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. GOODBYE TO GRAVITY
2. SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW: WOLFICAL
3. THE HOT SEAT: VENTOMOLOGY
6. SOCIETY PAGES
7. NANO OR NO-NO? FT. DEMONGODDESS
8. YWS BIRTHDAY
9. POP CULTURE CORNER: SNEAKY LITTLE HOBBITSES
10. SHAMELESS PLUGS
11. SUBSCRIBERS

GOODBYE TO GRAVITYwritten by megsug < PM: >

This week, we are sadly saying goodbye to a member of Squills that has spent many years with us. @Gravity has decided to take time on her studies.

She started with us as Gruno of the Pruno-Gruno team and wrote a variety of different columns including How To... a reported on all kinds of YWSers, holidays, and events. As an editor, she brought innovation to the team, organizing and hosting Squills podcasts single-handedly.

She was an editor under at least three editor-in-chiefs, and I'm sure each one appreciated her energetic brainstorming that she brought to every conversation about continuing and improving Squills as much as I have.

Education is always a good reason to take a step back from other rewuirments, but I will miss her very much.

On a happier note, I would like to congratulate @EternalRain to her promotion to editor this week!

One of the great things about Squills is its survival beyond individuals. As sad as it is to say goodbye to old friends, I am looking forward to giving new ones a chance.

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW: WOLFICAL

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

As you all probably know, the Literary Spotlight rests on the homepage, displaying the top five current works by the amount of likes they have. One of the current residents of that list is @Wolfical 's Tennessee Rose . Tennessee Rose is currently holding a tippity top spot with over 25 likes.
And here in my workshop today is the lovely lady, herself.



Wolfical: Oooooh I feel so special! Yes absolutely : D


W: I'm feeling downright groovy.
I was surprised! I don't have a lot of confidence in my poetry. But it's very encouraging to see that people enjoy this one.


W: Yeah, I don't know how that happened. It's original, I guess. It's more of a story than a poem. A ballad. I just rhymed everything for the extra challenge - that extra gimmick.


W: It is the quintessential Western formula, yes, but at the same time I have a soft spot in my heart for those Old West tales that are truthful and gritty (pun intended). A lot of the old movies or books focus on that dashing Hollywood hero who is without faults. They disregard how hard of a time it really was, and focus on glorifying the glittering hero instead of acknowledging the raw setting and its people. So I guess the hero of my ballad thingy, living in this harsh environment with harsh people, is someone who can represent the loneliness of many of that time period.

The ending might be taken literally (that the cowboy becomes immortal), but it can also be interpreted to mean that he feels like his life continues to go on forever, while he dies on the inside from loneliness.


W: Yes, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry! It's not only my favorite Old West book but my favorite of all time. What I love about it is explained in the previous answer: it's an authentic, anti-Hollywood Western, featuring deep characters in an unforgiving natural setting.


W: We're all technically pirates, but that doesn't mean I can't wear a cowboy hat and have a giant seahorse as my steed.


W: Write what you love. This probably sounds cliche and mushy, but if you write from your heart, your readers will probably notice and appreciate it.


W: I prefer him to Elvis. Not sure if they're meant to be compared, but when I was younger I confused them. Must be the hair or something. I saw that "Walk the Line" movie once which I liked, "Ring of Fire" is fab, and the man in black has more of a country flavor to his style that I enjoy more.


W: Well shucks. I was enjoying this mightily. Thankee for the interview, Lizz.

THE HOT SEAT: VENTOMOLOGYwritten by LUMI < PM: >

On YWS, it's glory to the spotlighters! The elite five that receive the most likes over the course of 48 hours...or is it? Do we put value in likes when we should put more into healthy reviews? Here today to talk about this and their featured novel Conics Unfortunately is @Ventomology! Let's sit down over some coffee and talk these matters out at length. A small spoiler from me to you, however: I personally value quality reviews over the likes.


Ventomology: It's an honor really. I don't generally check the features just because I mostly hang around the novel section, so I was really flattered that my two reviewers (and lms competitors) had gotten me into the spotlight.


V: Honestly, they just sort of sprung up without me realizing it. I knew going in that I wanted a cast that would reflect the diversity I grew up with, and so I picked out some traits of people that I'd met once or twice in high school and tried to fidget with them until I came up with personalities that would create a fun and interesting group dynamic.


V: I hate to say it, but being in the spotlight doesn't mean as much to me as having dedicated reviewers. @TheSilverFox and @BlueAfrica have been such amazing supporters in the journey so far, and I really owe so much of where Conics is now, and where It's going to the two of them. It's flattering to be in the spotlight, but at the end of the week, the thing that keeps me going is those two coming back to review and check in every single chapter.

We at Squills would like to thank Ventomology from the bottom of our hearts with this wonderful basket of dehydrated strawberry leather, brought to you by the Storybook Crew's plentiful wizards. What are your opinions on the literary spotlight? Do you crave the limelight? Or perhaps you're like Ventomology and prefer quality reviewers all days of the week! Let us know in the Squills Fan Club

SOCIETY PAGESwritten by EternalRain < PM: >

Welcome to another society pages, where news of YWSers and the trending hashtags for the week are compiled!

Last week was the start of #NaNo, and everyone has been sharing their experiences! There’s also a club dedicated to this year’s NaNoWriMo, if you’re interested: NaNoWriMo 2017 . Many users are using the hashtag #NaNo to update others on their word count or journey!

An #acrosticpoem tag has come around. The idea is to make an acrostic poem with your username! @Kelpies made two, but my favorite is:






@Rosella made one as well:






If you want to read other YWSer’s acrostic poems, be sure to search them up with the hashtag #acrosticpoem!

@Londone has created a hashtag #goodnessghost for all the weird and strange things that happen to them.

A great question was proposed by @Flumadiddle: which do you like better, grape jelly or marshmallow fluff? Most people said fluff, except for @Sheytato, who went for the grape jelly.

A few days later, @TheBlueCat asked another food related question! Waffles or pancakes? The big question, that one is.

What else has been going on? @Eternity got two new kittens this week, @Hattable was offered some nuggets for their TV, @screamingsloth died from the extreme, amazing taste of a frosted flake, and @marms will be singing A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes for her audition for her school’s musical.

NANO OR NO-NO? FT. DEMONGODDESSwritten by LUMI < PM: >

Welcome, for once, to a plain box of pixels where there are no Studios or Voices to Entertain or Distract you. A shame? This reporter thinks it's a shame. Today I'll be giving my own regards for NaNo and how, frankly, I don't, as a writer, see it as a healthy exercise.

We'll begin at the very core of NaNo, its purpose and drive for all authors who get pulled in by its siren song: speed-writing 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. An incredibly feat worthy of bragging rights, yes; however, what lessons are taken from this exercise?

To cut corners in important plot and character construction--to speed your way through cornerstone elements such as pacing and chemistry--and worst of all, to ignore your inner editor. For these teachable sins, I find NaNoWriMo an aggressive, reductive beast in the writing world, disguised behind fun and camaraderie.

Readers, I won't lie--I found a guest who shares my feelings on NaNo: @DemonGoddess.


DemonGoddess: I probably won't get NaNo done, to be honest - especially since I'm planning two novels, haha - since I'll probably be distracted by the souls that keep coming my way from reviewing.

If I were to put my own metaphor, it would be like having a sweet, sugary soul after being put on a diet for green, vegetable-tasting souls for a month. Hey, what a coincidence! NaNo is a month!


DG: Oh, yes, the November month is very good to the demonic spice industry. That's usually what crushed souls are for. So no, not like a berry. However, it won't crush my soul; probably because I don't have one. >:3


DG: First of all, if you recall, I already ate your soul. Coffee candy, remember? Second off, I am going to try to take on NaNo, but I'll probably not get my novels done. I tend to work chapter-by-chapter or half-chapter-by-half-chapter instead of word goals, except when I work on short stories - which is 420 words an hour at least.

As you can see, Squillians, from my unbiased evidence and untampered interviewing skills, NaNo is a NoNo. If you approach this beast, do so with preparation! Do so with caution! And most of all? Do so knowing that--no matter what happens to your feeble corpse in the wilderness--you'll likely have some fun riding that cactus horse. From the desk of Lumi, signing off!

YWS BIRTHDAYwritten by Aley < PM: >

Today, it's something we've taken for granted, but there used to be a time when none of us were on YWS. For some of our newer members, that's a recent memory, but for most of us, it's a pretty distant one.

To celebrate with YWS for @BigBrother's 13th birthday, there are several events which have gone on all week! The festivities end Tuesday the 14th on YWS's official birthday.

Here's a complete list of everything that's going on!

Iggy was nice enough to give us a list in the thread YWS Birthday Week: Event Information





You can subscribe to the thread in order to get updates about what is going on when, and how things are going to unfold! There are also week-ling events like the Scavenger Hunt which you can participate in whether you have ten minutes or hours.

Some of the other events are quicker such as Wink Murder and the Poetry Jam were.

Last year Monkeys were victorious over Dragons by two points in the quiz game in chat with the Monkey @lostthought gaining the most points over Dragon @PenguinAttack who put up a valiant fight. They vowed to make a comeback this year, so we will see if they succeed.

Here are a few well wishes from YWSers.

@TheBlueCat wishes YWS a happy birthday through commiseration saying,





Meanwhile @Thundahguy is hoping that the teens of YWS won't be like teens he's seen.






I can get behind this black room thing. We could wear raccoon eyeliner in support of @ReviewBuddy!

To celebrate with YWS this week, do something festive for the birthday of our amazing site and give a lot of love to @Nate for making it all happen and keeping it going.

POP CULTURE CORNER: SNEAKY LITTLE HOBBITSES

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

Yes they are sneaky little things, aren't they? The solution sometimes is to eat them whole but today, we're just gonna have to talk about them, because the trolls messed up that one for us.
I have brought in several outside sources and experts, because once again I got so focused on NaNo, that I forgot to write my articles. And also because I talk way too much and if it weren't for the discussion forums, I'd probably go on about the Hobbit for 15 paragraphs.



First we'll hear from @ChieRynn,




@alliyah complimented the movies,





@saentiel says,




@Wolfical once again arrives as our music consultant,




@soundofmind gives another sort of point to the movies,




And the final opinion of the evening comes from @birk,






I've read the book just about 30 times and it is probably my second favorite book after M*A*S*H. (That being the book and tv show and movie I would love to cover here, but it's just a tad too much.) I've also seen the movies quite a few times and my main issue is not that there's 3 of them, just that they didn't make it a good 3. But their try at a romantic subplot gave me plenty of jokes that I couldn't say around my family.
Like when Legolas is questioning Tauriel being in love with a dwarf, there's this little joke I make in the back of my head that goes something along the lines of "in a few years, you'll understand."
This story starts you on the path to LotR and that's probably the reason it doesn't seem as serious. For now you're just fighting a very mad dragon but it the next movie, they are essentially fighting the Devil.
Bottom line. I love the books. I'm on the fence about the movies.

Next week I'll probably talk about some album that I like and fill up the article with song links. Should give you something to loom forward to.

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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November Themed Poetry & Short-Story Contest

The November Poetry & Short-Story contest hosted by DemonGoddess with her guest judges LadyLizz and alliyah is still looking for entries.

Deadline: November 30th, 2017

Prizes: 1st --- 500 points, 2nd & 3rd --- a gift
(bonus points for entries featuring supernatural elements)

Rules and Submission Details: November Contest

Entries are also guaranteed a review by some or all of the judges.
Please contact @DemonGoddess if you have further questions.

SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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