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Squills 12/27/20 - 1/3/21



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Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:58 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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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.

You can apply to become a Squillian Journalist by submitting a sample article to SquillsBot today!





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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:00 am
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FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW
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written by Liebensteiner < PM: >

Our latest featured member this month is a fairly new member to YWS! She’s super enthusiastic, and you can usually see her in writerfeed pads, in the Randomosity section of the site, and drops encouraging reviews around the site. She’s dropping kind posts on people’s walls, welcoming new YWSers, wishing people a happy birthday, etc. In short, @lordmomo is a great part of the site. <3 I even got the chance to interview her for this week’s Squills issue! :)

S: Heya Momo! I'm a reporter for Squills and was wondering if you would be able to answer a few questions I had for you regarding you being the latest FM. :)

L: Hey there! Of course!

S: Awesome! Starting off, what was your first reaction when you found out you had become FM and you had gotten all those notifications?

L: Well, I was in between two Zoom dance classes when I logged on. I was quickly going through stuff when I saw that @starlitmind had mentioned me in the new FM thread. I was not expecting to be FM myself!! I was really happy and proud that the mods (or whoever picks the FM xD) thought I was deserving of this honor.

S: That must have been exciting! I bet you did a good load of dancing after. :p Why do you think you were chosen as FM?

L: Hmm... I think it was because I've been really active on the site! Writing reviews, welcoming people, writing (obviously).

S: That's awesome! Do you have any favorite parts of the site that you'd like to share with us?

L: I really love the people's tab! Here, I'll tell you a secret. ;) When I first joined, I had no idea that the people's tab existed. I thought if you wanted see someone's wall post, you had to go scrolling through their profile. xD

S: Oh my gosh, same! xD If someone were to ask you about how to become a featured member, what would you say to them?

L: Find things to be really committed to on the site! I have daily things to do, like I wish people happy birthday, and then I welcome the new members. I write as many reviews as I can, and I log onto WFPs a lot, even if just for a few minutes.

S: That sounds productive! <3 Before I end this short interview, would you like to say anything else? Any shout-outs, etc?

L: @NastyMajesty @Euphoria8, you two are my best friends!! I love you both so much, and I am so so so grateful you joined the site!!! <3<3<3<3<333

S: Wonderful! Thanks so much for taking out time to take this interview. <3 Congratulations once again!

L: Thank you! :D

If you haven’t already congratulated Momo, make sure to do so by dropping by wall or post in the official thread !





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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:01 am
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MAKING RESOLUTIONS THAT WILL STICK
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written by IcyFlame< PM: >

The end of another year has come around and whilst many of us will be glad to see the back of this particular year, this is a great time to reflect on both the positives and the negatives of 2020 and think about how you want 2021 to be.
The start of this new year gives us all the opportunity to evaluate how things are going and to set goals for yourself.

But how can you ensure that the determination to write more, or exercise more, or take more time for yourself, sticks around through to February? Instead of resolutions, create new habits.

Yes, this takes time and energy. Creating a new habit is instilling a new behaviour, which won't become automatic overnight (but you might see some of the benefits pretty quickly!)
As things become a habit, you'll find you even start to miss it if you stop. With that in mind, here are some tips to making those New Year's resolutions stick!

  1. Break your big dreams down into smaller, achievable steps.
    It's great to dream big, to want to be able to run 10k or to write the next great novel but when you think about it, those goals seem pretty daunting. Start with the easy things. If you make a list and write 'make list' at the top of it, you can already tick one thing off. The same goes for all those big goals. That way, you'll feel great about the things you're checking off and you're making your way towards that dream!
  2. Learn from your mistakes
    Any time you trip over a hurdle on your way to meeting your goal, take some time to reflect on it and count that as progress. Take some time to think about why something didn't work. Maybe it was too ambitious? Scale it back a little and have another go.
  3. Reward yourself along the way
    Don't wait until you've finished that 10k run to give yourself a medal. Each little step is progress, and you deserve a reward for completing them!
  4. Make yourself accountable
    The folks here at YWS are wonderful at helping you stick to your goals. 21in21 from @mellifera and @BluesClues can help you to be accountable for your writing, and simply posting something on your wall can help you commit to your goals. If you've got others watching and cheering you on, those resolutions can feel a little easier to stick to.

That's it for our top tips, but let us know if you have any more for how to stick to your New Year's resolutions. Happy New Year from all of us at Squills!





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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:04 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!

@AndyS6 and @mordax have both earned their first review stars and are on track to getting their second!

@TheRandomWriter has posted a two part action short story! You can read the first part, The beginning of the end , here .

@Ailah2005 has already started publishing a few short stories. Check out their story, Becoming the Big Bad Wolf , which is written from the perspective of the wolf from the tale “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

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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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:06 am
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WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON IN THE HOLIDAY FORUMS?
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written by Liebensteiner < PM: >

There has been so much going on in the Holiday forums these past few days, and in this article I’ll do my best to give you a brief summary of what’s been happening.

YWS Yearbook 2020
This thread is basically what the title says! You make a post, talking about all of what has happened during the 2020 year (which hasn’t been the best, but we’ve all had good times which we can be happy and grateful for), and share your most cherished memories, or anything at all. Here’s last year’s yearbook: YWS Yearbook 2019 .

New Year’s Resolutions: 2021 Edition
This thread is also pretty much the same thing as what the title says. Make a post in the thread and list out all the things you would like to accomplish in 2021. There is a possibility that 2021 can be as unpredictable as 2020 but it’s always good to make a list of goals that you want to accomplish so you can have something you’re working towards. Here’s last year’s new year’s resolutions: 2019 .

YWS Best & Most Awards
This is a traditional part of the site’s holiday events every single year. The YWS Awards are chosen by the members of the site who vote for others (maybe even themselves) so by the end of the month and year of 2020, the rewarding titles can be given. This year’s deadline, like always, is December 31st. It ends in less than four days, so don’t forget to put in your entries before then! Here’s last year’s YWS Awards.

Holidayify Your Avatar!
This is another one of YWS’s traditional (I’m pretty sure - it’s been happening for the past five years so I would assume so!) events that happen during the holidays. You can send your avatar into the aforementioned thread and tell @magebird, who has been doing the avatar edits for the past four years for the holidays, what you want in your holidayified avatar! This is the link to last year’s Holidayify Your Avatar! thread in case you want to see more of Mage’s cool edits → 2019 .

Secret Santa 2020
Unfortunately, this year’s Secret Santa is closed as the deadline has already passed (it was December 15, in case you were wondering), but for just for the sake of it, I’ll mention what’s been happening there! To make it easier for you and I, I’ll quote exactly what @Iggy said in the discussion and questions thread:



Fill out the form with all of the necessary information. Then wait for sign ups to close and then I will PM you with the name of your recipient and a link to their post. You’ll then read their post, see what they like, and make a gift for them! Gifts are typically something you can give across the interwebs, like a story, a picture of a drawing you made them, etc. It doesn’t involve anything like packages or money. Then you send your gift to me so I can deliver it anonymously for you. Once the event is complete and everyone has a gift, Santas may reveal themselves if they choose to :)



Isn’t that so exciting? If you missed out this year, worry not, friend! There’s always a next year. :P Here’s last year’s Secret Santa → 2019 .

Hope that gave you a pretty good explanation of what's been going on in the holiday forums these past few days!





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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:07 am
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WORDS & NOTES: MY RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR
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written by EditorAndPerks < PM: >

Hello everyone!

Today’s article is a bit more cheerful than the last few weeks as I’ve taken up a new leaf as people do with the new year. For the first main time in my life that I can recall, I made sure to write out some extensive resolutions for me to at least attempt this year, some spanning playing instruments to how I want to further my Korean pop knowledge.

One important one on my list that I want to make sure I keep at daily, more so than most of the others, is writing. I wrote down thirty minutes, but I joined the newly created 21in21 Support Group whose mission is for people to write for at least 21 minutes in the year 2021, known otherwise as #21in21 based upon the previous #20in20 . Following that link will provide plenty of information for different threads to chat in, and how to participate. The ever great @mellifera and @BluesClues created the club and are running this very fun and exciting club.

I can say with lots of surprise that I’ve written for three days in a row from January 1st to the 3rd. The most different thing I did in approaching this story was that a few months ago I had planned out some important plot points, but then scrapped it all to push the story far further along the original idea. For this attempt, I more so than not just started writing, trying to figure out what kind of character I want to see from my main viewpoints and how I will set up the world.

Perhaps this strategy will be a detriment to the overall story in the future, but I’d be glad to write long enough for there to be an issue with the plot and the overall story. I’ve written over 2600 words so far. That’s far more than I have been able to do normally, in even a week’s time, let alone three individual writing sessions if no longer than thirty minutes each.

All I can say is I’m grateful for the opportunity my hands have deemed to give me, and the opportunity my brain had offered to allow me to try to become a better and more regular writer in this new year. Thank you all for reading this self-indulgent article, and good luck with your writing!





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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:11 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!


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Is your most favorite pen in the world not letting ink out? Do some of your precious markers seem to have dried out? No worries! The YWS Pen-fixer can help!

PM @LordMomo with any questions.

~~~


Searching for a fun challenge to spur some friendly competition and motivate you to review? In the month of January, look no further than the January 2021 Review Challenge! This simple but fun review challenge offers promising rewards for those who review diligently during January, and who can resist the challenge to prove oneself the true Victor of the Green Room? Join us as we kick off the New Year with some furious reviewing!

PM @IcyFlame or @Tuckster with questions!

~~~


That's all folks~ Now send us yours.





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Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:15 am
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SUBSCRIBERS
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written by SquillsBot < PM: >

Find an enspoiler-ed a list of our subscribers!
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You wanna be a writer? You don't know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble pen.
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