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Young Writers Society


Squills 8/25/18 - 9/1/18



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Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:52 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

Spoiler! :


Editor-in-Chief
Aley

General Editors
EternalRain
concord

Friendly Neighborhood Robot
SquillsBot

Literary Reporter
LadyBird

Community Reporter
Neptune

Poetry Enchantress
Aley
alliyah

Resources Reporter
BiscuitsLeGuin

Storybooks Status Reporter
Available - PM Squillsbot if interested

Writer's World Columnist
elysian

Anime Maniac
Kanome

Social Correspondent
EternalRain

Code Master
concord

General Reporters
BiruKun
shaniac
TheWeirdoFromBeyond

Ghost Reporter
ShadowVyper
WritingPrincess



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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Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:55 am
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FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW: ARCTICUS
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written by alliyah < PM: >

This last week the YWS Featured Member was @Arcticus. You may know Arc from his clever wall posts and memes, and his poignant poetry that he often features on his wall. He's been a member since back in 2008 so he is no stranger to the site! The Squills Press was able to get in contact with him for an interview.

Squills: First, how does it feel to be the Featured Member?


Arcticus:It feels really nice. The "Featured Member" tag itself doesn't matter as much as its underlying message: that people on the site see you and your work, and like reading it and appreciate your presence. It's encouraging.

I always tell people that at times, YWS is my sole inspiration for writing. In that sense, to be the FM for a while, is therefore an honor - in its own weirdly sweet little way.


S: Why do you think you were chosen?


A: To be honest, I don't really know why I was chosen. It came as a surprise at first. So, I don't precisely know why, but I think it's because a number of people on the site like reading my poetry?

(Just kidding, I bribed the mods - that's how I'm FM. True story.)


S: Shhh we can't talk about the bribery here. So, you've been on YWS for quite some time, do you have any favorite memories from your time on the site?


A: I do have a bunch of favorite memories, but it's hard to recall them on such short notice! Off the top of my head, I can say that the chatroom, while it existed, was fun. I also remember when the site didn't have a points system but people would still review other people's work. Imagine the sheer philanthropy of it!

My favorite memory would undoubtedly be those long chats with @Phoenix23 - she was on the site for a few years and talking to her was easy because we were from a somewhat similar cultural background, and I really loved the conversations that we had. We lived pretty close geographically but on two separate sides of a border between not so friendly countries, so we couldn't hang out in real life. I'd call her a best friend. She's not active on the site anymore, but we talked so much, on and off the site.

I also like to see that friendship as a symbol for how YWS connects people from all over the world and makes borders seem insignificant because of our shared love for writing and the fact that everything about the site makes you feel like part of one larger, global community (or should I say family)?


S: You write and share quite a bit of poetry on YWS, do you have any advice to other people who want to write poetry?


A: Everyone has their own way of approaching poetry, there are so many variables at play. The only universal advice I can possibly give someone about poetry is that its not just about writing poetry as this static, non-living set of thoughts written in flowery vocabulary. It's also about being observant: observing people, observing things, observing nature, observing your own emotions and your emotional responses to external stimuli, taking in your surroundings.

Look around you and within you, write about what you're truly feeling, what you see in your surroundings - because very often you'll find that these are the themes that you can be most honest about while writing, and these are the most fulfilling themes to write about, because they're the closest to the very fabric of your being.


S: Thanks for those tips! Any shout-outs or final words?


A: If I do shout-outs, it's going to be a pretty long list of names, so I'll skip that. Now, as far as final words are concerned: I just want to say thank you to the people who've been supportive of my work, you know who you are, thanks for the love!

Congratulations again to Arcticus for being featured and for all he's accomplished on the site. If you want to drop by and give him a belated-congratulations you can stop over at the Featured Member Thread .





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:56 am
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YWS CLUBS: STORY INTERVIEWS
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written by WritingPrincess< PM: >


Recently, the Story Interviews club was rebooted. It was an active club back in early 2017, but lately @Saen decided to bring it back. Story Interviews is a close cousin to Character Interviews. It is where writers post information about their stories, and other writers interview them about it. As they recently rebooted the club, I spoke to Saen about it.


WritingPrincess: Hello! Can I interview you about your recently rebooted club, Story Interviews, for Squills?

Saen: I’d love to be interviewed about that! Thank you so much for offering.
W: Brilliant! What made you first decide to reboot the club?

S: It was you, actually! You mentioned that we should try rebooting it, and I wholeheartedly agreed. It had been a very long time since the club was seriously active. Even though I'm about to begin my senior year of high school in a little more than two weeks, I thought it would be a great thing to try doing - I remembered it being a lot of fun back when I started the club.
W: So it was! I remember that. :) How do you feel about everyone flocking to Story Interviews now it’s been rebooted? What was your reaction when you saw how popular your club has become?

S: I've been pretty happy about it. I had tried rebooting the club in the past, but the interest for it was never really there. I think having lms going on right now has really helped, as well as the new experiences I've had with running other clubs. So while I wasn't surprised by how popular it was, I was surprised by how quickly it became active - it was so a major jump back to how it had been in the past!
W: That’s good! Do you have any aims for the future of your club?

S: I’d love for the club to become even more popular. Besides a growth in the amount of members, I'd love for our stories to extend from novels to things like short stories, storybooks and roleplays - since even the last two involve lots of planning.
W: That sounds amazing! What’s your favourite thing about the club? What is it that really stands out to you in there.

S: I really love how the people in the club are so good about asking each other questions about their stories. When I was first planning out how I wanted to reboot the club, I was sure that I would be doing the majority of the asking for the first month. But everyone's been great at making sure threads have new questions, and I haven't been worrying about that particular challenge half as much as I thought would. So I would say that my favorite thing about the club - and what stands out the most - is how much of a community it's already becoming!
W: I completely agree with that! Is there anything else you’d like to say?

S: There is, actually! The Story Interviews club was originally designed with the idea that people would develop their short stories and novels there, but I'd love to expand this newer version so it includes some storybook and roleplay topics as well! So if you're thinking of joining and have a storybook/roleplay you want to develop me, we'd be glad to have you.

Thank you, Saen, for speaking to me, and make sure to check out the Story Interviews club here .





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:57 am
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IN THE FORUMS- RANDOMOSITY
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written by TheWeirdoFromBeyond< PM: >

The Forums are an excellent place for discussion of a wide variety of topics, and today, we will be focusing on Randomosity, an active section.

Words Associated is a thread that was started back in April 2013 by @Iggy and is still active. It has more than 1000 replies and more than 8000 views!

And who can ever forget The Tavern, started by @Nate back in 2015? Drop in to order a drink, or you know, devour souls like @zaminami.

Ever wanted to be a wish granting fairy, but a twisted one? If yes, Corrupt a wish is for you.

Coffee vs. Tea , started by @PickledChrissy and White Chocolate versus Milk Chocolate started by @Lives4Christ24 are similar threads. Currently, tea and milk chocolate are winning in their respective threads. Head over to change scores.

We have all had This or That situations in our lives, but This or That: Name Version is something unique.

Devils vs Angels , If Your Story Had A Theme song , What would you do if this happened... , Biggest Number You Can Think Of (game) (all by @FantasyWriter76) and Random Story by myself are recently created threads that we are hoping will get more popular in time. Make sure to check it out.

Many people love judging others, but now, let's talk about it in a friendly way. Rate the signature above you and Rate the Avatar Above you ar great examples.


And of course, challenges, nothing seems complete without them, does it? Make a Sentence Without a Verb , Type your username with your elbow and Make a sentence out of the username above you will surely get you thinking.

And there is so much more, so head over to Randomosity to chill and relax.





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:58 am
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WORD SEARCH SCRAMBLE
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written by concord < PM: >

Hey there! Welcome to a new search that I felt was long in the making!

It’s been a while since I ran one of these, so as a quick sum up:

Simply complete the word search whatever way you would like, then PM the finished product to concord (that’s me!)

You’ll get a special prize if you turn it in by the time the next issue of Squills comes out. That’s about a week, so let’s go!

If this peaked your interest, then please fill this out and have fun!

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Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:59 am
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REVIEW DAY REPORT
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written by alliyah < PM: >

This weekend, YWS had another Review Day, as reviewers warmed up their reviewing skills for September's Review Month (#RevMo). We had the Review Stingrays versus the Blue Arrows. I was chosen to be the leader of the Stingrays and over at the Arrows, @Shikora was chosen as captain.

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At the beginning of Review Day Review Stingrays took a quick lead with @EagleFly leading the pack.The Blue Arrows kept their spirits up with Shikora and other teammates continuing to encourage their team. In the second half of Review Day, Blue Arrows advanced quickly. @Carlito along with other Blue Arrow members put up a tough fight and soon were pulling ahead of the Review Stingrays. A few independent reviewers joined the race and the last portion of review day was fierce. In the final hour of Review Day the teams were neck and neck and it was a photo finish with Review Stingrays bringing up the victory at the last moment with a lead of just 59 points. In total there were 147 reviews written over Review Day.

A few more Review Day highlights were @Vervain brought the hashtag #ReviewDayShoutout to give shoutouts to works that deserved a review and @ReviewBuddy, the neighborhood raccoon, was spotted sharing Review Tips and giving "likes" to some great reviews.

If you missed the excitement of Review Day, you can read more here and you can prepare your review skills for Review Month which is starting in just a few days.

Congratulations to both teams and everyone who contributed to this successful Review Day!





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:00 am
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ARE HISPANIC/LATINO STEREOTYPES GOING TOO FAR?
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written by IvoryRose< PM: >

Malu Trevejo is a Cuban American social media star I recently came across. She is quite controversial because of her sexualized dancing on YouTube especially since she is as of now only fifteen years old! After looking at her defense comments many reads, “She’s Cuban being sexualized is her people’s culture!” This, of course, was shocking to me because I am of Cuban heritage and was raised in a Cuban household. And I can assure you that being sexualized is not my sexualized is not my people’s culture-it’s a stereotype.

Now every culture has stereotypes and yes I have laughed at the novela, strict parenting, abuela stereotype comedy. Why? It’s playful and has helped spend our real culture. Yes, even we think novelas are over the top but don’t tell abuela. Since most of us Hispanics and Latinos come from immigrant families we understand how we must work hard to succeed in this nation and how we have to appreciate the fact that all these opportunities that we are presented with. Opportunities I wouldn’t have had if my parents and grandparents had never left Cuba.

However, the jokes are not offensive and are realistic. Americans are always at McDonald’s jokes are considered funny because it is a popular fast food restaurant in the United States and let’s face it they are everywhere. My point is this over-dated stereotype that we are all sexy drug-lords or criminals because of our “people’s” culture is ridiculous and just as racist as calling an African-American a gang leader because they have dark skin.
I guess I should address sexualization in Hispanic/Latina women. Caribbean countries and Southern American countries (heck even Spain) have very different cultures. I use Cuba because it’s my origin and we are not all from Mexico. We also speak Spanish not Mexican, I do not understand the reason we’re all from Mexico the minute we say “Hola”.

In early Hollywood film countries of Hispanic/Latin American origins were exotic and interesting. This is where the caterigioes start with the sexy foreign girl from the mysterious country that speaks something other than English and the ditsy idiot foreigner with the world’s heaviest accent that in 9 out of 10 cases has not education and is a maid. At least the idiot maid has self-respect.

As time passed and civil rights movements came, we became more respected. For example, Rita Moreno a well known Puerto-Rican actress best known for her role in ‘West Side Story’ helped changed that. She was at first, bullied for being from Puerto Rico and when auditioning she was asked to act sexier or have a heavy accent. Eventually, she was forced to comply.

This has been known as the “spicy” Latina and from Carmen Miranda to Sofia Vergara. If fact Latinas are about 37.5% more likely to be naked on T.V, and 77% of Latinas have said that sexual harassment is an issue in their workplace. The spicy, sexy term may be old but still hasn’t died.

In fact, the issue applies to men as well. The wild Latino man that is tamed by the beautiful American woman that is passionate and aggressive. In fact, about 94 Latinos were killed by police in 2016 alone making this 16% of annual police killings.

Yet nobody seems to talk about this? In the 60s there were “No Cubans Allowed” signs and “No Mexicans” sign followed by racial prejudice, but we don’t see that in the history book. We don’t talk about that, but these are still people. Even today there’s hate towards Latinos/Hispanics! Society might not change in a day, but with an ever growing minority don’t we need an update on how we are portrayed and received?

Sources:
-PBS
-We Are Mitu-Kat Call





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:01 am
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NOVEL NOTES - CHARACTERIZATION
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written by concord < PM: >

Hey everyone to another issue of Novel Notes, this time on those lovely creations called characters.

A lot may or may not go into your protagonists or antagonists. In short stories, maybe the perceived bad guy (or gal) is rather one-dimensional because of word limits, and maybe you weren’t sure how to give them a backstory.

One of the biggest fears I have in trying to make characters is that I won’t be able to share all of these tidbits that I absolutely love. I then proceed to never put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, and never actually get started on anything.

If this sounds like something you’ve ever done, never fear, for some lovely Research articles are here to rescue from those depths of tense struggles.

Much like @OverEasy states in Antagonsists and Villains I get really into novels that make well-rounded villains and draw the reader to feeling conflicted on who they want to win at the end.

A way to make good, motivated, realistic (or not) antagonists is to write a reaction to what is the main character’s goal or motivations. Maybe they’re a flipped version of each other, such as one wants to rid the world of technology while the other loves developing things. Instant conflict, and possible moment of pity for both parties involved, not just the perceived “good side.”

Another helpful article for making developed characters is Writing Rounded Characters by @eldEr.

This lays out possible steps in creating a character, mostly by starting with the basic traits then delving deeper into their motivations and how their backgrounds could shape their personality and desires.

In summary, the easiest way of creating realistic characters is by not being scared of putting in a decent amount of time, research, and effort to structure them in the world you have chosen. From there, add as many ideas you can since even if they don’t seem to be useful, you never know how you could weave that into your story later down the road.

If you enjoyed these articles, then please head over to Writing Tutorials to gain a wide array of knowledge on novels, characters and so much more!

If poetry or even help guiding YWS is more your style, then the Knowledge Base is well worth a look at, with five major topics to browse at your pleasure!

That’s all for now, folks!





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:02 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!



That's all folks~ Now send us yours.





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Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:03 am
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SUBSCRIBERS
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written by SquillsBot < PM: >

Find an enspoiler-ed a list of our subscribers!
Spoiler! :

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Do you, too, want to be enspoiler-ed and receive a personal weekly notification when the Squills newsletter is posted? Shoot a PM over to SquillsBot to let him know, and you'll be pinged along with the next issue!








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