time I get on YWS! Not to mention seeing me and my crappy biography in the Hall of Fame. I can't believe it happened.

On the other hand, maple syrup tastes a little bit better now. Will have it with pancakes soon.


L: Ah. Well, activity on YWS is a big plus, but sometimes I'm not very active, so I can't speak for myself. Writing helpful reviews also gets you up there. (But just so you know, asking moderators to let you be featured member never works. Never. They won't ever send you a PM agreeing to do so or take it into consideration with Nate. So don't even try it.)

But above all, be yourself on Young Writers Society and express your ideas to the world!


L: I'd eat the Popsicle first, so it wouldn't melt very much, and then have the soup.

Hard decisions, there.


A large thank-you to our guest of the evening, Lupa22, for being an outstanding member and idol for all those on YWS. This broadcast is brought to you on YWSPR Broadcast with our partners in The Trading Post and Will Review For Food. Will Review For Food: If you need a review, and have some table scraps, what's left to the equation? The Trading Post: We have what you want. Read the ads.

Until next FM, this is Reporter Lumi signing off!

SOCIETY PAGESwritten by EternalRain < PM: >

This has been quite the busy week! Let’s see what’s going on with YWSers.

Some new tags have been created, as well as some old tags which have been resurfaced, school has started for several members, and a lot of other things have went down!

#beyu is a new tag that’s come up this week about your identity.

For those who don’t know, the tag #JumptheLeaderboards is about “getting ahead” of the ranks on the all time review leaderboard. Are you up for the challenge? @Kays hopes to pass @TimmyJake, and @alliyah is aiming to jump over @Wolfical. @PenguinAttack also gave us a nice reminder to keep in mind it’s the quality of your reviews over the quantity.

School is approaching for many people! @dogsrule5 has started her sophomore year of high school, and @PastelSlushie’s first day of 7th grade was a success. @Samk642 made it through their first week of high school. Still, many members have a week or two to go until school starts for them, so enjoy the rest of summer while you can!

Along with the topic of school comes the tag #awkwardhighschoolexperiences @Frinderman created. Got any embarrassing, awkward experiences? For the middle schoolers, there’s the #awkwardmiddleschoolexperiences tag.

With RevMo coming around the corner we’ve got the tag #RevMo , which you can use to share your progress or inspiring pictures!

So what other things have been going on this week? @Mea was cleaning and found her Zoo Tycoon 2 game (lucky!), @snowmonkey9 found some High School Musical books at a thrift shop, and @PearlC10 has just discovered Zumba and loves it.

And yet another tag is #ifonlyitwereme, where you basically share what name you would have if you didn’t have the one you did now. @Lupa22 would like the name Skye, Skylar, or Skyla, and @IvoryRose has several favorites, one of which is Ophelia.

Got anything going on with your life, or any #awkwardhighschoolexperiences? Share on your wall post, and stay tuned for another society pages!

STORYBOOK UPDATEwritten by Gravity < PM: >

Your fingers hover over the keyboard as you click on the icon of your browser, shifting in your seat while you wait for the page to load. What is it that you’re waiting for?

THE STORYBOOK UPDATE!

Well ladies and gents, it’s finally here.

Storybooks to Watch

#3. My Daddy Death by @enjoyinginsanity

Welcome to the town of Reaper, a seemingly normal, almost boring town full of average children, teenagers, and adults, just going about their daily lives. Until, one day, you feel a great tearing in your chest and you begin to grow a tail and horns. You then realize, your father is the grim reaper, Daddy Death, himself. This storybook has no posts and no characters claimed, but the storyline seems truly fascinating. I’d love to see this get up and running!

#2. Welcome to Night Vale by @Sheytato

Hello Nightvale, this is Cecil speaking. We are expecting it to be a nice night tonight so you may want to open your windows and let everything air out. Unless you want to hear bloodcurdling screams, that is. Actually, unless you are a very heavy sleeper, I suggest you keep your windows shut. And locked. Now for the weather.

#1. The Blank Storybook by @Sheytato

Welcome to the Blank Storybook. Normally, for a storybook, you would expect some kind of devised plot or set direction. Nope. Sheytato just shattered your world. This storybook is entirely your own, with a little bit of everything from a little bit of everyone. I truly think this storybook is the embodiment of everything we are meant to be as writers, creative, innovative, and just so. Totally. OUT THERE. Go check out the SB, and watch the structure unfold in the WFP.

Character Spotlight

One thing I have come across a lot as a Storybooker is perfect characters. We all know them. That character who just happens to be beautiful, intelligent, and their only flaw is that they are *gasp* shy, or some other annoyingly endearing trait. We know them colloquially as Mary Sues, but the literary way to say it is an underdeveloped character. We all like to have a Mary Sue once in a while. Sometimes they are tortured, but they always handle everything perfectly. They are, to put it bluntly, reflections of who we wish to be. We all have that one acne scar that won’t go away. Or that annoying tendency to snap at people while we’re stressed. It happens to the best of us, but Mary Sues can be the perfect escape from that.

However, it’s always very interesting when you peruse a storybook and find a character that is just. So. Real. They are so real you feel like you could have a conversation with this person, or read their diary. They are flawed, not always likeable, but fascinating. They are the reason that for thousands of years, literature has powered on to be a fascination for so many people. It is, frankly, a reflection of who we are, and those developed characters are great ways for us to understand the behaviors of others, and of ourselves.

Meet Ker Nightstong, written by @Feltrix in the fantasy storybook: The Curse of the Wyvern, yet another storybook by @Sheytato.

Ker begins as the character everybody loves to hate. He’s a villain, in every sense of the word. He doesn’t play by anybody’s rules but his own, and he is ruthless in his quest for power. He’s irritable, sarcastic, and doesn’t much care for anybody but himself. His characterization is not just disturbing, but humorous, until you begin reading through more of the storybook. As the story moves on through epic battles with magicians and dragons, we begin to see Ker’s normally icy demeanor melt a bit. Feltrix gives us some clues to who Ker really is on the inside with flashbacks and the begrudging development of Ker’s conscious. I find Ker’s development to be simply fascinating. It’s a cliche dynamic, the change from bad to good, but one that is very interesting to watch because of Ker’s personal history, his cutting sarcasm, and the action packed pace of the storybook. Well done, Feltrix! I’m looking forward to watching Ker grow even further.

That’s all for today’s update! If you think your storybook could be a storybook to watch or if you’ve noticed an interesting character or storybooker, shoot me a PM! I am always happy to feature you.

CONTEST COVERAGEwritten by Kays < PM: >

Hi there YWS! We've been a little dry on contests lately and that's why this whole article is going to be dedicated to advertising those contests your eyes may have missed when surfing the forums or clubs. Let's cut the long intro and delve right into the contests that are currently being held or contests that haven't started but will be!


100 Words Daily

First off we have a club that goes by the name of 100 Words Daily! The concept is pretty self-explanatory--those who join the club aim to write at least 100 words a day and record their writing in their thread. In this respect, the club isn't much of a contest and instead more of a self-challenge but the club does host them every other month or so such as the debut contest
100 Words Daily - July.

100 Words Daily is a club created by @Lareine but the current owner is @Kays who acts as an admin and @occymay! Below is an excerpt written by Lareine taken from the About page of the club.

A club where each of us have set a goal of writing at least 100 words a day!

100 words a day is 36,500 words in a year -- 36,600 in a leap year! This way, a novelist can easily write a full draft in two years, short story writers can put together anthologies, and poets can churn out an epic or two if they so desire.

This club is for anyone and everyone with any kind of writing -- prose, poetry, screenwriting, anything you can dream of. Set a goal and reach it, step by step!

Story Starters Contest

Our second contest is also a creation of Lareine's but has since been taken over by Kays once again. This contest gives a different prompt to each writer. Each writer must write a short story and include this sentence prompt in the first five sentences. In this contest, there are an unlimited number of participant slots and there are indeed rewards!

Writers have from the 1st of September when the prompt is assigned until September 30th and no later to be submitted for judging. The top three participants earn a choice of a review written by Kays or points! First place will receive either three reviews or 1500 points, second receives two reviews or 1000 points and third place can earn a review or 500 points. Interested? Click on that link!

Poetry Writing Contest

Finally, we have our third contest being hosted by a new face to this article, @snowmonkey09! The concept of the Poetry Writing Contest is simple: Write a poem and submit that poem before August 31st, the deadline to enter! The judges as of now are snowmonkey09 herself and Kays who is her assistant standing by until needed.

This contest is accepting any genre of poetry as long as the content isn't inappropriate (see the thread for more details) and is offering a hefty prize to the Top 3 participants. First, second and third place receive 2500, 1500, and 500 points respectively. Poets out there? Check this contest out!

That's all we have in regards to contests here today. In a month or two or whenever new contests arrive expect another article to come by and tell YWS all about them. Until next time folks!

YOUR TORTOISE PRESIDENT IS...written by Lumi < PM: >

Readers, I'm afraid I have no time for pleasantries today. No time for jokes, yolks, or other rhyming schemes to please your ears. I'll just lay it on you like the tortoise news it is, I suppose. Due to a major scandal in the home park of candidate Hammersparkles, a political brown-crayon storm just hit the tortoise park. Just last week, a scathing exposé, showing construction plans (while we know not whether they came from bears or hares) of Hammersparkles' intended water park here in the tortoise park!

Well let me tell you right now, YWS, that I was first in line to mobilize against this offense in the Great Tortoise Presidential Race. Or, technically second in line, as @Kays had fallen asleep in the Office of Complaints & Arguments, blocking my way. And coffee drank, and hearing of the news, she, too, was roused into action!

So it went that Candidate Hammersparkles was disqualified from the Great Tortoise Presidential Race, and after a close race between Genevieve and Hercules Mulligan, the vote of the youth came through, rushing Hercules Mulligan into office by a hare's breath!

I am so excited, YWS! A president who believes in tortoise races more than just once a year! A president for the slow and steady! A president to fill @Rydia's trophy case who knows what reviewers like! I have been asked by President Hercules Mulligan to poll you all by private message on ideas you'd like to see as future tortoise events! So throw those ideas to my inbox! Don't be afraid! The Prez is on! Your! Side!

As always, YWS, this has been Tortoise Connoisseur Lumi with all your tortoise-related news! Until next time, keep it green!F

GENRES GALORE: FANTASY ON THE SHELF written by Princess Ink < PM: >

For today, we shall explore the bulging bookshelf labeled “Fantasy”. Many authors have delved into this fascinating genre, producing series or stand-alone novels.

The late Sir Terry Pratchett was a popular fantasy author. He was a prolific writer, too, producing forty-one Discworld novels. My first encounter of reading his work was though a collection of short stories, The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories. The stories there were funny on the sillier side, and I relished them to the point of reading the whole book in a day.

J. K. Rowling is the author of the famous Harry Potter series—I bet you know about the skinny boy with the renowned lightning scar as much as the wizards in his world do! The plot twists and foreshadowing in the story are planned out well, and in each subsequent book the stakes become bigger and bigger.

If you love fairytale adaptations, you might want to check out Gail Carson Levine’s novels because they’re often based on fairytales. One of her most well-known novels, Ella Enchanted is a Cinderella retelling. I’ve been enjoying her books, and I’m looking forward to read her newest release, The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre. (She also wrote two writing craft books, Writing Magic and Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink).

And there are much, much more writers here I haven’t talked about: Diana Wynne Jones, J. R. R. Tolkien, E. Nesbit, Brandon Sanderson… and so forth. And the books! Look over the library or bookstore and you’ll find dozens of novels that you might enjoy. And there’re more and more released each day.

But let’s not forget the fantasy tales that came before! Myths, fairytales, and folktales can dig into different cultures and showcase plenty of fascinating stories. For example, the Grimm brothers’ fairytales are certainly set in a world of magic, but human nature, both dark and good, exist. They also instill morals in those who read them. And across different lands, different stories have sprouted up—including tales from the Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, and other cultures! Maybe you can even come up with story ideas from reading these.

So that’s it for today, writers. Keep reading and writing—perhaps one day, you might be featured in such an article.

TWO CENTS: ROMANTIC POETRYwritten by Aley < PM: >

Growing up one of the things that I learned early was that romance wasn't loved by anyone who claimed to be an aficionado of anything. Romantic novels were not prime literature examples. Romantic poems were trite and often cliché. Romantic fanfiction was frowned upon by the fandom. Romantic songs were laughed at for being so corny.

But what truth is there to that? Romantic novels are sometimes prime literature examples with things like "Emma", "David Copperfield", "Pride and Prejudice", and even going back farther, "Romeo and Juliet" so how could romance today be different? It comes up that the connotation of the word is different, and that romance then, isn't romance now, but at the same time, that was as lude as they got. They weren't being subtle in their day and age. So it must be something else.'

What about looking at a different type of writing? Poetry, for instance. Is writing a poem today that's romantic considered cliché? Yes, but it didn't used to be that way. One of the main services of poets used to be to write love poems like sonnets for the rich and powerful. Shakespeare was hired in this way. John Milton, who lived shortly after Shakespeare still could write love poems and not be scoffed at. Even if we jump up to the era of Poe, some love poems were still endearing and worldly, but I think that's where we hit the change.

Today, love poems are cliché because we try to be new, to be unique to ourselves, and love isn't very unique. If you talk about a love in a poem, you get all of the same clichés that have been used for generations, and it is difficult to come up with anything new given how apt they fit our society's love today. After all, we were raised believing that love is a fairytale romance that burns like a fire and throws us into a crazy world of fast paced flings. We see it on our TVs, we read it in our books, and everywhere there's a close friendship or relationship, we "ship it" and read romance into their lives and plots.

If love is so common, then how can you make it unique? How can you avoid using Shakespeare's language to woo the love of your life? How can you, as someone who has not read all of the years of romance that proceeded you, possibly add to the collection in a meaningful way?

As someone who loves, and someone who has written love poems aplenty, I have to admit it is a daunting task, but an important one in adventures into triviality. I think the key becomes audience. In a practice of audience, you can write a love poem someone will love to any one person, but not to thousands.

Pick a person, pick out details you remember about them, and work that into a poem. That becomes a love poem today. It's not about wooing them with the skies, or the clouds, or the moon, or the stars. It is about remembering them, and things they've said or done. The more personal the poem is for that individual, the more they will love it.

That's why I think romance has become a thing which is cliché and shamed, because it has become so private, that you cannot write romance for everyone any longer. You have to write it individually through memory and knowledge rather than broad sweeps of delicate word play. We see through those now, and love isn't about acceptance. It's about remembering the other person in an age when so much is remembered for us.

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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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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