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Squills 2/28/21 - 3/14/21



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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:22 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!

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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:25 am
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FEATURED MEMBER INTERVIEW: SILVERNIGHT
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written by Liebensteiner < PM: >

If you participated in the Among Us themed Review Day in January and were a part of the Crewmates, then you already know who the beginning of February FM was - your team captain! That’s right - @SilverNight was Team Captain of the Crewmates and the gold-medal winner of the January Review Challenge . She accomplished these milestones within a month - how cool is that? And in just over six months, SilverNight got 94 reviews under her belt.

Anyway, I got the chance to interview her when I spotted her in a WFP a few days ago~

si: Oh, that's great! :) Right now is totally fine, yeah!

Sq: Awesome! First things first, what was your initial reaction when you found out you were featured member?

si: I was pretty surprised but also delighted. I just got here a few months ago, so I didn't think it'd be happening so soon! The messages I got were really heartwarming and it definitely made my day. It was a great start to the month!

Sq: Aw, that's sweet! What do you think made the people who choose FMs choose you as the next one?

si: I'm guessing it had something to do with all the reviewing I did in January, most likely... Gosh, that was a lot of work! I happened to be team captain of the Crewmates for the Among Us Review Day, too, so I think they must have taken that into account.

Sq: Ooh, yeah, I agree! Speaking of the Among Us Review Day - how did you like that? Was there anything you would have changed? Would you like to see more themed Review Days?

si: I think themed Review Days are a great idea, yes! Those definitely make participating in them a lot more exciting, and I was absolutely blown away by all the creativity that went into designing the one last month. It was a lot of fun, and I think a lot of people enjoyed it. So I think if there were more of those in the future, they'd certainly be a success as well!

Sq: The creativity is indeed mind-blowing! Going back to the topic of you becoming FM - what would sort of advice would you give members who aspire to be FM in the future?

si: I think that Featured Members have often impacted the YWS community in some way, and that seems to be why they're given that title. Fortunately, there are so many ways to do that! It can be through your writing, the relationships you form with others, how you interact with everyone here... there's a lot of possibilities. Also, everyone here is so incredible, so I think everyone has the potential to be nominated for it at some point!

Sq: For sure! You mentioned reviewing earlier - do you like it as much as you like other parts of YWS, or do you have a favorite section of the site, etc.?

si: My favorite part is definitely the Storybook section. I'm often more inspired in collaborative writing than my own solo projects, so it helps me stay productive when I'm not sure what to do for my other writing! Reviewing can be pretty fun, though I wish I was better at reviewing poetry. Generally, I'm good at reviewing novel chapters because I like seeing how characters change and develop over the course of a story, so that's what I do most. Anything that's not prose is a lot harder for me! Still, reviewing can be really neat, even though I prefer roleplaying more.

Sq: That's neat! One more question before I end the interview!! Are there anything else that you'd like to say? Shoutouts or anything, really.

si: Plenty of shoutouts, yes! I'd like to thank @Stringbean, @Vil, and @AceassinOfTheMoon for being close friends with me, even before any of us came to YWS. In addition to that, I'm super grateful for everyone who's been in an RP with me. You're all so special to me!

Sq: Aw, nice! That's it for the interview, thank you so much for your time! :)

si: Thank you too! :)

Here’s the official announcement thread if you’d like to go check that out! <3





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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:28 am
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SOCIAL WEEK: POETRY HIGHLIGHTS
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written by alliyah < PM: >

Over the course of February 13-19th the mods hosted YWS's first official Social Week! The event was organized by @Carina who hosted each day's prompts and activities. There were different prompts and challenges each day including a series of prompts written by YWS's Poetry Crew for "Friendship Poems".

The purpose of the prompts were to spread a little joy and cheer around the site with poetry! Sharing poetry is always a great way to connect to people and to also push your poetry creativity too, the Social Week poetry component was particularaly sweet because we could see all that awesome work in one place!! Here are some of the highlights from each day's prompts, but we're just scratching the surface here - to read all the friendship poems be sure to check out the #friendshippoems hashtag .

Day One
Write a haiku for someone based on something you know they like.


A fleet of lanterns,
sailing on through icy caves --
emerging sunrise.

@Liminality haiku for @IcyFlame


oh, look! there is a
delivery at your door!
edible cookies.

@starlitmind haiku for @ChesTacos


eeeeek lil bebe Slush
does not eat strawberry treats -
his passion: digging.

@whatchamacallit haiku for Slush & @Liebensteiner

Day Two
Find a friend and write a poem with words that rhyme with their username.


ever hear the perfect sound?
it's kind of hard to explain, really -
but it's not drowned, or wound, or outbound -
it's to be found.

to find it, you will need a sound mind -
one that's restful and aligned.
you can easily find it, quite defined,
even if your eyes are glazed and blind.

Carina rhyming poem for @soundofmind


hello shadow vypsies
i think of what to typsies
when we talk or when we writesies
you're always a delightsies

@veeren rhyming poem for @ShadowVyper


the moonlight can be eerie
but it puts me in a starlit mind
as red splashes against the theory
that mankind should just be kind.

after all, i'm inclined to believe
that we can leave and we can deceive -
but the stars are a remnant of our unending kindness
while the super moon is purely just
temporary blindness.

Carina rhyming poem for @starlitmind

Day Three
Write an acrostic for a friend based on the word "friend" or their username.


listening to you
is a pleasure because you sound
like sunrays, dont be afraid to be different
let every flower be unique
it only makes the bouquet
a higher priced commodity
no one else has petals as
nice as your own
and no one ever will.

@QueenShadowGemacrostic poem for @lillianna


Y ou would never believe how
o ver-the-top i can be
s pittin' out poems and
h eckin' out rhymes
i - wait. what rhymes?
K RAB CAKES. i did not
r emember to rhyme.
a h well. i'll just end this poem with
b lueberries.

Carina acrostic poem for @Yoshikrab

Day Four
Your prompt today is to go to a friend's wall and write a poem inspired by some part (or all) of their profile design


swim straight into that waterfall
become a fish that mountain climbs
into the mist and snow we'll go
fish can become birds or even
mountain goats you know, it just
takes faith and the right brisk morning
breeze, a bit of fog, and of course, a dream.

alliyah profile aesthetic for @manilla


and neon letters
occupied the world wide web
but chickens, oh dear

manilla aethetic poem for alliyah

Day Five
Your mission today is to venture into walls and write a poem using a ship / boat metaphor to talk about friendship... like a friendship!


Our stories are tall tales,
our water is rum,
but most valuable of all
is the friendship itself,
like a chest of Spaniard doubloons.

@Vil friendship poem for @Stringbean

Day Six
Find someone on YWS whose writing you admire! Today your prompt is to write a poem inspired by something they wrote.


canopy verses with gilded golden beams when night draws too close
how words summon courage, cross their fingers
and jump when they're ready to fly

maybe words are more delicate than we hold them

alliyah admiration inspo poem for whatchamacallit


The teacher asked me,
The meaning of ‘Liminality’
And I replied:
“One who is sweet, kind,
Incredibly poetic, funny and talented,
One whose knowing gaze will dry all tears shed,
One who’s ready to help whenever one needs it,
And one who can perfectly fit
The definition of perfect.”

@rida inspired poem for Liminality

Day Seven
Today we're asking you to share a poem on your wall, here's the catch though, you must write it with a friend!



i hoard music notes in canary cages because
someone needs to sing when the sky is heavy

and all my heart seems loose in air

@tgirly and alliyah collab poem


when travelers come and take their pick,
they'll say, "yewis! alright! that's sick!"
for they have poems and novels to show
to all of the knights of the green room, y'know?

Yoshikrab & Carina Social Week Collab Poem

As you can see the poems ranged from sweetly sentimental, to gushingly complimentary, beautiful, hilarious, teasing, and adorable. If you didn't have a chance to write a friendship poem during social week, or spied a prompt that you loved feel free to post one even now with the hashtag "#friendshippoems" to get in on the fun, and if there was a poem you recieved that you particularally appreciated there's a thread for shoutouts over here .

If you enjoyed this article you might enjoy reading through some of the past NaPo Highlights series, found here: NaPo Highlights 5/7/18 , NaPo Highlights 4/21/19 , NaPo Shoutouts 5/3/20 .





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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:28 am
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POP CULTURE CORNER: THE ROLLING STONES'S OUT OF OUR HEADS
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Written by CaptainJack < PM: >

While I'm sure modern music has wonderful things to be offering in this grand year of 2021, I've found another album from the past century to talk about. Almost everything that I offer a narration on is a piece of media that I think everyone should consume, in full, at least once in their life.

Out of Our Heads contains some of the most well known songs from the Rolling Stones, including the songs Play With Fire (Lyric Video) and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction , which are two of the most well known Stones songs to come out of that era. Both have been burnt into the permanent memory of popular culture and helped to shape the idea that the Stones were more than just a knock off, punk version of The Beatles.

This album is well known for its inclusion of artists from other bands and acts to create a unique collaboration. The likes of which would be hard to imagine today when genres seem to be more constrictive than in days past. Three of the songs on this album are covers of hits from Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, and Solomon Burke, giving the tracks a solid mix of the different, distinct styles of the Stones' future and past joining together for a masterpiece album.

It's not quite a concept album, but it's getting close to the mark that would soon be a norm. This is when rock music was still at the stage of collecting some good hits that more or less worked together rather than revolving around a singular theme or trying to tell a narrative story. Within a year or two of this album though the collection style was more reserved for the starter ups than the bands and acts who were quickly becoming modern gods.

This album will only take you about a half hour to listen to it in full and be exposed to the sound that shaped a generation. Now, they might not be the greatest generation, but they sure as heck had some good music to groove to while we're in these pandemic blues.

Side One
1. Mercy Mercy
2. Hitch Hike
3. The Last Time
4. That's How Strong My Love Is
5. Good Times
6. I'm Alright

Side Two
1. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
2. Cry to Me
3. The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man
4. Play With Fire
5. The Spider and The Fly
6. One More Try





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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:30 am
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SOCIAL WEEK - A RECAP
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written by IcyFlame< PM: >

One of the biggest attractions of our beloved YWS is that we are not just a writing website. We are a community. This community spirit was encompassed perfectly by our first ever Social Week - a wonderful idea executed by @Carina. The idea was one that Carina has had brewing for around two years, and 2021 was the year to make it happen!

The event ran from the 13th to the 19th of February, and included wall post prompts, poetry prompts and even challenges all designed to get us to communicate with each other more - something crucial in the weird world we're living in. So many of our members participated in one way or another, using the hashtag #socialweek. Here are some of the week's highlights

Day One
Post a #interviewme status on your wall, and then comment questions on other people's statuses

The week was kicked off with the #interviewme tag, a firm favourite here on YWS. The questions ranged from the simple: What's your favourite colour? to the more obscure What would you name a boat if you had one?. We all learnt lots about our fellow users from this tag and I think it's safe to say it was a popular one!

Day Two
Post two truths and a lie (with hashtag #2truths1lie ) as your status. Your challenge today is to talk to someone you've never talked to before!

Two truths and a lie allowed us all to hone our storytelling techniques and come up with a lie to befuddle and bewilder. Some were more outrageous than others, but special mention to @Magebird who managed to fool almost all of us through her method of telling the truth with only a tiny detail changed - those who want to tell more convincing lies the next time we play this game, take note!

Day Three
Travel to walls and release all the compliments you have! Your challenge today is to read someone's work and leave a comment on their wall to gush about their writing skills.

For this day we all channelled our inner @starlitmind and shared the love through messages, poems and pictures - truly the embodiment of Social Week! Everyone was also encouraged to leave a positive comment on a literary work too - even if you didn't have time to leave a review. This in particular is a great practise we can all keep up outside of this week!

Day Four
Let's play truth or dare! To participate, set your status up with hashtags #truthordare and #socialweek Your challenge is to get involved with the Roleplay Revamp.

Truth or dare saw a lot more dares than truths! If you've seen something funny or strange in another user's signature, chances are it was as a result of this day! @Ignorance was even dared to Rick Roll someone - it's good to see that joke hasn't died out yet!
We also saw snippets of various WIPs as a result of some dares which was a fun use of the game.
The Roleplay Revamp also saw some friendly new faces. If you haven't yet done so in Social Week, head on over and introduce yourself!

Day Five
Leave a gift on walls! Your challenge today is to go through your friends' works and leave a review (or literary comment).

Day five culminated in lots of pictures of pets and other animals, brightening up all of our days! @ChesTacos shared some adorable images for this challenge and we loved to see them.

Day Six
Make someone laugh! Today's challenge is go on a liking spree!

Day six saw a lot of memes being shared all over the site. Special mention to @BigBrother who took a break from looking after YWS to share many dog pictures including this excellent post!

Day Seven
As your status, share the highlights of Social Week. PARTY TIME! Whenever you have time, join in the official Social Week pad for a 24-hour write-in party that will last until the end of the event.

This wonderful week culminated in a 24 hour pad party where members were encouraged to hang out and chat - everything that a social event should have! A guest book was opened at the top of the pad to immortalise all our fuzzy feelings about YWS' first Social Week.

If you've had a particularly positive interaction with another member over Social Week, don't forget you can report them over in one of the following threads!

Social Week also gave rise to the feud between the nanaveers and the carinanas, which saw several of our distinguished members changing their avatars to bananas - will the chaos ever end?

A massive thanks to @Carina for organising this event! The verdict? A complete success! We hope it's one that comes back year after year.





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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:31 am
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POETRY PEOPLE: FEBRUARY 2021
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written by alliyah < PM: >

If you follow my Squills Columns you'll remember my poetry series called Poetry Perspective which is all about presenting a perspective on some poetic topic, I haven't abandoned that series, but this year I wanted to try a series about poetry that's a little more YWS-specific and is about all the latest poetry news for the month! So without further-ado here's the first edition of "Poetry People" - if you have feedback about extras you'd like to see, let me know over in my Squills Author Corner .

Poetry Events
The BIG Poetry Event this last month, was the re-vamp of the Poetry Readers Club by @whatchamacallit and @Liminality. As part of the February re-launch they held a poetry discussion on The Promise by Jane Hirshfield on February 26th. The discussion was in a writing pad and a lot of members really deeply engaged the questions presented! We chatted on our reactions to the poem and especially the effect of its ambiguous ending. If a poetry discussion seems like something you might be interested in be sure to subscribe to the Poetry Readers club and join up next month!

Poetry in the Forums
The forums have been popping with poetry these last few months!
There've been 6 new poems in the Poem Spot [- on the spot] thread . There are a few gems in there for this month, but *beware* if you click the thread you have to write a poem! That's the whole rule! :D

The Haiku Train is also still going strong with three lovely new haikus! Including this really nice one by @QueenShadowGem: link .
in the small creases
of mother nature's mind's eye
turbulence stands still


Poetry Shoutouts
You may have noticed that some members of the Poetry Crew moderator team as well as @Miraculor77 have been giving poems "shoutouts" on the people tab with the hashtag "poetry shoutout! One of my favorites from this month is connecting the dots by @SilverNight which is a poem artfully formatted into a constellation of poetry, that seems to be a little bit about the creative-process and doubt, and continuing to move forward. I really would be curious to see what more users are thinking about it, so be sure to stop by and leave some thoughts if you want to check it out. And also if there's a poem you think deserves a shoutout please join us by posting a link to it on the people tab with the hashtag!

Poetry Prompt
Your Poetry People Prompt for wrapping up February is ... burrowing animals and symbolism! This prompt is brought to you by Groundhogs and one of my favorite holidays, Groundhog Day! If you complete a poem with the prompt give me a tag and you might see your poem featured in the next edition of Poetry People and I'll even send you 50 points for your efforts. :)

For weekly poetry prompts in March, be sure to subscribe to the Poem a Week Club .

Poetry Tip
Your Poetry Tip this month is ... do not neglect formatting! Just as people do in fact judge books by their covers, the reception of your poem will always be influenced by its formatting. So be sure to check for consistency, neatness, and make sure those formatting choices work for the meaning of your poem, and not against it! If you need a little help on getting your stanza breaks to show up just right in the publishing center, @CaptainJack actually made a very clear and helpful video on that subject that you can view here .

Poetry News
National Poetry Writing Month (or NaPoWriMo) is less than a month away! (It starts up April 1st !!) For those who aren't sure what NaPo is, it's a whole month dedicated to poetry, where poets traditionally try to write 30 poems in one month! You can set your own personal goals if you'd like, and there will be plenty of prompts and poetry activities happening around the site for you to jump into during the month too. Be sure to watch for some Poetry Workshops and Pre-NaPo Poetry Jam Sessions in March to get your poetry muscles stretched out! And if you have any questions at all about how NaPo works I recommend keeping your eye on the NaPo Forum and reaching out to anyone who has done NaPo before!

That's all for this edition of Poetry People! See you all again in March!





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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:31 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!


~~~


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.

~~~


Poetry Readers

The Poetry Readers
is new and improved!
Want to read lots of poetry?
Well then this is your groove!


That's right! A re-vamped Poetry Readers club is coming to YWSes near you this February! We'll still be discussing poems like before, but with a couple of *snazzy* twists. Instead of holding discussions in the club forum, we'll be meeting in a WriterFeedPad at the end of every month to discuss the poem together - in real time! And we won't just be discussing the poems of "famous" poets, we'll be discussing YWSer poems too. If that sounds like fun to you (trust me, it is!!), then subscribe to our club, and stay tuned for more information!

Contact Liminality and whatchamacallit for more information.

~~~


That's all folks~ Now send us yours.





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Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:32 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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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!








I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart; I am, I am, I am.
— Sylvia Plath