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. THE SAW CHALLENGE
2. HOW TO: WRITE ANTAGONISTS - PART TWO
3. FINALS SURVIVAL GUIDE
4. GREEN ROOM GALLERY
5. POP CULTURE CORNER: THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
6. NEW ARRIVALS
7. SHAMELESS PLUGS
8. SUBSCRIBERS

THE SAW CHALLENGE

written by LadyBird< PM: >

Story a Week was started back in March by @Lareine, and today we are joined by the creator and one their officers, @Evander, who made the recent forum post to spark some life back into the project.


Lareine:
I created SAW because I, personally, wanted to finish a volume of work. I'm a believer in the idea that your skill increases by actively writing and finishing pieces, so I wanted to challenge myself to finish so many stories in the next year. I picked 52, since one a week sounded manageable, and similar to LMS. I made it a public competition and club because having more people involved is a good way to keep yourself accountable, and I thought others might have fun challenging themselves too!
For the format, like I mentioned, I drew inspiration from @Tenyo and LMS. It's a pre-established format for a similar competition and it seemed like a good way to run a year long contest.

L: Well, real life happens, and no one person can manage a single project most of the time. While SAW isn't the most active competition ever, it could be! My officers, @Hattable, @bluewaterlily, and the absolutely wonderful @Evander are the best team I could ask for. Evander in particular has been a big help in broadcasting SAW to the forums! I'm mostly a technical coordinator, keeping track of submissions and updating with prompts, while Evander is really the heart behind the recent advertising.
In any case, officers are always a necessary part of a well oiled competition. They're willing to help out where needed, and that makes them invaluable to SAW as a whole!

Evander: Ohh, hmm, I think I like Changeling Children the most. It was about a subject that had been in the back of my mind for... maybe a year or so? And I'm happy to finally have it out on paper. Well, not paper. The screen. You get what I'm saying!
L: My favorite short so far is actually one I have yet to finish, Fairystruck. It's an urban fantasy noir featuring a neon-grunge Seer and a cursed private investigator. The second part will probably be forthcoming in the next week or two!

L: It's kind of an aesthetic of mine. I take it to be a combination of grunge aesthetic and culture with a retro feel of neon lights and psychedelia.

E: It's about race car drivers back in the 1950s.

E: Just kidding. Yes! It's about children who are changelings.

L: I'm always happy, but I'd love to see more people taking part! It's great to see people enjoying themselves while working to get better at their craft.
E: The participation in the start was great, but it seems to have tapered off a little bit because of exams season. Hence why I started the advertising thread. We actually have two new participants, so I'm excited to see what sort of stories that they'll deliver!
L: One story I really enjoyed is A Soul's Frolic by @PrincessInk. And of course everything @Sonder does is absolutely amazing. I can't pick a favorite story so far from any of the competitors.
E: Admittedly, I've only read a few stories here and there xD I mainly read and review my Ally's (Hattable's) works.

L: I think that's all! Thank you so much!
E: Yep, I think that’s all.


If you haven't joined the challenge already, go now.

HOW TO: WRITE ANTAGONISTS - PART TWO

written by ShadowVyper < PM: >

Last week I started a how-to for writing believable antagonists. If you missed it check it out here , but the highlights were establishing the purpose of an antagonist and making a distinction of how they are different from villains. Antagonists exist to create conflict for your character, but might be neutral or even good characters while they do so (or even be a situation or thing, rather than a person at all). Villains propel the story forward through nefarious machinations, having motivation to actively work against your character.

This week, I’m going to explore five different types of antagonists that are common in novels. These antagonists range from the traditional, scheming villain to inanimate objects — whatever it takes to keep your protagonist from reaching his goal. I based my research largely off of the article posted on NowNovel.com called Types of antagonists: Creating riveting opponents , which I found helpful in my own writing. Here are the five basic types of antagonists they describe:



This is the one I touched on last week. They’re the villains who have some motivation for wanting to see your character fail. Whether it brings them money, power, revenge: this villain is hoping to gain something from your protagonist not being able to succeed on their mission. If you go with this sort of antagonist, make sure that you come up with believable motivation for their actions, explain the reason for their corruption, and give them vulnerabilities or weaknesses.



This is the antagonist that is often surprising, because no one expects their friend to “turn” on them. This is the character who started out on the same side as your protagonist, but over the course of the story drifted away towards their own ambitions or desires. This could play out if you have two characters who go into business together, only to find out later that one embezzled from the company and caused bankruptcy for both, ruining both the friendship and your protagonist’s financial security. Another example is when Moira Queen turns on Frank Chen during the first season of Arrow in order to save herself. Listen to what Now Novel has to say about this type of antagonist:






This is another type of antagonist I mentioned last week, with the example of the math teacher. This character exists to stand between your protagonist and their main goals. You could even use this type of antagonist to show something larger about your world, such as the nature of authority figures where your character lives. Maybe you could use a specific antagonist to uncover the broader themes of power-drunk politicians and how little power people have over corrupt governments. Or you could use this type of antagonist to show cultural values that could stand in between your character and their desire, such as a girl in a patriarchal society being denied education or a boy being denied his passion of art because his military-oriented society doesn’t deem it a masculine pursuit. If you go with this type of antagonist, just be sure to think about how they will interfere and how that interference will impact your protagonist.



I mentioned earlier that an antagonist doesn’t necessarily have to be a person. Sometimes the thing that stands between your character and his goal is nature itself. This is one of the only types of antagonists that doesn’t need a clear motivation or a back story. In your story, this antagonist could be anything from the daunting mountain range your daring adventurer must cross, to a violent gale marooning your protagonist on a deserted island, to a pack of rabid monkeys on that island that forces your weary character to flee for his life and lose his entire food supply for the week. Whatever you choose, make sure to keep it unpredictable, vary the intensity of the opposition, and make the danger real.

While facing a sociopathic cannibal might be cause for fear, it won’t keep your reader’s attention long if the cannibal is kept under lock and key every waking moment with no chance of escape. It’s okay to let the antagonist score a few points sometimes. Maybe your character isn’t able to scale the face of the cliff — instead a piece breaks off and sends him tumbling to the ground with a broken ankle. Maybe that contaminated water wasn’t boiled long enough and your character faces a bout of sickness. Maybe the bitter winter takes a finger or toe from frost-bite. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s engaging and feasible.



In my opinion, this is one of the most difficult antagonists to write. In this case, the antagonist and the protagonist are the same — or, more precisely, the antagonist is some internal conflict or weakness that the protagonist must work to overcome. For example, your character’s inner saboteur could be a drug or alcohol addiction, or even a sense of crushing insecurity that negatively impacts the quality of your character’s life.

If you go with this type of antagonist, make sure that you show the destructive behavior in action. Instead of just talking about a girl’s insecurity about her body, show her in the bathroom puking up her dinner, or crying on the scales, or running to the point fainting on a treadmill. If your character is a habitual liar, show how his daughter grows more and more wary of him, to the point of not even believing him when he says he loves her, or how his friends no longer speak to him, and his boss demoted him at work. Make sure that it’s clear what the problem is, and why it is that it’s a problem.

As you’re thinking of the antagonist for your character, be sure to think about the origins of the self-destructive behavior. No one just wakes up one morning and decides to be bulimic, just as no one wants to become an alcoholic. What led to this destructive behavior in the first place? Bullying? Unrealistic expectations set by the media or friends? Some deep-set trauma from childhood? A means of escape from problems at work or home that went further than the character intended?



Choosing your type of antagonist is an important first step. Figuring out where you want the conflict to stem from can help you develop believable back-stories and character motivation that will propel your main storyline forward. Whichever type of antagonist you choose, make sure you leave a weakness that can be used to overcome the barrier between the protagonist and his goal. Whether that’s a spectacular fight where your character can pull out a sliver of kryptonite in his battle with Superman, or a fortunately placed cave where your character can wait-out a tsunami, or even a weakness for pizza from that specific shop on the corner that can convince your best friend to stop her hunger strike — make sure there’s a way around whatever antagonist you created, that your protagonist will find eventually.

Next week I will continue this antagonist how-to with a part three, exploring motivations and character flaws that will allow you to create a complex antagonist. Just as your protagonist is nothing without quirks and flaws, your antagonist will feel trite and unsatisfying to your readers if you don’t consider factors that play into their behavior. Check back next week to round out your antagonist!

~Shady

FINALS SURVIVAL GUIDE

written by alliyah < PM: >

It's mid-late May and you know what that means... finals! There's that last cummulative history exam you've been worrying about all year, the four essays that are due on the same day, and maybe throw in some pop-quizes and final projects and presentations for fun too. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the moving parts in the last weeks of school. I don't consider myself an expert on this subject by any means, but I survived High School, college, and my first round of Grad-School finals, so here are my tips if you want them!

Make a Plan
My mom loves the phrase, "plan your work, and work your plan" and every year when finals come around this phrase repeats and repeats in my head. It may be obvious, but it's a lot easier to take inventory of what needs to be done and then actually execute it if you have a plan. Seeing everything that needs to be done might feel overwhelming at first, but it is a lot better than forgetting something or feeling overwhelmed by the "unknown".

I personally like to draw up a calendar of my finals week(s) and then write down in red every test, exam, or paper I need to do. Then I figure out how much time I need to study or write for each task and add that to my schedule in blue. By getting a visual of when I need to do each task, I can move stuff around and spread out the work every day, so that I can better manage my time. If my finals are really busy, I'll even write out my schedule to the hour - figuring out when I need to wake-up, eat, and of course scheduling breaks now and then to keep me sane. In the worst-case scenario when you write out your schedule you'll find out that you don't actually have time to get everything done. Remember a few missing assignment are probablly not going to make-or-break your grade, but flunking a final could. Prioritize the big stuff, and start as early as you can to avoid running out of time.

Don't Procrastinate
Again this is so much easier said than done. I mean who doesn't enjoy surfing the internet for hours to find out why horse is spelled with an "e" at the end, rather than studying for your history exam? Here's a few tips to help avoid procrastinating.
1) Recognize and name when you're procrastinating. It's easier to convince yourself to procrastinate when you're pretending you're really being productive. But getting lost in research holes at the last minute or washing out your collection of mugs for an hour is still procrastination, even if it's technically productive. Prioritize what needs to be done, and then don't let other things stop you.
2) Shut your phone off or put it airplane mode if you're not expecting an emergency phone call. A quick check of a text or facebook notification can go down-hill into getting completely side-tracked. And checking your phone once every 20 minutes, will add up!
3) If necessary use site-blockers on your computer. I admit I sometimes have a serious problem with procrastinating, especially on papers that I don't think will take very long. If you have the problem of getting side-tracked by youtube, or online shopping, or *gasp* even YWS, a site-blocking website might help you out. I use an app called "Cold Turkey" (found on Google Play). When you need to comit some time to just writing an essay - you type in the sites you need blocked, set how long you want to be blocked from them, and then you're good to go.
4) My last tip to avoid procrastinating, is just start somewhere even if it's small. It's a lot easier to build up the motivation to work on an essay that's been started than starting completely from scratch. Start small if you need to work your way up to it. Write the outline, or maybe just the paragraph that you're really excited about and don't need extra research for. If you're studying for a test, it's okay to start with the material you know the best and work your way up to the really hard stuff.

Take Good Care of Yourself
Lastly, and certainly not least, take care of yourself! Your mental and physical health are really more important than any grade is. And taking regular breaks while working and checking in on your personal wellbeing will likely also help your work get done. Make sure to take time to sleep, eat actual food, hydrate, get some sun, and talk to your friends. While it's important to buckle down and get work done, being in a frenzied, exhausted, and stressed state will not allow you to do your best work. If you tend to get really emersed in your work, I would suggest setting a timer for every hour and half to make sure that you stand up, drink some water etc.

I wish you all the best of luck on all of your finals! I believe in you. You can do this. So go out there and plan your work and work your plan!

GREEN ROOM GALLERYwritten by Kanome < PM: >

It’s that time again where we have to conquer that room full of stories written by amazing writers. Of course, I am talking about the Green Room. Last month, everyone did an amazing job on review day clearing out the Green Room, but there are new works in there that hasn’t been reviewed yet. Here are some of the works you should recommend reading if you are having a hard time finding something to read, or if you have a hard time reviewing.

Summoning Persephone Part 16 by @Dreamworx95
Based on Greek mythology but with its own fictional twist. Persephone must bring an offering to Athena, Goddess of War, in order to gather the strength she needs to kill Zeus, God of Thunder and Sky. I have been reading this novel myself, and it is an interesting read. It provides Persephone’s background and as to why she wants to accomplish this goal. There are also other characters who have interesting personalities, such as Hades. If you have a knack for Greek mythology, this is definitely the story for you.

The Chosen Grandma Chapter 34.1 by @BlueAfrica
If you enjoy humorous yet serious novels, this is definitely worth the read. This is about an evil force that needs to be destroyed, and the only one who can do it is the ‘Chosen One’. Usually, a teenager or a young adult would be the chosen one. Instead, it is an elder woman, a grandmother. There are comical aspects throughout the novel, even though the plot is serious itself.

Eden Chapter Two by @ThatGeekyGirl
Basically, the story is about a girl named Eden who has passed from an accident, but instead of her soul passing to either Heaven or Hell, it is stuck in purgatory. Sounds an interesting story to read, especially with the paranormal aspect in it. There is also a bit of romance in the story as well. Who doesn’t love ghost love? If you are into paranormal stories, then this is the one for you.

Those are some of the novels in the Green Room that need to be conquered, but don’t read it just to get it out of there, read it with determination, with passion. There are also many poems in the Green Room as well if you have a poetic side such as:

Ode to Homeschooling by @poetrywriter44
Sunny Side Down by @Traves
I glimpsed by @Radrook
Before Whenever by @TriSARAHtops

There are many works in the Green Room that require your attention. Let’s knock on some of those works out of there! If you want to make it into a challenge when reviewing works in the Green Room, consider becoming a Knight of the Green Room. Simply read Knights of the Green Room Information to learn about how to join, how to earn badges, and how to set up your Knight log for Green Room reviews. Also, as part of KotGR, you can also join the After Watch, which features a group of people who review works in the Green Room after review day when the Green Room is empty. It’s their job to keep the Green Room clear and to see how long it lasts. Read up on The After Watch for more information. Let’s go and clear out the Green Room! Huzzah!

POP CULTURE CORNER: THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

written by LadyBird< PM: >

If you somehow think that I would be talking about the sci-fi movie, please just leave now.
And I'm not talking about long running TV series , either, though I would really love to some day.

Instead this article is about the Midnight Special folk song, that has been covered by basically every country and/or folk singer.
This song, like many other folk songs, doesn't have particularly clear origins. It was first published in wide print in the early 1900s. That first print version was done in 1905/1906 and attributed to being a prison song, which is theorized to be where some of its most famous early performers learned it.

The oldest recording was done in 1926 by Dave "Pistol Pete" Cutrell who was a member of the Otto Gray and his Oklahoma Cowboys , which was the first western/country band to really make a name for themselves nationwide. The version that they performed was called Pistol Pete's Midnight Special , which is a bit gravelly but that quality can be taken into consideration.
The lyrics to this version:

1 Wake up in the morning, hear the ding dong ring,
Go a marching to the table, there's the same old thing
Chorus:
2 Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me.
Let the Midnight Special shine her ever-loving light on me.
Yonder comes my woman. How do you know?
I can tell her by her apron and the dress she wore.
Unbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand.
A marching down to the captain, she says, "I wants my man."
Chorus
3 I never had the blues so, in all my life before,
Than when my baby left me, at the jailhouse door.
Oh, she left me crying, the tears rolled down her face.
Says, "I'd rather see you dead, boy, than in this place."
Chorus
4 Now, Mister McGinty is a good man,
But he's run away now with a cowboy band.
Chorus
5 Now Otto Gray, he's a Stillwater man,
But he's manager now of a cowboy band.
Chorus
6 When you go to the city, boys, you better have the kale,†
Or the law, they'll arrest you, and they'll put you in jail.
The judge he'll fine you, they'll shake you down,
If you haven't got the money, boys, you're jailhouse bound.
Chorus:
7 If you got a good man, woman, you better keep him at home,
For those city women won't leave him alone.
They'll paint and powder, they sure look swell,
And the first thing you know, woman, your man's gone to -uh- singing
Chorus:

You can see how in their version, they personalized it to their band, which is something we often see with songs from this era. They get personalized to the region, the audience and/or to the performer, depending on the circumstances.

Folk songs are a lot about being relatable.
And how do you make a song relatable?
You adapt it to the situation.

When Carl Sandburg published The American Songbag in 1927, the song reached an even larger audience. That link doesn't have Midnight Special on it, just three songs with a few quotes from Sandburg.

The most famous version was done in 1934 by Leadbelly , who at the time was attributed for writing the song. This is partially correct because he did change it more than previous bands had but it was still an open history song with no real origin.
His lyrics went like this:

Yonder comes Miss Rosie, how in the world do you know?
Well, I know her by the apron and the dress she wore
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
Well, I'm goin' and ask the governor, he turnin' loose my man
Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me
Now let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me
When you gets up in the morning, when that big bell ring
You go to marching to the table, where you meet the same damn thing
Knife and fork are on the table, there's nothing in my pan
And if you said a thing about it, havin' trouble with the man
Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me
Oh, let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me
Well I went to the nation and to Terry Jo
But I thought about the a I love, lived in Mexico
Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me
Now, let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me
If you ever go to Houston, oh you better walk right
And you better not squabblue and you better not fight
Bashin' Bronco will arrest you, Eddie Boone will take you down
You can bet your bottom dollar, penitentiary bound
Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me
Now, let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me
Well, jumpin' little Judy, she was a mighty fine girl
Well, Judy brought jumpin' to this whole round world
Well, she brought it in the mornin', just a while before day
She brought me the news, that my wife was dead
That started me to grievin', then hollerin' and a-cryin'
Then I was gettin' worried, 'bout it's been a long time
Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me

One of my favorite versions was done by Wilma Lee Cooper . Her version is titled Big Midnight Special .
Her version:

Big midnight special shine your light on me
Big midnight special shine your everlovin' light on me
Woke up this morning heard the whistle blow
The jailer said come boy it's time to go
Big midnight special
I've never had the blues so in my life before
Till my baby left me at the station door
Big midnight special
They put him in a Pullman guards around his door
Said you off to Atlanta to serve ten years more
Big midnight special
He looked all around him in the Pullman car
Saw the men wearin' clothe hats smoking big cigars
Big midnight special
Took him off in Atlanta at the end of the line
Said you start servin' time boy for your awful crime
Big midnight special
That whistle makes me lonesome of the midnight train
But he knows I'm waitin' till he brings him home again
Big midnight special
Shine your light on me

However the version that most people are familiar with, is the one done by John Fogerty, done on the Willy and the Poor Boys album in 1969.
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Midnight Special .

Everyone has heard the CCR version at some point, whether voluntarily or on a radio station during rush hour traffic and you just couldn't change the channel.
This article was really just here to show some other great versions, so give them a listen.

NEW ARRIVALSwritten by EternalRain < PM: >

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

@ElleRose has joined YWS in hopes of getting back into her hobby of writing.

@MelonCat and @TBird have made their way to the forums and have both made a topic in the Welcome Mat thread, the first step to immersing themselves in the YWS experience.

@boombas4 has completed 3 reviews so far, as well as has an absolutely adorable profile picture. They also have a poem posted, titled The End .

SHAMELESS PLUGS

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