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!






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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
2. 3 GUESTS, 3 QUESTIONS
3. THE HOT SEAT
4. WORD OF THE WEEK
5. SHAMELESS PLUGS
6. SUBSCRIBERS

FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW: ICYFLAMEwritten by Aley < PM: >

It's that time of the month again! We have a new featured member. This month we're honoring an old YWSer who's been around since 2011 writing books, poems, short stories, and helping out around YWS with a plethora of reviews.

@IcyFlame is a friendly frequent flyer on YWS and I was happy to sit down with her and learn more about what inspires her to keep coming back to YWS and reviewing.



Icyflame: Honestly, I hadn't found out until I read your email! I've been away for a little while so I had to double check you hadn't made a mistake. It's a really nice feeling to be featured. I've been around the site on and off for around 6 years and I've had big reviewing boosts before and done a fair amount overall so it's lovely having it formally recognized.



I: You did indeed! Although I did go to the front page to check you'd got the right person.
I'm pretty sure it is; I haven't been doing that much more on the site recently as I'm currently struggling with some writers block so reviewing usually helps to clear that!



I: I think the best thing to do is work out how you review best. Personally, I like to set aside a nice chunk of time and do say six or seven reviews in one big go. But for others, they work best when they can do just one or two and then take a break. Both methods are fine, but the sooner you find what works for you the better you'll do! Also, it's great to really commit and read a whole novel - that's like twenty or thirty reviews and you don't have to keep guessing at what's happening.



I: Let's hope so - I'd love for the green room to be cleared out!
It's in the very early stages at the moment. I'm researching and planning and trying to work in all the little twists and turns. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write when I get back to uni but I'm planning to post some in the not too distant future, so watch this space!



I: Just get yourself out there. If you're joining to improve your writing the best thing you can do is to write and review. Even if you don't know how, the more you try the better you get! Everyone here is so wonderful and helpful and they'll help you learn so much.



I: I'd like to leave you with this quote from J.K. Rowling, because I think it shows why we all just love to write. And, the woman is brilliant.

“Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

Out of everything we talked about, I was most happy to hear the suggestion for getting 50 reviews in a month. There have been so many times when I've come into a book as a Knight of the Green Room and wanted to read the rest of it, but I've focused on just the Green Room's cleanliness.

With Review Day recently disposing of a majority of the tiny supply of Green Room works, I'm happy that this Review Month, I might actually catch up on some of my favorites.

So, with no further ado, let's get reviewing!

THREE GUESTS, THREE QUESTIONS
BACK TO SCHOOL
written by marms < PM: >

August is the back to school month for most students around the world. Personally, I begun school on the 9th of August, which is so early compared to how it was when I lived in Europe. I gathered up three students and asked them questions. Enjoy! Thanks for participating @Lael, @whatchamacallit, and @snowmonkey9.



Lael: Yes, I have. I'm having mixed feelings about this school year, since junior year is supposed to be the hardest, with PSAT/SAT, lots of AP classes, and preparation for college applications. I know I'm going to have to work especially hard this year.

whatchamacallit: Not yet. Just a trip to the cottage stands between me and school. I guess I might be starting late, but that comes with being home schooled, at least for me. Super excited! Yup, I'm a nerd. Do I dare say - summer's getting a wee bit boring, actually. Reading and writing all day only last so long.

snowmonkey9: I am actually home schooled, which has it's pros and cons. I have not begun school yet, but surprisingly I kind of want to. Don't get me wrong, its not like I like school, (heaven forbid) I am just bored constantly all day, school will take up half of my day, therefore I will only need to occupy myself for a few hours. Logic.



L: History, because it's like a fascinating story, except it is composed of real events.

W: Hmm...with so many to choose from? But I love languages, so probably French.

S: MUSIC!!! Sorry did I scream to loud? I also like English, English is good. But...also music.



L: Study and do your homework. Do your work in general. DON'T PROCRASTINATE. Procrastinating is the bane of a student's existence, so if you happen to slack off, make sure you get your stuff done before you have to suffer consequences.

W: Don't put off your studying or homework. Seriously, I've gone through all that... Bah. Don't remind me. Oh, yeah, and be sure to give your teacher and apple!

S: My fellow students are my siblings (sigh) so I'd say the best advice I have received from a "fellow student" is from my older brother. "When you don't know an answer ask me." Do I use his advice? No I don't because I seriously don't think he isn't any smarter than I am. There was also my sister's advice about cheating.

That wraps up this 3Gs, 3Qs. Remember to do your school work, try your hardest in school, and always be grateful for your education! Also if you’re interested in joined the Study Club don’t be afraid to subscribe. It’s great way to stay motivated!

THE HOT SEAT: I AM BY MARMSwritten by Lumi < PM: >

Welcome to The Hot Seat, where I'm in the studio of voice-to-pixel with @marms herself for an exclusive interview to cover the wonderful thoughts that brought us a recently well-featured piece titled i am, which if you haven't read, I suggest opening for consumption after this issue of Squills! Without further ado, let's dive into our conversation.

S: So to get us started, I'd like to corner the idea that struck me upon reading and analyzing your poem, which is that the narration felt indicative of a certainty of self. It almost reminds me of an almost biblical style of certainty where you reveal yourself through facets of being one at a time. What do you feel about this takeaway, and what was your intention with the certainty, because it was one of the highly appealing aspects of the piece to me.

m: Thanks for interviewing me! I'm a little shocked and tickled that this poem of all my poems was chosen, haha, but thank you nonetheless!

This poem was written because I needed a finally to my collection. I needed a poem to tie in how I feel now. How I think now and how things have changed since when I first started writing poetry. To be completely honest, I'm quite unsatisfied with the poem. It doesn't seem inspiring at all or to leave people pondering. My poem "i can forgive" is one of my favorites and is a great example of a finally poem (it's the final poem in the first chapter of my collection).

I didn't want to make a copy of that poem though and I didn't want to move it from where it already was in the collection. i am is supposed to be a self-love poem, a poem in the mindset of someone who's been hurt but has learned to heal, to survive, and to love the capsule their in. I definitely think i am isn't the best it can be, but maybe that's just me wanting a perfect ending.

S: I totally feel you on that. AND as a beta-reader of your collection, I can attest to the almost...hunger that is created through the narrative of the pieces to HAVE that self-love and certainty that you are who you are in this circumstance, that circumstance. But this was chosen to talk about because it's a recent publication on YWS! I'll have to jump on "i can forgive" sooner rather than later. My second question is a bit of a pencil-breaker! You seem deeply-rooted in the romance and love genre as a poet; and I can't say anything to that as I am as well--but have you considered silly poetry? Silly Cinquains?! Loopy Lymerics?! I double dog dare you to write something silly for us here in the studio. Hehe.

m: Oh no! Please don't make me, haha! I detest writing with prompts and comedy is probably my least favorite genre. My poetry is stemmed from my emotions and thoughts. I don't consider myself a romance writer. I write mostly about self improvement and the human relationships we have along the way.

S: That's totally fair! And I appreciate you sticking to your guns. It hones them, though I suppose the metaphor falls apart if we talk about skills like guns like swords. But...moving on as that haunts me: If you were to self-edit i am right now, how would you dig into it first and foremost? Don't be too hard on yourself because, like I said, I do think it has good merit!

m: I'm not sure. I think if I knew where to start I would have edited it already, haha. I think I would like to make the description and imagery better. Maybe write more in general and make the poem longer.

S: Mmm. I think I agree, actually. So, you're no stranger to the literary spotlight, marms. I think folks would like to know how you accomplish the task so often! Some feel that it's a popularity contest. Is that true?

m: Well the literary spotlight runs on a system of likes and I'm sure everyone has seen works in the spotlight that aren't particularly amazing but are there because a bunch of people saw them, thought they were funny, and left a like. Of course there are brilliant works in the spotlight and people leave likes on those. I can't deny that it's because I'm well known on YWS. I used to have trouble detaching my writing's worth from the literary spotlight because every poem of mine would end up in there until all of the sudden I couldn't get half as many likes as I used to, let alone appear in the spotlight.

I went into a spiral of "I'm a bad poet" which is ridiculous since the literary spotlight doesn't pertain to the goodness of the poem but rather the liked-ness of it. I've learned to weigh whether a poem is good or not on my thoughts and feelings towards the finished product. If it ends up in the spotlight it is just a nice thing. I'm trying to not let it be like a sigh of relief anymore.

S: I'm so glad you sat down to talk with us at Squills for your recent feature! It was definitely well-deserved, and I commend you on your wonderful writing skills that I promise to help continue honing as one of your beta readers!

m: Thank you! I still have my entire life to grow and become even better, haha. But I'm truly glad so many people liked my poem. It's definitely a nice feeling to be well liked.

And for this week, that wraps up our discussion with marms, who is a local poet and novelist. You can find her work near-weekly as inspiration strikes, or follow her novel, There's So Much More To Juno Moon by clicking the link provided. Until next time, watch that seat, YWSers--

THE WORD OF THE WEEK: EUCATASTROPHEwritten by megsug < PM: >
Pronunciation: yoo-kah-tas-truh-fee

Part of Language: Noun

Definition: A sudden happy ending

Used in a Sentence: In quite the eucatastrophe, she woke up from her coma with the solution to world peace having been gifted to her by angels.

Origin: This word may have been coined by J.R.R. Tolkien in the mid 1900s

Related words: catastrophe (n.)

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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