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. WANTED: NEW WRITERS FOR SQUILLS!
2. 3 GUESTS, 3 QUESTIONS: OUR NEW GMS!
3. NAPO THREAD SPOTLIGHT: WITH LADYLIZZ
4. FM INTERVIEW: HATTABLE
5. NAPO POET SPOTLIGHT: WITH THEBLUECAT
6. POP CULTURE CORNER: ALTERNATE MARVEL PITCHES
7. HOW TO: WRITE ANTAGONISTS - PART ONE
8. NAPO THREAD HIGHLIGHTS
9. ANIME MANIAC HOUR: BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA
10. WORD OF THE WEEK: PIQUE
11. NEW ARRIVALS
12. SHAMELESS PLUGS
13. SUBSCRIBERS

WANTED: NEW WRITERS FOR SQUILLS!

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

We recently gained back 2 great Squills writers, @ShadowVyper and @BiscuitsleGuin. But as we are heading closer to June and the end of the school year for some people, it's time to make another drive for YWS members who want to participate more in their community.

If you've thought about applying before but never followed through for one reason or another, there's no time like the present to submit an audition to join up on staff.

Outside of the general, general reporter, we have a few specialized positions that are left open and in need of some love.

Right off the top of my head, I'm thinking about the Resources Reporter, the Literary Reporter and the Storybook Reporter. These are all positions where you would focus your coverage on that certain section of the site.
For Resources, this might be advertising exciting new threads and interviewing the people participating.
For Literary, there's Green Room Gallery (which rounds up great works currently stranded in the Green Room) and Spotlight Interviews.
And for Storybooks, this is just reporting on what is going on in the Storybook Realm (and Roleplay Realm as well, if you should choose to include it.)

All of our reporter sections involve a bit of interviewing, the only way to find out YWS news is by asking questions. One of the more interview heavy roles is the Community Reporter, @Kanome is one of our current Community reporters.

And if you find that you want something to be your very own, consider pitching a column idea to us.

If you want some more information check out the Looking for Squills Writers thread and take a glance through the Index. If you've got more questions after that or ready to get started on your journey, PM me, your brand new and completely official, Squills Recruiter.

I hope to be seeing all of y'alls articles very soon.
~Lady Lizz <3

3 GUESTS, 3 QUESTIONS: OUR NEW GMS!written by marms
< PM: >

On April 22 we got three new global moderators, who have been part of the YWS staff for quite awhile. These moderators have been helpful and are definitely deserving of this promotion! Now, enough talking from me, let’s hear it from the GMs themselves! Thank you so much for @Elinor, @BlueAfrica, and @Holysocks for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer my questions.



Elinor: It’s definitely a weird feeling seeing my name in dark green! But I’m very excited to have been brought on board, and I’m looking forward to working with the rest of Big Brother to keep this site thriving!

BlueAfrica: I was hoping at this point in the week my answer wouldn’t be "well, I’m sick," but...well, I’m still sick. So mostly I’ve felt miserable and a bit guilty that my start to being GM is so inactive.

Holysocks: Great! I'm very excited about it all. I'll admit I am a little nervous I'll blow the site up.



E: I first became a JM in June of 2010, and have gone through various periods of activity and retirement ever since.

B: November 27, 2011 (which I only know because I have a staff letter from Rydia certifying that I became a mod on that date). So I’d been on the site a little over a year, mostly posting poetry.

H: A mod in general? It was I thiiiiink August 2016... but I'm really bad with dates.



E: GMs aren't assigned to an specific crews, so my focus on the site will be more broad, but there also a few other things I can do, like username changes and promotions/demotions.

B: Good question! Of course I plan to keep reviewing and encouraging other members and posting more of the Chosen Grandma, but I’ll probably try helping out more with events and workshops. I’m hoping to figure out more about this job early on - when I started as a JM, I really didn’t know what I was doing at all (and moved up in the world still sort of feeling that way tbh), so I want to attack GMship a little more methodically so I can be more effective at it.

H: Well, apparently the thing about GMs is we don't really belong to a crew anymore - unless of course you’re a Crew Leader, which I am NOT. So I can float around doing (almost) anything! Basically being a GM seems to be a lot like being a JM, just with a few more buttons.

I’m excited to see these GM at work in the future! Don’t forget to congratulate them on their walls for all their hard work that they have done and will continue to do for the site.

NAPO THREAD SPOTLIGHT: WITH LADYLIZZ

written by alliyah < PM: >

Traditionally, for National Poetry Writing Month, poets go for 30 poems, or a "poem a day". However, because NaPo is completely customizable as far as goals and challenges, some poets do less depending on their schedule needs, and some... do many more. @LadyLizz is one of those extraordinary poets who didn't just complete 30 poems for NaPo, but at the time of this article has written 100 poems for NaPo. Between her poeting about animals, knights, and religion, the Squills Office was able to get ahold of her for an interview on her ambitious NaPo thread.



LadyLizz: I knew from the get go that it was a very stupid idea. But it was a bit like my justifications for April Madness, just doing it for the heck of it.

Like I was never able to 100 reviews a month, but 100 poems seemed like something I could conquer easily.



L: It was originally supposed to be like animals, religion, food, because those are the three things I consistently write about. Food took a back burner to depression and animals are only sort of sticking around because of "the Raven".



L: 100 poems isn't that bad as long as you stick to a schedule lol and I didn't.



L: Just completing NaPo in general with 30 poems, recognize what your schedule is. The part of narrowing that down is thinking about what time of day you feel most like writing.
A lot of my poems were just like 3 lines that I thought about while reading a certain passage and was like "I need to write this down." Also themes. Themes make the work a lot easier.



If you'd like to read some of LadyLizz's poems, stop on over to her wonderful NaPo thread and be sure to leave a comment or like while you're there. Lizz's Lazy Lizzard Lounge

FM INTERVIEW: HATTABLE

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

I'm back in the studios once again and it's once again time for another round of FM interviews. These are always a delight, as some people take the crown on very nobly and others goof around while they've got the power to do so. We'll just have to see how this one turns out.
So without further ado, if you haven't read the title card already, our new Featured Member is the lovely Sir @Hattable.


Hattable: Sure.

H: Iii woke up and logged into yewis andd saw my name on the FM thing before I even typed in my username-- didn't receive any messages until a while later

H:

H: Not technically 2 months, it's like 2 weeks that cross over from one month to the other, lel, but uhh-- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh, uh
uhhh
uhhhhh
elevator music and white noise

H: Thanks

H: Uhh, rigged election

H: Myself, again
jk, I have no idea
why're you asking me to hand off the title already

H: I fell off the wagon for a couple weeks but I posted a new poem last night. Hoping to get back into the groove of it in these last few days of NaPo, but not sure how that'll gooo...


Well I'll just have to take that as a no, as it seems our guest star has already exited the building. This column will be back in a few shakes of an arthritic lamb's tail.
See y'all in a few weeks!

NAPO POET SPOTLIGHT: WITH THEBLUECAT


This year National Poetry Writing Month attracted members from all areas of the site to participate. There were green usernames, and blue usernames, and even some red and gold ones. There were self-declared "prose people" and of course that strange group of "poetry people". There were veterans of NaPo who'd competed for years before, and some joining the ranks for the first time! One member who decided to try NaPo for the first time this year was @TheBlueCat! And she jumped in with flying colors, actually completing all 30 poems, the Garden Challenge (where you comment on NaPo threads 30 times), and even the Inspo Challenge and Jam Challenges as well.



TheBlueCat: Well a lot of other people started talking about it and I had to find out what it was.



T: I have no clue! I guess the challenge of completing 30 poems in a month was enough to keep me going! Inspo for NaPo also helped sooo much; I would have run out of ideas very quickly otherwise.



T: Nope xD I've been looking for one the whole time when gathering inspo and participation in NaPo, but my poems are just so different that's it's hard to find one! I guess 'random thoughts' would work xD



T: Reading poems! As much fun as it was to write them, I loved following others' threads and reading their poems. Although writing jams were great fun too; but there seemed to only be jams for the first week and then they dissipated. The beginning hype of NaPo only lasts so long I suppose.



T: How to write a poem in a minute xD I definitely did learn more about myself though! I dug deep and found some poems waiting deep in my mind as well as explored some new areas of poems. I also learned how to keep my perfectionist away from editing them or scraping them completely because I wouldn't have had even 10 poems then!



T: Thanks so much for having me!

To read the specifics of the challenges that TheBlueCat participated in or to log your own contest participation, you can follow The Contest Thread Link, you can also check out TheBlueCat's Poetry Thread: a garden of stars and cats. Congratulations to TheBlueCat for completing your first year of National Poetry Writing Month and congratulations to everyone else who has participated this year as well!

POP CULTURE CORNER: ALTERNATE MARVEL PITCHES

written by LadyLizz< PM: >

Avengers: Infinity War came out last week and broke the box office, as well as breaking a few of their characters. And while it is much too early to provide any spoilers, there has been some commentary on the plot line, from our consistent media commentator, @Gringoamericano.
He says:



Because we can have no spoilers in like the first week of the box office, this article is now switching to other franchises that Disney/Marvel can consider in the upcoming years.

After some discussion over how the Avengers would be better with dogs, Gring also suggested this:




The television series, Krypto the Superdog, already has part of the animal superhero market covered.


Plus we also have the new Justice League and Batman vs Superman, which was seemed like there was just a pack of wild dogs causing havoc on the set. Turned out that was just the actors.

I for one would certainly like to see the showdown between two internet canine superhero celebrities. Talk about an exciting plotline.
Bat Dachshund vs Super Chihuahua


Tilting the focus back to the different Disney franchises, I'd also like you to consider the Herbie movies and the subsequent Mechanics Initiative. He would make a great, completely metal replacement for Bucky Barnes. Maybe Captain America can be replaced by a red, white and blue F-150, just getting as much of the patrioticness in there as possible.

He already has the patriotic racing stripes going on.

Another avenue to consider is the Mickey Mouse gang as the Avengers, who have already made a few appearances in costume on the sides of Easter baskets and Halloween buckets. They are much better at crime fighting than Tony Stark, probably better at handling money too, rather than selling an entire company just because they didn't feel like fighting anymore.
Hoorah for the Mouse Initiative.


Or an all female superhero cast. But we honestly have better luck at getting them to crossover into classic Disney cartoons, than having that happen for once.

While I can appreciate the fact that superhero movies have one motive (to make money), it wouldn't hurt to throw some quality in there once in awhile. Or at least cut down on the dark and brooding looks.
Please just take a page out of the book from the 1960s Batman tv series and return to a place where the criminals wore jumpsuits with their logos on them.


We just need some more bombs with "bomb" spraypainted on the front, some really bad bat riddles and maybe some shark repellent (which is a legit thing now but still laughable .

That's all I've got.
This might sound ranting because that's what it is.
Go fight those sharks if you find yourself hanging from the Bat Helicopter, and stay tuned for next week's poll on the 1960s Batman series. If you haven't seen it before, go watch it now.

HOW TO: WRITE ANTAGONISTS - PART ONE

written by ShadowVyper < PM: >

Antagonists. Whether you hate to love them or love to hate them, they are a vital part to any story-telling endeavor. At the heart of fiction is conflict. Conflict provides a challenge for the main character, something to stand between him and his goals. It provides a sense of excitement to the storyline, adding in a measure of uncertainty about whether the main character will be able to emerge victorious.

An antagonist could be a person, place, situation, or thing. Oftentimes the antagonist is the spark that triggers growth in your protagonists, leading readers to a deeper appreciation of the complexity of your main character and allowing you to explore facets of your character’s personality that you might not have considered at first. At the very least, antagonists provide an interesting source of conflict to aid the plot. Here’s what some famous authors have to say about antagonists:







Because antagonists are so important to a good story, it’s vital to know how to write them well. But before we go any further, let’s clear up a common misconception. Antagonists and villains are not the same thing. Oftentimes antagonists are villains, and villains are almost always antagonists — but there are subtle differences. One of the biggest differences is that an antagonist is a person or situation that is opposing or hostile to someone or something. A villain is a character who is almost certainly evil, and the evil actions and motives are important to the plot.

So why does this matter? Because villains are, at their very core, evil. @ Elinor wrote in Villian Cliches to Avoid about three common flaws in villains and how to avoid them. But in order to avoid the cliches, you need to think up realistic back-stories and motivation for your villain. Aside from Megamind, villains should not want to be bad for the sake of being bad. Whether it’s Sauron, searching for his lost ring to save him from the forsaken tower he’s confined to; or You Know Who, trying to kill Harry Potter before he can grow up and fulfill the prophecy; all good villains have some ambition or fear that motivates them to action.







An antagonist, on the other hand, might not be evil at all. If your main character is a student trying to maintain the minimum GPA to stay on the football team, then your antagonist could be a prickly math teacher who won’t give the jock a pass. The teacher may genuinely have the student’s best interests in mind (I.e. future success over short-lived fame in high school), but it would still provide a sense of conflict for the desperate student trying to juggle his football practices with studying for geometry.

In one of my novels, I have a rather short-lived antagonist. When he first meets my main character, he foils her attempts at gathering information from a common enemy. When they meet a second time, he’s in charge of guarding a prisoner she’s trying to help escape. In both of these situations he creates conflict and difficulty for my protagonist — but later in the novel they end up teaming up for the greater good to save someone who is dear to them both. He has his own motivations for sabotaging her earlier endeavors (money, in his case), but it doesn’t make him evil. He’s trying to make a way for himself, more than he’s trying to foil my main character; and he certainly doesn’t view himself as a villain. As John Rogers said:




If you want to create a quality antagonist you really need to understand the desires, motivations, and faults of the character. Don’t be afraid to dig into the antagonist and develop them, just as you would your protagonist. Next week I will explore five common types of antagonists, the strengths they add to your novel, and ways to make them creative and truly your own — instead of just another trope.

Be sure to check back next week for Part Two!

~Shady

NAPO THREAD HIGHLIGHTS

written by alliyah < PM: >

NaPo is officially drawing to a close this week and the National Poetry Month Writers are coming to the end of their threads. Several poets have already made it to 30 and some are still working on putting on those last finishing touches. This year the NaPo threads have covered a host of different topics from rain storms, love, tarot cards, seasons changing, traveling, magic, heartache, alliterative animals, God, space, and everything inbetween.
There have been some beautiful lines in every thread and this week we bring a few last ones to highlight.

Lives poured into full glasses
Threatening to spill
I have loved you
You have loved me
But it passes

@corvidconvalescence "Day 25"

I know where evil lurks, and I want to shout
loud enough for its red-eyed face to poke out
from its soundproof room and hear my battle cry -

Science is my God;
burn the heretics.

@TheSilverFox"epa"

gauntlets of ice cling to your knuckles
high atop the peaks of a foreign world.

@Hattable untitled

You will bend beneath the rampant
gales of disapproving tyrants
and stand up to the metal beasts
which scrounge your world with char.

@Aley "You are a child..."

i exist in a space between
wanting and knowing while
having slips between my fingertips
catching on a nail,

@Meshugenah "32"

while the soldiers walk down narrow streets,
the people bow in praise and shame, for
they have just sacrificed, their only king.

@LadyBird "song 76"

I’ll stare at the sky and bake
in this desert's sun. I’ll break
apart like mud in dried lakes.
I will ripen. I will age.

You will go and roam and change,
and stuck here, I'll stay the same.

@fortis "The Taste of Leaving"

...She will
carry butterflies in her palms and
the trees will sing her name.

@Lauren2010 "XXVIII ten of cups"

home is not where my heart is
whispers that knowing little voice
that same one that on those lonely nights
murmurs what else, what else, what else

@TriSARAHtops "that thing they call wanderlust (part two)"

And those are our last round of NaPo highlights for the month. It's been an absolute joy following everyone's NaPo journey, and I thank all you NaPo poets for sharing your poetry! Remember to check out the rest of the NaPo Threads as the poets finish up their NaPo writing, and congratulate them or leave your comments. Thanks for following the highlights!

ANIME MANIAC HOUR: BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA written by Kanome < PM: >

For those anime fans out there, welcome back to another Anime Maniac Hour! Today I would like to discuss one of the most popular animes that just came out with a new season. The reasons I enjoy this show is because of character development and the plot itself. It has interesting characters on the show that most people connect with. This anime is basically about a world where people have powers, or called ‘quirks’ and they go on paths on becoming either a hero or a villain. The story focuses on a boy who was born without a quirk, therefore, is considered normal but one day, he got a quirk and now is on the path on becoming one of the best heroes. The anime I am speaking of is called as it says in the title: Boku no Hero Academia aka My Hero Academia.



Like I said, this story follows a boy named Izuku Midoriya. He was born without a quirk, but one day, he obtained the quirk called One for All, a quirk that has been passed down for generations. He uses this quirk to develop it and make it stronger in his own way. His main goal is to become a hero like his all-time favorite hero, All Might. After he obtained the quirk, he had also obtained rivals, such as his childhood friend and enemy, Katsuki Bakugou, who Midoriya refers to him as ‘Kacchan’. Bakugo would bully him because of him not having a quirk, therefore, calling him ‘Deku’ ( Defenseless Izuku ).

There are other characters that are interesting to follow and see develop. There has been many fandoms revolving this anime, one of them being Midoriya x Bakugou fanfiction. Trust me, I have read a few, and it shows how much fans enjoy the show as much as I did. I have yet to see season 3, which is the new season that came out, but i have heard interesting things about it so far. Ask yourself this, if you were in the world in the anime, what kind of quirk would you have? I would love to hear responses about that one.

If you guys have any suggestions on what I should discuss next, simply PM me. I am gladly open to any suggestions you may offer. Stay tuned!

WORD OF THE WEEK: PIQUEwritten by marms
< PM: >

Pronunciation: pique

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: a feeling of irritation or resentment resulting from a slight, especially to one's pride.

Synonyms: irritation, annoyance, resentment, anger, displeasure

Origin: From 1525-1535, from French word ‘piquer’ meaning to prick or to irritate.

Used in a Quote: “Let him sensibly perceive, that the kindness he [shows] to others, is no ill husbandry for himself; but that it brings a return in kindness both from those that receive it, and those who look on. Make this a contest among children, who shall outdo one another in this way: and by this means, by a constant practise, children having made it easy to themselves to part with what they have, good nature may be settled in them into a habit, and they may take pleasure, and pique themselves in being kind, liberal and civil to others.” ― English philosopher, John Locke

NEW ARRIVALS
written by ShadowVyper < PM: >

Take a moment to welcome this week’s newest members to the site!

@ARandomVoltronFan is jumping into the excitement of YWS by signing up for their very first review day and becoming part of blue team! They’ve also already posted the first chapter of their novel The Depths Be sure to go drop a review on it!

@Namjoon2003 has really embraced the spirit of YWS and threw themselves into becoming an active member of the site. In less than a week they’ve already contributed 21 reviews, including several for the red team for the April 2018 Review Day. At the time when I wrote this article they were already ranked #3 for review day. WOW! You can return the favor of all their hard work reviewing by leaving some feedback on a poem they posted called Wishes and Hopes

@TheMultipcoloredCyr is also making full use of YWS from the get-go! They have already written 4 reviews in their short time with us, and contributed in a discussion about Favorite and least favorite fictional characters? . In addition, they’ve already shared the first and second chapters of their work Wolf Eyes Go give their writing some love!

@toxicunicorn has started off as a strong reviewer, dropping 4 reviews in less than the week they’ve been with us. In addition they’ve posted an awesome poem called Just a Memory Go give it a read and leave a review while you’re there!

@psithurism and @ WendyVermillion have both started their time with us by contributing reviews! Keep an eye out for when they post their first works, so you can return the favor of all their hard work, and in the meantime go drop a welcome on their wall!

@pattyperfection chose to jump into the action right away by posting some of their own writing to be appreciated and critiqued. Go check out the lyrics they posted 1.2.3 and leave some helpful feedback while you’re there!

SHAMELESS PLUGS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >

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SUBSCRIBERS

written by SquillsBot < PM: >
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