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.

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

1. READER READS: THE CHOSEN GRANDMA
2. NEW MEMBER INTERVIEW: JEMMING17
3. THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS
4. INTERVIEW WITH EUROPA: HOW STORYBOOKING HELPS WRITING
5. FROM THE DESK OF A KNIGHT: MY REVIEW PLAYLIST
6. CODE BREAKER CROSSWORDS
7. DINOSAUR FACTS: THE LEGENDARY STEGOSAURUS
8. POP CULTURE CORNER: 10 SONGS YOU SHOULD HEAR
9. TWO CENTS: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW
10. WORD OF THE WEEK - PARAPRAXIS
11. SHAMELESS PLUGS
12. SUBSCRIBERS

READER READS:
THE CHOSEN GRANDMA

written by marms < PM: >

Welcome to Reader Reads. This new column is dedicated to commemorating the passionate readers right here on YWS. For the first article, I decided to interview the readers of The Chosen Grandma by the lovely @BlueAfrica (joined YWS in 2010). This novel takes a spin on the average ‘chosen one’ story by following a grandma saving the world instead of say...a teenager. If you haven’t heard of it before you must have been living under a rock because, as of this moment, it’s the most popular novel on YWS! A ton of these chapters have been in the spotlight, so there’s no excuse for not seeing this title somewhere! But if you still have no idea what I’m talking about, keep reading this article. Hopefully, these enthusiastic readers will give you an itch to pick up the story!

I’m really glad to welcome @DarkPandemonium and @Rydia as the first guests on my new column. A special thanks to them for sparing some time for me and my questions.



DarkPandemonium: I'm glad to be here.



D: Well, I think the first thing that attracted me to it - and the main reason that I love to follow it - is just that it's such a cool concept. I haven't read any other stories like it before, and I love how it pokes fun at the typical tropes of the fantasy genre. It's fun, it's funny, and it's also very exciting - what more could you want, really?



D: That's kind of what drew me to it first. I was actually quite late to the party when it came to reading it because I remember there being a big buzz around it in the general community when it first started being posted. I read the first chapter over a year back, I think, but I was less active on YWS at the time. It was only a few months ago that I finally started reading it properly and then reviewing each installment - I'm very glad I did.



D: The whole cast is brilliant, but my favourite so far has to be Kiernan.



D: Well, I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that he isn't exactly on the good side, seeing as you find that out about him very early on. But what I think is so great about him is that he isn't exactly a typical baddie. He's kind of just the main villain's best mate.



D: Definitely! Not that I'm...secretly evil or anything...but yes, I think villains tend to be much more flawed, and people are drawn to flawed characters.



D: Yep, and I think we like characters that make mistakes. We can kind of relate to them, even if their mistakes are obviously much more monumental and damaging.



D: Maybe a little...



D: Hmm, I think scene-wise, we're getting some really cool chapters at the minute (no spoilers, but there's dragons involved!) that are definitely some of my favourites.



D: I'd say that she's onto something amazing here and that I feel honoured to be able to read it and offer advice on how to shape the future of her story. When it hits the shelves, I'm sure I'll be bragging about seeing the early stages of it!



D: Thank you for interviewing me!

Now onto my interview with Rydia!



Rydia: Hey, no problem! So I think what's really fun is that BlueAfrica takes the stereotypes of a lot of fantasy novels out there and really turns them on their head and even better she makes the characters aware that she's doing it. You have this wonderful crazy old lady who's the Chosen One and every few chapters someone new asks 'but isn't it supposed to be a teenager'. I love that comedy factor!



R: Yes, Edna's definitely my favourite.


R: Well, she likes knitting which makes her a very believable grandma and she thinks a lot about her roommate from the old people's home who she had to leave behind and is generally really caring and sweet, exactly the sort of lady anyone would love to have as their own grandma! She's also sharp-witted and strong-willed as well which makes for a fun combo.



R: Yes! There will be chaos and craziness and they'll be talking about what daring thing they're going to do next - like try to steal a magical sword or go off and fight the dragons - and then Edna will get her knitting out and finish another row. Or worry that the colour of yarn isn't quite right. That's what keeps the novel heartwarming and real even though it's actually very silly because Edna has all these real day-to-day concerns mixed up with the worries about how she'll ever be able to stop scary things like dragons.



R: Well, it's more tongue in cheek than realistic but it certainly has a lot of fun poking holes at the fantasy genre and itself! Grannies aren't much better equipped than teenagers after all, though yes they're certainly wiser!



R: Oh, I've said rather a lot of things already, haha but if I can have only one then it would be to keep writing and to keep filling the story with as much fun and silliness as it already has!



R: No problem! I thoroughly recommend the book so anyone reading this should go read that instead.



R: Hehe well, maybe not riiight now then because Squills is, of course, wonderful as well.



That’s it for Reader Reads! Don’t forget to tune in next time! Also, feel free to pop into my Author’s Page and give me suggestions on what you want to see me write about next; whether that’s for Reader Reads, Three Guests Three Questions, or some new column, let me know!

NEW MEMBER INTERVIEW: JEMMING17

written by EternalRain < PM: >

Hello, everyone! Welcome to a new column: the new member interview! Here, I’ll be interviewing new members about writing, YWS, and all the new member things! For our first interview, we have with us the lovely @jemming17!



Jemming17: Hello! Yes you could definitely interview me!!
Sounds pretty exciting to me.



J: I actually was searching the web trying to find a writing site, since my school blocks most of them. I would say since I used the search engine, Google, that would be my answer.




J: I really like poetry, because it helps me let out all the feelings I keep bottled up.
Every now and then do I create a novel, but it used to be in rp form, so someone could help me with my creativity.



J: I used to go on the site, Feralfront, but my school blocked it haha.
I haven't tried the roleplay site on here, but I enjoy doing horror, romance, and fantasy genres.



J: Well, my initials are JEM, so I thought just adding -ming to it would work as an acceptable username.
I might change it to pumpkin<3 which was my name on Feralfront.



J: I recieved a really great critique on my essay on Suicide.
I was taken back abit, because I take things to heart, and I haven't had a critique like that.
It definitely was a great critique.

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

In our studios today, we have the lovely @Elinor, who is making a comeback on YWS and bringing some fun events with her. First a contest (which is now closed, sorry folks if you didn't get to it soon enough) and now a workshop on taking a story and turning it into a script. The first part of the grand project covers To Kill a Mockingbird and Fahrenheit 451, two works that are for sure classics.
From Prose to Script: A Workshop on Adaptation



Elinor: I'm doing well! It's a golden afternoon here in Hollywoodland.



E: When I was growing up, one of the first things that keyed me in to the fact that I wasw a movie buff was that I never fully identified with my friends who were always somewhat cyncial when approaching movie adaptations of our favorite books. I was always a voracious reader and I enjoyed using my imagination, but I always thought it was amazing to see movies. What makes books great is that a single person can create whole worlds and people just using their words. What makes movies great is that takes a massive team of people all working together to create something wonderful. Radio plays operate in very much the same function. I see them as somewhat of a middle ground. You have to use your imagination, but also have the visceral experience of the world being created for you through sound. To make a long story short, they're different mediums. I wanted to take a look at two classic works and see how the same story is told across different mediums, in order to best examine the differences and similarities. In doing so, my hope is that people will not understand the crux of the story, but be interested in script writing as well.

For example, the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy steps out of her sepia-toned cottage into the technicolor dream world of Oz is something that only a movie could portray effectively, as it's pure visual. On the other end, in The Giver, when Jonas is shown the memory of Christmas, his internal monologue when processing what he saw is something that could only be done in a book. While a face can show a lot, the scene is a turning point for Jonas's character and there is a lot he needs to work through that is portrayed beautifully in text.



E: That's tough. If you're looking at series as a whole, I would have to say Harry Potter. Both book and movie are great in their own ways. The movies are different enough but still portray the themes of the series incredibly effectively. If you're looking at single books, either The Grapes of Wrath and Perks of Being a Wallflower are pretty equal for me in terms of book to film.



E: There are many ardent fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, the book and it's easy to understand why. It is one of the most moving stories I have ever read. Many feel the movie is inferior because it creates a more of a typical three act story as opposed to the book's slice of life approach, eliminating most of the subplots. However, at the same time, the movie only had two hours to tell its story. You have one of the greatest performances in movie history given by Gregory Peck, the music, the camera work. The end product definitely is true to themes of the story, but it also stands on its own as an incredible work of art.

I stumbled upon the Farenheit 451 radio play and listened to it one afternoon a couple of months ago. It stayed with me and encouraged me to check out the book. I'd read it once before, my freshman year of high school, and I liked it but remembered being underwhelmed. I definitely liked it a lot more the second time. It's one of the best science fiction stories I have ever read. The writing is so effective and it portrays a lot of important themes that are just as relevant today as they were sixty years ago.

I've never seen the Farenheit 451 film, so I can't comment on it, but the story is really about the power of words. Because so much of Guy Montag's character growth happens as he interacts with various texts, I wondered how that might be portrayed in a movie. But as a radio play is just words and sound, the decision to adapt Farenheit 451 this way really makes sense, which might explain why the play is much better recieved and considered a truer adaptation than the movie. As far as the upcoming film starring Michael B. Jordan, I'm personally excited but we'll just have to wait and see.







E: There was one short script I read, years ago now, and I actually can't remember if it was on YWS or not, but I think it was sort of a play on Romeo and Juliet. At least because there were two characters who were romantically involved and the girl was in her bedroom and the guy was outside at her window. It was modern day and the two of them were dialoguing about their relationship. I don't remember how it ended but I remember thinking it was well written and the characters were very fleshed out and their relationship was so palpable, which I thought was impressive for a short piece.

Well that's all we have for now folks. Thank you again @Elinor for stopping by and we hope to be hearing from you again. Have a wonderful rest of your day and to the audience still tuned in, just wait around and we'll onto the next portion of the news.

INTERVIEW WITH EUROPA: HOW STORYBOOKING HELPS WRITING

written by Steggy< PM: >

Storybooking, in many ways, can be a helping hand towards how people write. It helps with creating worlds, interacting with different people through a variety of postings, and how to create memorable characters. I interviewed @Europa, a talented habitant of the storybook realm.

Here's what she had to say:



Europa: Of course! I'd love to!



E: I started storybooking shortly after I joined YWS. I happened upon the forum about two weeks after I created my account, and I just fell in love with its concept. My first SB, Heroes of the Shadows, was posted that very same day. It was more of a success than I ever would have expected. It earned Most Popular Storybook a month after its creation, which earned me the title of Featured Storybooker the following month. I was extremely proud of the reception my Storybook received, but I was more pleased with the team of people I worked with on that project. I had such an amazing experience working with the other members who joined and made such meaningful connections with all those who participated. The SB itself has since been archived, but I'm still in contact with many of its participants that I befriended and often work with them on other projects.



E: It's definitely the collaborative aspect. This site has such a unique and diverse community. I've teamed up with people from Illinois to India, and I have yet to find anyone I don't enjoy writing with. They come from all walks of life with so many different stories and experiences to share. Absolutely all of them have their own styles of writing and brilliant ideas to offer. That's what excites me most.



E: Absolutely! You can only ever develop and become better at writing if you actually write, and do it consistently. Storybooking gives you the motivation to do so. I can also say that I've learned a tremendous amount from other members I work with. Storybooking has exposed me to many different styles of writing, as well as allowed me to receive feedback from other Storybookers. In the two years since I've joined YWS and gotten involved with the Storybook forum, I've grown as a writer and a person in leaps and bounds. If someone truly desired to develop their craft, I would wholeheartedly recommend joining a Storybook.



E: It would be hard to pick just one. Impossible even. I enjoy writing all my characters a lot. I suppose Kirsten has the benefit of seniority because she was the very first character I created for a Storybook I spent almost two years with her and her brother Leon, the longest I've ever worked on any SB. Since then both of them have been reborn into another story together, also a collaborative work.



E: Thank you for interviewing me!

And there you have it!

FROM THE DESK OF A KNIGHT: MY REVIEW PLAYLIST

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

I'm one of those people who likes to play music while they're working on almost anything and this is of course mostly to talk about songs that help me review.
No matter what it is you're listening to, because we all have different tastes and despite what my Pop Culture articles might say, that's perfectly okay, as long as you can concentrate on the piece that you're reviewing. This is why for writing of any sort, many people choose classical music or instrumental versions of their favorite songs, because sometimes the lyrics get meshed together with whatever you're reviewing, particularly when it comes to reviewing poetry.

For me, the standard is always some some of rock, which means I go from the 50s to today and then back again on Review Day. Sometimes I just play the same song on repeat until I only hear the music and none of the words. It gets to the point where it's relaxing and better to have something in the background, rather than none at all.
My favorite song to listen to while taking care of tasks is Go All the Way by the Raspberries , and that particular version in the link is live. I prefer to have the live version playing because then you can switch over and have something to look at for a bit, before moving back to whatever the project may be.

I think I wrote about this song before saying the most memorable part is the first 30 seconds, where the intro draws you in and feels so much different from the actual song. If I'm about to start a review and the song is somewhere in the middle, I wait for the song to come back around before plunging into the icy waters.

Another one I like to use is I'd Love to Change the World by Ten Years After . It's a song where the subject matter is a bit of a downer, which is obvious considering it's about Vietnam and everything else happening then, but the tune comes back in that encouraging way. At least it sounds encouraging to me, enough to push me along through the next part of the story.

The only other one I feel needs an explanation is Inside Out by the Travelling Wilburys . If you've never heard of the Travelling Wilburys, you must not read my other column because I have mentioned them a few times. They're a band with a lot of great songs, famous members from other bands or solo acts, and didn't hold on to the title of classic rock because they joined together in the 90s. Even though all the musicians were from that era, they didn't catch that many fans.

The first album was great but after Roy Orbison died, it fell apart a bit. This song is however from the second album and as long as you can tolerate Bob Dylan, it's pretty easy to work to.

Obviously I have more songs than this in my playlist, which I plan to use as my material for next week's article. If that falls through, I'll have it up on my author's thread in the Squills Fan Club.

That's all I have for now so:
Happy trails to you,
Until we meet again.
Happy trails to you,
Keep smiling until then.
If you didn't sing that, I'll me mighty disappointed.

CODE BREAKER CROSSWORDSwritten by JustPerks < PM: >

Hello YWSers! It’s my pleasure to present a little challenge for you all - a crossword puzzle! You can, of course, solve this puzzle by whatever means necessary, but I’d love for you to use certain places on here to help pave the way!

Rules for the Code Breaker Challenge

- Teams will not be allowed. You will be required to explain or show your work when you submit your answers.
- If you do not solve a Code before next week’s edition, then your answers will not be accepted.
- There’s nothing to stop you from using Google if you wish, but the purpose of this column is to get you to use YWS, your mind to solve each puzzle. We’re watching you.
- The first three to complete the challenge will get rewards.

Last Week's Winners

@snowmonkey9
@BlueAfrica
I hope that caught your eye, since the crossword puzzle is below:



Clues



If you're stuck, open the spoiler.

DINOSAUR FACTS: THE LEGENDARY STEGOSAURUS

written by Steggy< PM: >

Out of all the dinosaurs, the Stegosaurus have always fascinated me. One of the many reasons it does is because of the 17 plates on their backs. Scientists speculate that these plates were used as a sort of tool to control the air they get. Sort of prehistoric fans placed to help them keep cool during the hotter months. Another interesting tool they had was their tails, which is called a thagomizer. The spikey tip was used as a sort of protection whenever predators would come near and they used it by whacking them on the nose.

Stegosaurus is also the official fossil of Colorado in 1982 and here, the first Stegosaurus skeleton was found. Since then, a dozen or so Stegosaurus fossils have been found in the western parts of the US, Europe, and Africa.

In the end, the Stegosaurus is still considered to be a personal favorite of mine.
Some Key Resources:

National History Museum
Colorando State Fossil
Check back next time with a different dinosaur and different facts!

POP CULTURE CORNER: 10 SONGS YOU SHOULD HEAR

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

I don't have much of a speech or an introduction this week, because all I'm really asking you to do is take some moments out of your day to listen to some music. People often think of me as being stuck in one genre but if you pay attention, I do know a bit from everything, I just don't like it.

One thing that I do have great appreciation for is music from the folk music revival era, which spanned mostly from the 1930s to the 1960s. It of course did go before that and after that, especially after with the influences that it had on so many rock bands, but for the point of this list, I'll keep within that range.

Normally if I was talking about music, then I would talk about the musicians. But I very much doubt I could do these people just with a three line justification of why I included them in this article. There are several articles I've included about each one of them, so check those out in addition to the songs.

And keep in mind how many good songs all of these people have, but I just chose most of these for the live performance factor. For some of these performers I don't have too much information but if you're willing to take wikipedia or do other research, be my guest.



1. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Up Above My Head

Other stuff:
This is another live performance from when she was younger.
Sister Rosetta Thorpe - That's All
Rolling Stone Artice - Why Sister Rosetta Thorpe Belongs in the Rock Hall of Fame
PBS Article - Sister Rosetta Thorpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll

2. Lead Belly

Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Other stuff:
I recently wrote a post on my wall about the song The House of the Rising Sun. I linked in Lead Belly's version, which is great to hear. You can find the post [url=
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Lead Belly

3. Woody Guthrie
He's most famous for This Land and guess what I chose for the feautured song?
This version of the recording is a bit grainy but I like it.

This Land is Your Land

Other stuff:
Along with Lead Belly in the Rising Sun post, I mentioned Woody Guthrie, so be sure to check out that version too.
PBS - Dustbowl Doc - Woody Guthrie
PBS - American Masters

4. Josh White

Saint James Infirmary

5. Pete Seeger

If I had a Hammer...

Other stuff:
Another live song.
Pete Seeger - Michael Row the Boat Ashore
Smithsonian Folk Ways - Pete Seeger

This article is from 2014 but still worth a glance, if you want to find out more.
NY Times - Pete Seeger, Champion of Folk Music and Social Change, Dies at 94

6. The Weavers
The members of this band are Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Pete Seeger. Seeger got a separate section, mainly because I felt like it and he had so many other contributions. This video itself is a bit long but again I just kind of felt like it.

All the 1951 videos

7. The Kingston Trio
Tom Dooley is one of my favorite songs anyways so I really do love this version, even though it's quite different from the others I've heard.

Tom Dooley

8. Scrapper Blackwell
I came across this man after listening to Josh White and then I found an article titled Searching for Scrapper Blackwell, the Most Popular Bluesman You've Never Heard , which is partially true. I know of one of his most famous songs because I think Clapton covered it, but you don't hear the name that often.

Nobody Knows When You're Out and Down

9. Ramblin' Jack Elliott

If I Were a Carpenter

Other stuff:
Rolling Stone article - Ramblin Jack Elliot: Tales From His Long and Winding Career

10. Susan Reed
I mostly know her name from an article I read about the beginnings of the folk revival in the 20s. And what made reed stick out to me is that her instrument of choice in every song is the harp.

Wailie, Wailie

I started with the media code but it stretched the page too much for my comfort. I hope that y'all enjoy these songs because I certainly enjoyed collecting and listening to them in the process.

TWO CENTS: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOWwritten by Aley < PM: >

They say that writers "write what they know" but how do you actually apply that? Does that mean that you can only write autobiographical information? Or does that mean that you can only write from the perspective of your gender or personal specifics? Personally, I think books would be pretty boring if we could only be humans in them, so I have spent some time interpreting that to figure out how a nationally acclaimed series like "The Lord of The Rings" is so good if it's not that standard definition of "write what you know" since no one in this world is actually a hobbit.

For me, "write what you know" means write people you can understand and give people problems that you have felt. Now, this doesn't mean that the biggest problem you can handle is stuff in school, it means that write reactions to problems that you've felt.

For instance, if you've ever broken up with someone and felt horrible for weeks, then you are prepared to write about feeling deeply hurt. You can use your experiences in life to inform your characters' reactions, their feelings, and their solutions. That is write what you know.

The most useful place to apply that is with pain and loss because these are universal things. How you handle loss is going to come up in a story with conflict, and any good conflict has a ramping up technique which creates stress and usually stress is directly related to loss. If you're afraid of losing, or you have lost, then you can put in the mental tension of those experiences.

The best way to handle this sort of writing is to write emotions with using more than just emotion words. This will force you into a more metaphoric or symbolic system and that system is usually more wide-spread than saying a word. After all, "she is happy" is much less descriptive and mentally inclusive than "The joy tingled over her like a breath of crisp fall air." Here we have the difference between passive and active as well.

The first sentence, "she is happy" is very passive. It tells you what the character is but it doesn't explain why or how, or what that feels like. The second goes for how it feels to be happy for her, going into descriptions and relationships to something concrete and physical.

This is better because people can all agree on what a breath of fresh air feels like whereas they might not agree on how to describe 'joy' or 'happiness' especially since it's specific to the situation. That's where experience comes into play.

How many different types of anger can you describe? How many types of happiness? Sadness? Sickness? There are so many different ways we feel throughout our lives that describing the specific one you want can create the difference between an engaging story and one that is less so.

The other way we write what we know is with writing who we know.

Now I don't mean go write your best friend into your story. Again, it's more abstract than the direct meaning. I mean you are not the only type of person in the world. Your reactions, feelings, and thoughts are not the only way people respond.

As a writer watching how people respond, figuring out how they think, and hearing about how they feel can inspire types of characters you can create. Oftentimes one of the problems with beginning writers is that the first character is always like the author, and the second character, and the third, and the fourth. They're all just minor variations on the author in one way or another.

To get away from that, you have to observe people and develop an understanding of how they would respond to situations so when you have a character who is not like you, you can respond in kind.

Then, building the character becomes a trial of how different can you make them from one another. Where one person might respond with guns, what would the character need to be made from in order to respond with discussion?

The more variety a world has in its characters, the more full it will seem. Creating characters that respond unpredictably for the main character with reason removes them from the author as well and it tends to be a better book.

So, when people say "write what you know" I like to think about that as "write the emotions you've felt, and the responses you've observed, and the personalities you're familiar with" rather than "you can only write experiences you've had" or "research the world over." If you're in one of the other camps, maybe you can give writing a short story from the perspective of someone else a try and see how it goes! You never know, you might end up falling in love with having an unpredictable main character.

WORD OF THE WEEK - PARAPRAXISwritten by JustPerks < PM: >

Pronunciation: par-uh-prak-sis

Part of Language: Noun

Definition:

1. A slip of the tongue or pen, forgetfulness, misplacement of objects, or other error thought to reveal unconscious wishes or attitudes.

2. Also known as a Freudian slip.

Used in a Sentence: She declared her parapraxis about truly hating her old friend.

Origin: The word originates from the 16th century Greek word prâxis, or praxis, which means an act, or action.

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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A jokingly self-proclaimed "Shell Master" has just started a series of Media Reviews that introduce the world of YWS to the mostly undiscovered wonders that lie beyond it.

With music, images and a - hopefully - entertaining writing style, we at Shell Master Explorers hope that you will enjoy these reviews! See you soon! Maybe!
Check it out! Twaggazine n°1: Red's Tournament


That's all folks~ Now send us yours.

SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >
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