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Young Writers Society


Squills 6/11/18 - 6/17/18



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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:32 am
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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!

CREATIVE STAFF

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Editor-in-Chief
Aley

General Editors
EternalRain
killeham

Friendly Neighborhood Robot
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Literary Reporter
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Community Reporter
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Poetry Enchantress
Aley
alliyah

Resources Reporter
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Storybooks Status Reporter
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Writer's World Columnist
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Anime Maniac
Kanome

Social Correspondent
EternalRain
LadyLizz

Code Master
killeham

General Reporters
Neptune
IvoryRose
elysian
BuriKun

Ghost Reporter
ShadowVyper



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!





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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:36 am
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NEW ARRIVALS
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written by EternalRain < PM: >

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

@Barcodes has made some friends in the Welcome Mat. Besides writing, they also like to draw!

@SimpleBicycle has created a thread in the Welcome Mat and also has completed 5 reviews, which means they have their first review star! They’ve completed NaNoWriMo a whopping four times!!

@Solan has jumped into the community with some reviews and has also posted a story up, titled The Introduction .



Other members who haven't had a chance to be as active, but are no less a member of our family are...







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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:39 am
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A SLIGHTLY OLDER WRITER'S SOCIETY
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written by BiscuitsLeGuin< PM: >

I joined Young Writers Society in 2013, when I was fifteen. Five years on, I'm now twenty, and not feeling so young anymore. I thought it'd be fun to have a look at what's changed and what's stayed the same in my five years onsite.

Five things that have changed

1. For me, the most significant change that has increased my enjoyment has been the extent to which people are more accepting of others. I don't know if it was just a significant period when I joined, but there were quite a lot of identities being attacked in every direction. I have noticed far more now that on walls people are much more willing to take the view of respecting everyone's right to live their lives the way they want, even if they will never understand those lifestyles.

2. Chat. Obviously I have to mention that thing which is somewhere between a monkey and dragon in the room. When chat first left I was devastated, though of course I understood and sympathized with the reasoning. I was terrified that this community I'd become so close to would disintegrate. But fear not! Socializing lives, on walls, in forums and, bringing me onto my third point ...

3. Way more write-ins! I adore write-ins! One of the most difficult things about writing for me is how lonely it can sometimes be. It's just you, your brain and a blank page. But with friends around you, cheering you on, suggesting word wars, it's way easier.

The YWSers. The cast of people you can find around the site is so very very different from when I joined. There are so many people I haven't spoken to in years and who I really miss. @Messenger, @thewriter13, @steampowered, @ForgottenMemories, @Alpha, @Blues and @ArcticMonkey to name a few ... However, there are lots of newer members that I'm really glad I have gotten to meet in recent years! @inktopus, @LadyBird, @DragonNoir, @Kaylaa, @Gringoamericano, @Hattable ... I am really glad that I get to spend time chatting to you all.

5. This isn't so much something that's changed about the site, but it's been a big change for me. I'm a mod now! It's really interesting to be involved in the work that keeps the site ticking over and in coming up with new fun things to do. I love being a mod so much because this community has given me so much that it genuinely just makes me happy to give it some love and do good by it.

Five things that have stayed the same

1. Reviewing. I love that reviewing is the bedrock of YWS, and whenever I tell anyone about the site they are always impressed by how much our system is geared towards making sure everyone gets at least some feedback on their work ... especially when the people I'm telling have wattpad accounts ;) I love that the Knights of the Green Room still strive to uphold this, and I love that people still try to improve the quality of their reviews so that they can help their fellow writers as much as possible.

2. Chaos. There is so much going on on the site at any one moment that it's almost hard to keep track of. There's Team Tortoise, Last Man Standing, 100 Words Daily, Story a Week and many more initiatives to keep people writing and reviewing. I also adore the fact that we still have the same all time leaderboard. I've been working my way up it bit by bit and this year I finally cracked into the top hundred!

3. Word wars. There will always be word wars. They're such a useful tool to just yank you out of your rut and get you past that fatal road bump. Once you're done, you can edit what you produced, and hopefully carry on with renewied fervour for your work. I hope we never stop doing these.

4. The YWSers, again! I am so glad to be able to talk to some people on this site that have been around since I joined. @Evander, @Aley, @BlueAfrica, @Elinor, @fortis, @ScarlettFire, @Lareine, @StellaThomas... if I've missed anyone it's probably because you changed your name and I can't find you. I've had some amazing conversations with all of you over the years, and special mention to @Rosendorn for teaching me about the concept of cisgenderness, the first step on my road to realising I'm non-binary.

5. Special events. Whether it's Christmas in July, Monkeys vs Dragons, Review day, or anything else we do for a special occasion, I love that YWS has its own special calendar. It makes me feel like I'm in this whole other country with its own sacred traditions that will live beyond those who made them. For a relatively small internet community, I think that's pretty special.

---

So that's been my journey on YWS. Feel free to post on your wall something about yours! Or, if you're just at the start of your journey, feel free to ask me about anything I've mentioned that you haven't yet heard of. And in the hopes that YWS continues into the future, I'll leave you with that classic review sign-off...

Keep on writing!





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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:40 am
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PONDERING ABOUT POETRY
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written by killeham< PM: >

For me, poetry is about speaking your mind even if you have no idea what you’re feeling. The sheer wanting of writing is what needs to be there to make it your own - even if you’re painting a broken marriage and your parents are fine and happy. How your feelings are put into words is the magic of poems.

My inspiration for NaPo, as an example, was what happened to me that day. I saw my parents fighting about concrete, and I wrote a structured poem that was rather literal. And some days I tried to be super theoretical, and I have no clue as to how it was perceived, but that was what my brain wanted to then.

A forum post that has caught my eye is this in Poetry Discussion: What is Your Motivation?

Talking about motivation is interesting to me since that’s a compilation of how you’re feeling and what you want to do about those feelings. I like the idea of using your past experiences to sort of shape not only how you approach the future but also how you write. Who you are may change, and your way of writing or composing poems may be affected, or it may not.

You never know until you start writing again, because maybe in a day your whole perspective has changed, or maybe it took six months for you to finally proclaim your love for someone, and now you want to write about jubilant smiles and blooming hopes.

The most important part about poetry in my eyes is what the writer gets out of it. Unless you’re seeking to life off fortunes from your published works, most likely you write for fun, right? And, it’s really crucial that you write for your love for it, or maybe the therapeutic feel you get when you let out your emotions.

Like my poetry example, I was feeling rather frustrated hearing them argue about the garage floor, so I let it go - slowly albeit - in a short poem, and I did my best to ignore that sensation again. My parents were over it eventually anyways.

If discussing what goes into your poetry interests you, then please send in your thoughts to that discussion, or simply dive into Poetry Tutorials to get some general and specific advice on poetry.

I hope this peaked your interest on poetry in general, and I hope to see you all putting your thoughts on what goes into your own poetry!





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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:45 am
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TWO CENTS: SIDE CHARACTERS
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written by Aley < PM: >

This past weekend I went to see Solo with my dad, a huge Star Wars fan, and it seemed to be a movie all about developing side characters. Now, if you know anything about Star Wars, it's probably that Luke is the son of Darth Vader and you probably quote it wrong ["No. I am your father." vs "Luke, I am your father."]. There's nothing wrong with that.

But this movie was all about the juicy details and for me, it was heaven. I love developing side characters, so I'm going to explain why and how I look at side characters in a very short Squills Two Cents.

Side Characters are some of the most valuable challenge points for a main character because basically everyone but them is a side character. Even the villains play second fiddle to the MC. For me, that means that there are different levels within the side character lists. There are basically secondary and tertiary characters. The secondary characters need backstories.

Secondary characters are there to give depth and development to the main character. You can do that by showing contrast with point of view and draw out conversation. If both of your main characters always get along, it will be a very silent book. Instead, having a secondary character with clear goals, developed history, personal fears and belief, will create a more well rounded main character as they disagree with the secondary characters.

For me, the best way to develop side characters is to ask questions, and then answer them based on random instinct. Throw out anything that is close to your MC, and stick with things that will compliment or contradict your MC. After that, make sure that your tertiary characters are put in the story based upon a necessary skill that will help move the plot forward that the MC and secondary characters cannot do on their own.

For instance, Hinageshi in Yu Yu Hakusho: Poltergeist Report is there strictly to inform the group, and it makes Kurama look stupid since his primary role is information terminal.

Give your secondary characters a reason for being there first, and then develop based upon how that reason came to be, and random intuition.

Obviously I'm not on here as a novelist, so I'm going to send you to some people who are, namely the people who write those amazing articles for the Knowledge Base, here are my hot links:

Round Characters and Appropriate Dialogue
Creating the Perfect Secondary Character
Writing a Character From a People Group Not Your Own
And there are so many more if you follow this link to the index of all of the wonderful Character articles where you can read everything from 5 tips for Realistic Characters, to Writing Rounded Characters. I just don't have time to pick and choose the best for every one of you, as they're all the best for people individually.

So, in short, develop your side characters!
They Miss You.





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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:46 am
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A LITTLE HISTORY AND HOW TO ON HAIKU
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written by killeham< PM: >

Hey there everyone! I just wanted to write a short guide on how to approach haiku in general.

Haiku are a type of poem that originates from Japan’s Heian period, when poets were transitioning from longer style poems, also known as “choka” to shorter ones, called “tanka.”

As a comparison, a tanka consists of three lines with 5-7-5 syllables, much like a haiku, and ends with a couplet of seven syllables.

A wave of “peasant” poetry, most likely those viewed less complicated, brought forth a new style first known as “haikai” and later named “renku.”

Haikai began with a triplet known as “hokku” and was considered to be the most important part of the entire poem.

So important in fact, that a famous poet named Basho turned the hokku, later known as haiku, into its own independent poem.

One last very crucial detail in what makes a haiku special - the poem needs to be related to nature in some way.

Also, when Basho made the haiku a separate poem, he did away with making any portion rhyme.

An article that could extend your knowledge on haiku is @Kale’s Things to Consider About Haiku .

Another source I found was History of Haiku .

I hope this sparked your interest in the making of haiku and that you learned something new!

Plus, you could always submit your awesome and newly constituted poems to @snowmonkey9’s Haiku and Tanka Contest by June 15th!

I hope to see some new haiku on YWS soon!





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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:46 am
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SHAMELESS PLUGS
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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.

Code: Select all
Place advertisement here. Make sure you include a title!

And now for this week's Shameless Plugs!


Haiku and Tanka Contest
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snowmonkey9 is hosting a Tanka and Haiku writing contest this month. The deadline for submissions is June 15th and everyone is invited to participate! There are point prizes being offered for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

For more information, follow this link Haiku and Tanka Contest

That's all folks~ Now send us yours.





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Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:47 am
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SUBSCRIBERS
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written by SquillsBot < PM: >
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You are all the colours in one, at full brightness.
— Jennifer Niven, 'All the Bright Places'