z
  • Home

Young Writers Society


Squills 11/15/24 - Special Edition (20th Birthday)



User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:10 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



Image


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; link round-ups; and opinionated columns. And where will all of this come from? Take a look at our fantastic creative staff!

This month we have a very special edition of Squills for you mid-month for Birthday Week to celebrate YWS's 20th Birthday!

Image

CREATIVE STAFF



Spoiler! :


Editorial Team
alliyah
(she/her)

IcyFlame
(she/her)

Liminality
(she/her)

Friendly Neighborhood Robot
SquillsBot
(beep/boop)

Literary Reporter
Available - PM Squillsbot if interested

Community Reporters
looseleaf
(she/her)

alliyah
(she/her)

Creativity Reporter
FruityBickel
(he/him)

Poetry Enchantress
alliyah
(she/her)

Resources Reporter
Available - PM Squillsbot if interested

Roleplay Reporters
Available - PM Squillsbot if interested

Code Master
Spearmint
(she/her)

General Reporters
foxmaster
(she/her)

Isbah
(she/her)

EllieMae
(she/her)

NadyaStatham
(she/her)

Staff Chef
LadySpark
(she/her)[/center]





User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:14 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: BIRTHDAY EDITION
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

Back in 2018 I made a special edition of my "This Month in History" Column looking back at all the years of YWS's history with a Birthday Lens! This year I updated that article up to the present to check out where YWS has been in its many wonderful years... let's jump into the Time Machine and take a look!

November 2004
YWS all began on a fateful November day in 2004 when @Nate officially opened the doors of Young Writers Society. He recruited members from other writing sites and soon a community started forming. By the first week, the site had 32 users and over 600 posts. Read more about those early days in Nate's One Week Old Statistics

November 2005
YWS's first birthday celebration featured the addition of new forums, a chat room meet and greet, and a scavenger hunt! @niteowl celebrated the day by making a giant emoji gift with twelve sets of emoji collections, one set for each of YWS's months of existence. You can admire that in the
2005 Birthday Festivities . Nate also released an Autumn Newsletter to let users know about changes on the site.

November 2006
This was a difficult year for YWS, as the site actually closed temporarilly, However by YWS's birthday it was back and running. In 2006, the long tradition of having a thread to reminisce about YWS's birthday and existence continued led by @Firestarter
Birthday Appreciation Thread . This practice was so appreciative, that users even took to jumping back into the 2006 thread in 2013 in a show of nostalgia. You might also find the The Official Unofficial Guide to YWS posted by @Gannon in 2006 to be an interesting blast from the past to see more about the site's practices back then.

November 2007
One of the most contentious and historic moments of 2007 on YWS, and arguably the world, was the election for which Mascot would be supreme on the site. The end vote totals were extremely close between Dragons and Monkeys, 103 vs 106 respectively. You can read everyone's in-depth reasoning for this difficult selection here though the topic is locked, so don't try to change the course of history!

November 2008
YWS had a lot of new activity in 2008, in fact in March 23 was the first day that YWS had more than 1000 posts in a day. Different changes were made to review counts and also to the site's appearance. I highly recommending checking out this series of screenshots of different ways YWS has looked throughout the years which includes 2006, 2007, and 2008. YWS Over the Years .

November 2009
In 2009, YWS continued the tradition of having a birthday appreciation post page here which featured many dancing elephants. And that's all I have to say about 2009.

November 2010
A big change in 2010, was it was the last year of formal Greeters and Instructors. Still YWS continued to thrive and grow. Users voiced their appreciation for the site here . While @lilymoore wrote a poem for YWS' 6th birthday
Happy Sixth Birthday

November 2011
2011 featured a Series of Birthday Challenges and Events . Including a story contest which was won by @CelticNoir, @Calligraphy, and @Iggy. @Mikko also celebrated their love of the site by writing a birthday acrostic poem.

November 2012
The 2012 Birthday Bash included a Scavenger Hunt by @Rydia that was all about YWS Members. For more nostalgia you can check out the YWS 2012 Yearbook .

November 2013
In 2013 Birthday week officially became the YWStival and members reflected on their favorite YWS Memories .

November 2014
2014 featured a new Peoples Page and also the introduction of accessible work statistics for each work posted. In honor of YWS's Birthday there was a contest for writing Birthday related stories or poetry, @Dutiful's poetic skills won the day with their poem, Little YWS Turns Ten .

November 2015
In 2015, the big news that shook the site came from @Iggy that Nate was stepping down from the site. This turned out to be an April Fools Joke of course! YWS's eleventh birthday featured some of the Classic YWS BDay activities, like scavenger hunts and Monkeys vs. Dragons. It also featured a Birthday Storybook . For more of the 2015 highlights you can check out 2015 in Review .

November 2016
YWS continued to grow throughout 2016 as could be expected from the trend! And the 2016 Birthday Celebration featured several events catering to different time zones. Users came from all over the world and Nate put together a series of maps to show the different locations. Where did YWSers come from in 2016 which is really something crazy to think about when you look back to the first week of the site when there were less than 50 members, to now when YWS has spread so far.

November 2017
In 2017 @Yewis turned 13 years, making the site finally old enough to join the site, or however that works. Entering the teen-years, @Big Brother came with a list of demands for YWS Birthday Week along with other relevant festivities .
For more 2017 nostalgia you can check out the 2017 Yearbook .

November 2018
There were a whole host of special birthday events for YWS's 14th Birthday - I actually covered several of them here. Among the many activities, Nate brought back the YWS Radio Show, @Rydia brought in the ever-popular monkey vs dragons quiz, and users could share birthday well-wishes to earn a special birthday cake badge!

November 2019
2019 was a bit of an odd one in that at some point during the festivities Unclassified actually took over the site for the entire day. Birthday Week 2019 was one of the heights of the unclassified vs classified craze and it even overtook YWS's own birthday party at the Mars Space Station location. The week still had lots of classic contests along the way, just a little more mayhem than usual!

November 2020
2020 was a difficult year with the pandemic around the world - on YWS the site continued to pull close together. In 2020, the theme of birthday week was "Sweet 16" - the most wholesome thing to come out of birthday week was a heartwarming nostalgic video compilation by @Carina posted from YWS Memories from Throughout the Years that had been shared by members during Birthday Week.

November 2021
The Birthday Week of 2021 was organized around a series of hashtag sharing events - where users shared memories, art, compliments, and gifs across the people tab! There were also three Birthday Themed Puzzles to complete leading up to Birthday Week!

November 2022
It was hard to believe when YWS turned 18 years old! This Birthday Week was packed full of activities, including @IcyFlame's popular Wikipedia Race and a Scavenger Hunt!

November 2023
The Birthday Week of 2023 also featured daily activities for users to jump into including the ever-popular 2Truths1Lie and the Great Birthday Scavenger Hunt.

Image

November 2024
The 2024 Birthday Week is especially special, as we commemorate two decades of YWS - the site looks much different than it did when it started in 2004 and yet it still is centered around a community of passionate, kind, creative writers! This year's theme is "Reunion" with a look at the reasons and people that make YWS such a wonderful community. Events will be posted in the Birthday Week Forum. There's going to be a few revivals of old activities like "Monkeys Vs Dragons" (ran by @Iggy and @alliyah) but this time with a new twist: "Unclassified vs Classified!" the Radio Show is also going to make a re-appearance - this time with myself in the hosting chair!

And there you have it! A little bit of YWS history from these two decades of writing, fun, and community! Happy Birthday YWS, and may you have many many many more!




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:15 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



OUR YWS STORIES
Image
written by Liminality< PM: >

YWS is turning twenty! For YWS’s 20th Birthday, I interviewed members of the site, inviting people to reminisce and also share what they appreciate about this community. Thank you to @niteowl, @Messenger, @GengarIsBestBoy, @Hkumar and @vampricone6783 for sharing their YWS origin stories!

Joining



Many of us remember how we joined the site. Writing can be a lonely hobby if you don’t have someone to share it with, and that’s why some of us gravitated to this website.

niteowl: So picture this: it’s 2004, and somewhere in America (a “location” I stole from the Steve Martin movie ”My Blue Heaven”, which I somehow still remember even though I haven’t seen that movie in twenty years) a nerdy loser suburban white girl writes the Greatest Poem of All Time while taking a break from writing her super epic fantasy trilogy that is definitely not just bad self insert fanfiction. Eager to share her vision with the world, she scours the internet for writing websites and finds…writing.com. Because this was September and YWS didn’t exist yet. This site is still around, though unclear how active it is. The site was technically free, but you couldn’t do a lot without points that you had to buy or get gifted from someone.

Anyway, so I end up on a teen writing group there. A couple months go by, and some weird guy named Nate posts a link to his new website. I click and I actually think I passed at first because it was so small (this might be why my brain believes I joined the night before Thanksgiving, yet Google insists my join date was a Saturday/Sunday). But I did come back and sign up for reals. As it was in the middle of the night, and I was quite fond of staying up late, I went with the username “niteowl”. No, it has nothing to do with Watchmen-had no idea that was a thing until years later. I was the 52nd member to join.


GengarIsBestBoy: I joined sometime in 9th grade. I was writing a lot of stories at the time, but only ever shared them with close friends. I guess I wanted to get my writing out there, like I didn't want to feel like I was just writing for nothing. So when I was searching for "writing websites for teens," I found someone recommending Young Writers Society, and now I'm here! :D

Messenger: I was 14, my cousin knew I was becoming interested in writing and had given me her old laptop to use. Back them I didn't have a phone or social media, so I used my new gift to find a community to be a part of, something I was lacking in my real life. I searched something about young writers and YWS showed it.

Hkumar: Back in January 2020, I joined the literary club at my college. As part of the experience, we were introduced to YWS and encouraged to create accounts to publish our work and learn how to review others' pieces.

Changing



Twenty years is a long time. The site has undergone plenty of changes since its first inception, and @niteowl’s YWS origin story shows some of that.

niteowl: I immediately make myself at home, posting like crazy and welcoming everyone new jumping aboard. When Duskglimmer joined as the 100th member of the site, I added a bundle of emojis as a “gift”, which I then proceeded to spam every newbie with. This would be the inspiration for the now defunct Greeter role and the still enduring “gift” feature we know and love every Christmas in July.

Throughout the next few years, I would have bursts of activity, then flame out again. I eventually graduated high school (having long since realized I can’t actually finish one epic fantasy novel, let alone three, I did not pursue a writing career), and fell out of writing in undergrad. But then I went to grad school and, seeking escape and a familiar online place, turned back to (slightly less bad) poetry and YWS. This is when I became a mod and jumped in again with big ideas…like 15in15, which I started but was unable to sustain due to life kind of falling apart again. I take no credit for 20in20 …that was all the work of much more reliable folks than myself.


I, Liminality, only joined YWS in 2018, so this interview was my first time hearing about Greeters - of course I had to find out more. Greeters were members who welcomed new people to the site, and they had a light blue username colour, similar to how moderators now have green and dark green usernames. At one point, there was even a greeter of the month thread (see an example here ).

I was definitely around to see the revival of 15in15 however, and the latest iteration, 24in24! No doubt we will continue to come up with ways to encourage each other and nourish our writing spirits.

Enduring



To YWSers, throughout the changing seasons, this site remains a special place. It persists in its uniqueness, standing out from other writing websites. For everyone I interviewed and for those of you reading this, this is the place we’ve decided to continue sharing our craft on.

Hkumar: Although I left the [literary] club after a few months, I never left YWS. It’s been an amazing platform that I’ve stuck with ever since!

GengarIsBestBoy: Something I like about YWS is that it doesn't feel as corporate as some other sites like Wattpad. On sites like that, you kind of get the impression that the creators don't really care or the communities may be toxic... but I don't feel that way at all about YWS. It's got a very homemade feel with a small community, and I like it a lot that way.

vampricone6783: I was looking for sites to join in for writing. YWS was on that list. I looked at all of the other sites and didn’t feel attached to really any of them except YWS, so I decided to join YWS. I still have the list in case I want to join additional sites, but as if right now, I’m only on YWS. I used to have a Wattpad account as well but didn’t really get anybody reading my stories. I also used to have an account on the app “Inkspired” but deleted it as nobody was reading my work there.

This site is by far my favorite, for people read my stories and they post amazing works of their own! Not to mention that there are many fun activities on this site and there’s a sense of community here that I have yet to find on other writing sites. Also, from what I’ve seen, there isn’t really any toxicity.

I love YWS! ^v^


Messenger: It looked so much friendlier, especially to a young kid, than say Wattpad which felt more like a depository for people's writings rather than a place to hang out and belong.

What you don't realize when you join is just how well-made YWS is. The review system integrates you automatically into interactions. While it existed, I loved the chat bar more than anything. It was so nice to talk about writing with fellow writers when I had nothing like that in real life. That probably stands out the most, the conversations I had that probably stopped me from writing more back then, but helped me go further to where I am now.


niteowl: These days, I don’t post as much outside of NaPo, but I love this place. Always have, always will. I am amazed it’s been here so long and I hope it endures for the next 20 years.




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:16 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



YWS BIRTHDAY PROFILE: KEYSTRINGS
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

There are many users who have made a difference on the site during the duration of their membership on YWS, today we have the privilege from hearing from some of them.

This interview's subject is @keystrings or perhaps better known as Perks as that's the base of many iterations of their usernames... PerksofBeingaReader, EditorAndPerks, and JustPerks (concord, fraey, and killeham were also names they went by)! Perks made their mark on the site in many ways!

They joined a decade ago in 2014 and quickly got involved in almost every aspect of YWS. By March 2018 they became a Junior Moderator and then in July 2020 they became a Global Moderator. In both of these roles they were served the site across multiple years in almost every realm of the site's activity from NovMo to NaPo. Two areas of particular significance I want to highlight - keystrings is one of the nine members who have climbed the ranks of Knights of the Green Room to be a member of the Court - responsible for the behind the scene operations of KotGR when @KotGRCommander is away ensuring that dozens of squires have been made knights and knights have received their due rewards.

Also significant, has been Perk's contributions to Squills - this very publication you're reading! From July 2019 to May 2021, Perks served as Squills Editor and Chief, picking up the torch from @Aley. Perks brought Squills through quite a few years and even a pandemic, making sure it didn't fade out of existence. Under Perk's leadership hundreds of articles were edited, posted, and read! For all this and more, we have much to be grateful for in remembering keystrings' time on YWS. Without further ado, let's hear from Perks!

Squills: How has YWS impacted you and/or your writing?

keystrings: YWS has opened my eyes to so many brilliant minds and ideas that have really inspired me to keep working on my writing and poetry throughout my life, even when I eventually retired and couldn’t be on this site as often. YWS helped provide me other avenues in being able to help others with their writing/poetry!


Squills: What has been your proudest contribution to the site?

keystrings: Since I am a retired global moderator, I guess I would say that! It’s truly an honor to return back to a website and go through past events/past ideas that had been a basis on YWS., I also loved serving as editor-in-chief for Squills back in the day (: in addition to simply being a writer and posting works!


Squills: What has been your favorite YWS memory?

keystrings: My favorite YWS memory is probably from a few years ago in 2019, back when I decided to create a NaPo theme for different flowers. I had the most fun time finding images of various flowers and trying to come up with a continuous path between various colors and shapes and similar emotions across a flower patch versus how a human might feel.


Squills: What's the biggest difference between the site now and when you first joined?

keystrings: I joined in 2014, back when the chat room and individual chats were always active, so I remember communicating a lot with other users that would be be through direct messages, but people still spammed walls back then. For me, the biggest difference is that a new wave of users have really made YWS their home, and I genuinely love that. It’s so cool to see a new website that you had been part of for (wow, a decade!) be able to reach out and engage so many new people even now!


Squills: Where do you see YWS in 20 more years?

keystrings: Hmm. I hope beyond anything that YWS is just as popular and booming as it is now, and that my own younger family members are part of the fun as well c: Here’s to another twenty amazing years of YWS before us! <3




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:17 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



YWS BIRTHDAY PROFILE: BLUESCLUES
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

There are many users who have made a difference on the site during the duration of their membership on YWS, today we have the privilege from hearing from some of them.

This interview's subject is @BluesClues (she/they) formerly known as BlueAfrica and known by many as just "Blue"... just as enduring as her username may be her very iconic Avatar which is either a snake, an elephant, or a hat, but you're going to have to ask her about that. And of course right now it's a penguin... but alas it's the holidays! Blue is and has been an integral part of our YWS community and has certainly made her mark!

Blue joined in September 16, 2010, not long after she became Junior Moderator in November of 2011 as a member of ... the Poetry Crew! Eventually though she'd switch over to General Lit Crew in 2015 which in itself shows some of Blue's range as a writer with skills. Eventually Blue would be made a Global Moderator in April of 2018 - as a GM she would serve as a Crew Leader of Resource Crew. Outside of moderating though, their YWS impact and achievements continue...

Blue has always been an incredible reviewer and her records show it! She is in the top five of the All Time Leaderboard and was the first Knight of the Green Room reviewer to earn a Dragon - a feat that took 5 years and 1000 logged Green Room Reviews to earn. Announcement Here. In addition to this, back when Review Days were a regular monthly site activity, Blue was well known for her encouraging review-meme posts to encourage reviewers to do their best.

Blue's aptitude for reviewing probably comes from her skills and endurance as a writer though! She has participated in both NaPo and NaNo many times over, holds many writing records on our sites, including having won LMS before, and even co-started the "20in20" club which gave birth to the 21in21, 22in22 and so on, an idea that was picked up after niteowl had begun the 15in15 challenge five years earlier. Blue's writing is often noted in the "Most and Best" lists as some of our site's favorite. And her combination of writing and reviewing skill was a perfect contribution to YWS during her time as Squills' Editor in Chief.

And so it is of no surprise that her writing is also may be some of the most inspiring for fellow-writers. Blue is one of our site's published novelists, with not one but two published stories. For those who have followed Blue in their Blue's Crew Club throughout the years, she is a testament that getting published isn't due to talent alone, but also takes a lot of hard work.

Not to be unsaid, Blue also was instrumental in making WFP into a space of conversation, casual to-do lists, and community. Some of the ways we even format our current write-in spaces typically may have something to do with Blue's influence. She's a talented writer, reviewer, and moderator, but many, myself included, would also consider her an encourager and even a writing inspiration. Without further ado, let's hear from BluesClues!

Squills: How has YWS impacted you and/or your writing?

BluesClues: Thanks to the review system, YWS has helped me grow such much as a writer! More importantly, YWS was the first place online that gave me a community of fellow writers. It's probably the main reason that "find your community" is to this day my number-one piece of advise to new writers.


Squills: What has been your proudest contribution to the site?

BluesClues: ...posting #classified on things and then sitting back and watching chaos unfold without doing any work at all.


Squills: What has been your favorite YWS memory?

BluesClues: Definitely taking part in Last Man Standing Round III!


Squills: What's the biggest difference between the site now and when you first joined?

BluesClues: The average age of users, since a bunch of us just. never left XD Also the sheer number of site members! YWS has grown so much <3


Squills: Where do you see YWS in 20 more years?

BluesClues: ...I'm gonna skip this question because I'm not even good at answering this kind of question when it's "where do you see yourSELF in n-number of years" X'D I hope it'll have an even longer list of published authors who are or were members by then, anyway!




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:19 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



YWS BIRTHDAY PROFILE: HANNAH
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

There are many users who have made a difference on the site during the duration of their membership on YWS, today we have the privilege from hearing from some of them.

This interview's subject is Hannah also occasionally known as Knight Hannah! Hannah has certainly and without a doubt made her mark on YWS.

Hannah joined in January of 2009, just 5 years after the site got its start. By July of 2009, Hannah had already started making an impact and became a part of the Poetry Crew as a Junior Moderator. A few years later in 2013, Hannah would join the Global Moderators. As a YWSer Hannah made an impact in many areas of the site - but three in particular; her writing, Squills, and in reviewing, especially so with Knights of the Green Room.

I might be biased, but Hannah's poetry has always been some of my favorite on the site. It's no wonder that Hannah is the originator of some of our lovely poetry threads like Secret Treasures in Poetic Devices and Poem Spot [-on the spot]. Her portfolio boasts many beautiful poems - and her insights into poetry have been instructive for many poets throughout the years. In the 2012 'Best and Most Awards" this was said of Hannah's reviewing
Poetry is its own unique form of writing, and it requires just as specialized a reviewer as prose. Hannah has proven to be a most reliable reviewer when it comes to poetry. She has great insight on the subject, and she is always more than willing to help members to better their craft. Her enthusiasm on the topic is admirable to us all.


Hannah also made a huge impact on YWS through her contributions as an Editor in Chief of Squills. I believe Hannah became an editor sometime in 2013 - in addition to being a great leader and encourager she also introduced a lot of standardization to the way the articles were stylized and formatted which was has been a great help to Squills for years since.

Image

Finally, Hannah has made a tremendous impact on YWS through her heart and skill for reviewing. I can personally testify to Hannah's power of enthusiasm, the first time I was ever tagged in a YWS forum was because Hannah had tagged me to get involved with the Knights of the Green Room After Watch. Hannah organized with the help of other dedicated mods much of the KotGR lore and system as it exists today, she made a sustainable system of encouraging reviewers that lasted over a decade encouraging 200 fellow YWSers throughout the years to take the plunge into the efforts to clear the Green Room. Through KotGR she hosted many challenges and contests. Her own reviewing is exemplary too - Hannah holds the record for most reviews written in a single day here (currently stands at 105!) and is in the top 12 of our All Time Review Leaderboard. Let's hear from Knight @Hannah herself!

Squills: How has YWS impacted you and/or your writing?

Hannah: I am certain there are many ways the site has affected me that I am not even aware of, but I am keenly aware of the confidence that YWS has given me in system creation for small communities. I can face challenges that beg systems with confidence because I know I have tested necessary skills in a low-pressure and pleasant environment before. I am so thankful, every day, for this confidence.


Squills: What has been your proudest contribution to the site?

Hannah: I am so proud of The Knights of the Green Room, and it seems like a different life time or a different person that worked on setting up the system. I am so proud to see that it still draws in new knights and serves as a touchstone for bringing members together toward common review goals. I miss being part of it, but I am proud that it was set up in such a way that the torch of leadership can be passed on when necessary without losing the core of the game!


Squills: What has been your favorite YWS memory?

Hannah: I loved building friendships with regulars around the site. Although I may never get to meet some of them in person, there are those that I did get to see face to face. These were always good memories but hard to make happen. So participating in YWS radio shows was the next best way to feel close to friends beyond just text on a screen. It was always fun to hear real voices and compare them to images we had thought up based on member posts and private messages. I would say the day I called in to read a love poem to Mars was one of my favorite memories.


Squills: What's the biggest difference between the site now and when you first joined?

Hannah: The biggest difference that comes to mind is the disappearance of Instructors and Greeters. Members could apply to these special positions without having to take on all the general stress and responsibility of being a moderator. Greeters had their names in aqua and hung our in the welcome forum, interacting with new members as they posted introductions and contributing greatly to member retention. Instructors were recognized for their quality reviews and served as mentors to others around the site to work on bringing general review quality up across the board. My acceptance into the Instructor group let me know I was appreciated and could make a difference in this community, and likely pushed me on my way to confidently contributing in other ways.


Squills: Where do you see YWS in 20 more years?

Hannah: Wow, in 20 years, many of the people I enjoyed YWS with will be in their 50s! We will be well into our autumn lives. Hopefully many more of us will be published. And I hope the site continues to be a vibrant community where young people gain confidence in themselves in a variety of ways, beyond simple writing skills.




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:20 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



YWS BIRTHDAY PROFILE: MESHUGENAH
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

There are many users who have made a difference on the site during the duration of their membership on YWS, today we have the privilege from hearing from some of them.

This interview's subject is Meshugenah also known as just Mesh, or as I prefer.. MESH! @Meshugenah has made a tremendous mark on our beloved site!

Again, the history books before like 2010 are awfully crumbly! But here's what I know - Mesh joined shortly after the site was formed in December of 2004, and was one of the first 100 members of the site. Mesh joined the moderating team around January 2005 and was made a "Junior Admin" in January of 2007. I have no clue how the Admin / Junior Admin thing worked - but Meshugenah has had a red username longer than most of us have been on the site. Mesh was a crew leader for poetry crew, right from the beginning of when Poetry Crew became a thing in 2007. And She's been a force and influence and level-headed leader in all that time, through many different co-crew leaders. They lead the Poetry Crew before there was any precedent for what a "Poetry Crew" even was, and has been through the moderator team year after year through events and making sure the gears keep running.

As with many of the prominent members interviewed, Mesh did not just make a mark as a moderator but also as a writer. Meshugenah holds the record for participating in NaPoWriMo more on the site than any other user (although 2010 has been mysteriously lost to the records - again like I said records get crumbly there!). They also served for a time as Squills EoC. She has also been host of much site chaos and mayhem - along with her partner in crime @Rydia, Mesh hosted many years of the popular quiz game "Monkeys vs Dragons" and the famed YWS Scavenger Hunt (which was probably even more devious than the version I do now if memory serves right).

Mesh has been a YWS constant, a force to be reckoned with, a faithful moderator, and a fabulous poetry influence for the site. Much of Mesh's impact will never be known since it takes place behind the scenes but is nonetheless important and appreciated. Without further ado, let's here from the one and only MESH! :)

Squills: How has YWS impacted you and/or your writing?

Meshugenah: I'm still writing!


Squills: What has been your proudest contribution to the site?

Meshugenah: Possibly the scavenger hunts Rydia and I used to do (though she did them longer). I can't remember if it was PCrew or a combination of a few different crews that started it, but those early jams/workshops, too - there were a bunch of us trying to figure out how to workshop our writing more like we would in person, and docs/pads were still fairly new as a collaboration tool.


Squills: What has been your favorite YWS memory?

Meshugenah: On-site? The evil scavenger hunts Rydia and I used to do! Though NaPo and poetry parties (before we called them jams!) are pretty high up there.

Off-site? Probably meeting (at various times) almost the entire admin team, plus several others over the years.


Squills: What's the biggest difference between the site now and when you first joined?

Meshugenah: NOTEBOOK THEME. I bring this up about once a year, just for Nate.


Squills: Where do you see YWS in 20 more years?

Meshugenah: Hopefully still here in some capacity. I don't know if it will look exactly the same (in 2004 I didn't have Facebook, Gmail I think was still invite only, docs didn't exist quite yet, etc.), but the community I hope will still be here.!




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:20 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



YWS BIRTHDAY PROFILE: NITEOWL
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

There are many users who have made a difference on the site during the duration of their membership on YWS, today we have the privilege from hearing from some of them.

This interview's subject is niteowl known to some as just "nite". Niteowl is one of the site's first members, they are YWSer #53 who joined when the site wasn't even a month old on November 27, 2004. In all that time, niteowl has without a doubt made her mark on the site. She actually posted the very first lyrics on the site in Dec of 2004.

To be honest the records are crumbly when we get earlier than 2010 so I can't say exactly when nite became a moderator, or if JMs or GMs were even a thing back then, or if the site was in black and white still. I'm kidding! I do know however that her involvement of bringing joy around the site started early on. As @Ego would write in their July 2005 write up on the notable members of the site,

Her job is to give "gifts" to new members, Members of the Months, members on their birthdays, those that will be leaving for a time, and any other occasion she feels may be worthy of a gift.


In fact this gift giving would become not just a casual job, but a mission of sorts that spread to influencing other parts of the site like "Gift Days" (if I understand my YWS history right). While most YWSers can boast maybe a page or two of gifts given through the YWS gift section, nite has given 800 some gifts over their YWS career. I believe it's true that nite actually skipped the whole stage of being Junior Moderator, but actually joined straight into the Big Brother team in 2013. So both behind and in front of the scenes has been part of keeping the moderator team on track for over a decade!

They've also made an impact in both prose, storybooks, and poetry writing on the site, in 2023, their poem winning National Poetry Month's April Madness competition when the best poets of the site compete in a bracket-style contest. Nite has also been an avid reviewer on the site throughout their YWS career in both poetry and prose, and is in the top 13 of all time reviewers, with a reviewing total of 1276 reviews written. This reviewing skill fought many a monster in the Green Room and makes nite one of the six users who can boast having earned a Knights of the Green Room Unicorn, logging over 500 Green Room reviews on the site.

While many users throughout the years have come and faded away through life's journey, nite has been a consistent presence on the site. She's seen a lot that the site has went through, and we hope will continue on being part of the site in the next decade ahead. Let's hear from niteowl!

Squills: How has YWS impacted you and/or your writing?

niteowl: How has YWS impacted you and/or your writing? This is honestly hard to pinpoint. It's where I grew up and first really became a writer. Once something has been part of you for twenty years, it's hard to picture what you might have been without it. One big one I can think of is NaPoWriMo and all of the various poetry workshops/challenges over the years really helped me grow as a poet. I almost certainly would have left poetry behind in my 20s if it weren't for YWS.


Squills: What has been your proudest contribution to the site?

niteowl: What has been your proudest contribution to the site? Gifts-need I say more? :elephant:


Squills: What has been your favorite YWS memory?

niteowl: What has been your favorite YWS memory? Probably doing a dramatic reading of my first poem on one of the anniversary radio shows. Or winning the YWS Easter Egg Hunt (yes I still have that chick. His name is Henry. Don't ask me why.)


Squills: What's the biggest difference between the site now and when you first joined?

niteowl: It has more than 50 people on it! :P More seriously, I think it's notable how the site activity shifted from mostly in the forums and blogs to the People tab and WriterFeedPads.


Squills: Where do you see YWS in 20 more years?

niteowl: I really hope to see it still alive and thriving. Even as individual members come and go, we carry on as a community and I believe we can grow for generations to come.




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:21 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



GET TO KNOW THE YWS MODS
Image
written by EllieMae< PM: >

As we celebrate such an important YWS birthday, I had the chance to interview some awesome mods about their experience on YWS! Let's see what they had to say:

Squills: To begin, I would love to learn a little bit more about you. Tell me about yourself, what you like to write, and any writing goals you have for the future.


SilverNight: I split my time not quite evenly between roleplays, poetry and novel-writing. I love being able to get really into a cast of characters and a story with other people, since I feel much more enthusiastic about a project if other people share that enthusiasm too, and I also enjoy the yearly NaPo. My current writing goal is finishing the first draft of my novel The Last Spell by the end of this school year, which is easier said than done because I’m a college student in aeronautical engineering outside of YWS— but still, I have hope!

Meshugenah: I'm Mesh, and I've been around these parts since almost the beginning - I joined officially a couple of weeks into the site's existence as a surly 15 year old. I am a librarian by trade, and I have played clarinet since I was about 10. I picked up running a few years ago (15 year old me would be absolutely horrified), and I find it both very meditative and frustrating, because by the time I really hit a stride I've gone 3 miles and my legs hurt, which is absolutely a problem of being in my mid-thirties (about which I am mostly in denial).

I write mostly poetry, and I tend toward shorter rather than anything narrative or long. I've dabbled in prose over the years, but it's never been my forte. I have debated playing with lyrics/song writing, but that's not gone farther than a stray thought. I've also thought about pulling together a collection of poetry and looking into publishing them, but that's also not been more than a passing thought. One of my definite goals is to be more consistent with writing in general - I'm really good during NaPo, but not so much outside of that. Part of the issue is absolutely the daily grid of just being an adult and having no energy left after all the things I have to do on any given day.


Roxanne: I’m a full-time student, part-time writer and undercover magician:D Whenever I find the time, I read, try new recipes, do artsy stuff, and of course, write. I’m currently focused on writing suspense, with a bit of literary fiction mixed in, but I’m always exploring new genres.

My main goal right now is to finish my current NovMo project, anytime in the futureXD and then start exploring one of my many 'could-be-novel' concepts, all while continuing to improve my writing skills.


Sq: Thank you so much for sharing! So, tell me your story of how you joined YWS! How did you find the site and what was it like to join?


Si: I was roleplaying on a different website (it was the 16 personalities website… you may laugh it’s okay) with some friends, one of which was AceassinOfTheMoon, who suggested that we transfer over to this other website she was on when we were feeling some community problems on the first one. I agreed to the change of pace, so I made an account here, and the rest is history!

R:That’s a good question! I was already writing before I joined the site, and I remember scrolling through Google, trying to find a writing site- and as simply as that, that’s how I stumbled across the Young Writers Society.

I must admit, I was skeptical about it at first XD But I eventually realised what an incredible place it is with all amazing people. Since joining YWS, I’ve learned much more; from structuring a story to the art of rickroll XP


Sq: That sounds fantastic! Just a couple more questions. Tell me more about your experience being a mod (and a crew leader). What was it like becoming a JM (and eventually a GM)? What do you enjoy about being a mod on YWS?


Si: It's an honor I was very grateful to be considered for both times. I most enjoy running RP events, like RPMo and LSS, and welcoming new people onto the crew. Every month it's not RPMo I wish it was!

M:I became a GM before we had JMs! I remember when we started JMs (vaguely - I maybe got sidetracked and started going through some ancient history and I don't remember it all and that's slightly terrifying). I vaguely remember crews not being a formal thing initially, too, but I'd have to go back and confirm all that. Ok, I keep distracting myself! I definitely spent 20 minutes going through both the JM and GM forums looking for when JMs first started.

Ok, let's try this again. I became a GM before we had JMs! So, it was definitely different than it would be now, but the site was much, much smaller then. I became an admin around the time JMs came into existence. That was a bit more overwhelming, honestly, because there were only two of us! Not including Bobo (he did a lot of the template/design work with Nate years ago), there have only been four of us. I think I might still have the instructions from Firestarter on how to do some of the stuff we used to have to do - like manually adding usergroups!

The best part and biggest change over the years have been the people - I still miss talking to some of the people that have drifted away over the past almost 20 years (oh good grief, 20 years) - though there are a few I have kept in touch with in other places and ways.


Sq: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of my questions for this interview. It has helped me so much and has been so fun to get to know you even better (: For my last question, I would like to ask if you have anything you would like to say to newer members who are just joining the site, or anything else you would like to say?


Si: I'd say this: stay a while, the community here really is one of a kind! The people here are great and you'll find yourself engaging with others in a way you likely never expected to happen.

Thank you so much to @SilverNight, @Meshugenah, and @Roxanne for answering my questions!




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:22 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



EVENT HIGHLIGHT: LITERARY & ART COLLECTION
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

In honor of YWS's 20th year of existence, we're celebrating these two decades with an online literary and art collection, by the authors of YWS to celebrate our amazing community. The theme is community to celebrate the special way that from diverse and various experiences and backgrounds we've all landed here as part of this special community, you can interpret that theme as broadly as you like! The top selected works will be featured in a final PDF version distributed on the site that you can print off or email to your friends. The editors are myself, @looseleaf, @Que, and @Plume. We encourage all YWSers to consider submitting!

An important deadline to note is that submissions close November 25th! Each person can post up to two works to be considered. You can find all the other relevant submission details right here.

Image

To read the full Birthday Week Schedule: Read Here .




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:23 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



EVENT HIGHLIGHT: RADIO SHOW
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

Throughout the years a classic YWS activity has been "The YWS Radio Show" hosted on blogtalkradio.com users can click the radio link, and listen to the host (usually @Nate!) and choose to call in if they like! Intermixed with the Radio Host's commentary and callers is a selection of music and sometimes interviews. This has always been a much-loved event on the site and a chance to give shoutouts in a special way too! One year we even had batman tune in...

This year for YWS's 20th Birthday, we're bringing the Radio Show back, and I, alliyah, will be your host! The show will be (automatically adjusted to display in your time zone). Be sure you don't miss this exciting event! To tune in you'll want to watch radio.php or if that doesn't show the episode you can tune in at https://www.blogtalkradio.com/yws as you listen to the live show you'll also have the option to call-in with your phone if you want to give a shoutout, reading, or share some well wishes for the site. These should be the call in numbers: United States & Canada: (347) 215-7869 International: 1 (347) 215-7869. As far as I know Blog Talk Radio is actually ending their services at the end of January 2025, so this may be the last YWS Radio Show... well at least the last on Blog Talk - in the future maybe we'll think of a new live streaming option in years to come! But that's for the next decade to figure out. :)

Image

To read the full Birthday Week Schedule: Read Here .




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:23 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



EVENT HIGHLIGHT: THEN AND NOW POETRY COMPETITION
Image
written by EllieMae< PM: >

On November 16th, there will be a special poetry event on YWS! In this event, participants will take a line from a poem they wrote and create something new. Participants are encouraged to use a line from the first poem they posted on YWS, but any poem that they consider to be 'old' is allowed to.

Using this poetry line, you will write a new poem. Winners will be decided based on the poems ability to capture the theme of growth, reflection, and community, as we celebrate this YWS birthday milestone. Stay tuned for more information about this event!




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:24 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



EVENT HIGHLIGHT: UNCLASSIFIED VS. CLASSIFIED
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

Another resurrected favorite event is the "Monkeys vs Dragons" Mascot Wars Quiz Game
... to explain the interesting title, many years ago there was a contest (usually ran by the wonderful @Rydia) on YWS to see what animal would become the "official" mascot - team monkey won the victory (though results have oft been disputed!) Several years later @TheEgg actually was in the running between these two and actually beat them both! Well any-who there was a little friendly rivalry between "Team Monkeys" and "Team Dragons" for years later, and this would get played out in the quiz game where players would represent either the Team Monkeys (red) or Team Dragons (green) and the winning team was declared victorious for that year!

Image
^ a badge from the 2018 contest of Monkeys vs Dragons!


Well this year we wanted to re-ignite the quiz game with a more contemporary YWS rivalry "Unclassified vs. Classified". Now if you're not up on your "Unclassified vs. Classified" history, my (slightly biased and much abbreviated) version is this: Team Classified causes mayhem and attempts to overthrow the site with chaos often through the use of vague clues and obscure references littered across the site, sometimes in binary code, while Team Unclassified tries to protect Big Brother, solve the riddles, and prevent chaos from overthrowing YWS!

Well for the quiz game you don't have to necessarily know any of that history, you can just come and try your best to answer different quiz questions in categories like literature, poetry, and general knowledge all while enjoying a little friendly rivalry with the other team! The game will take place (that's adjusted to your time zone!) and will be hosted by @Iggy and @alliyah in a WFP. Watch for the link over in the Birthday Week Forum.

Image

To read the full Birthday Week Schedule: Read Here .




User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:25 pm
View Likes
SquillsBot says...



EVENT HIGHLIGHT: SCAVENGER HUNT
Image

written by alliyah < PM: >

A classic YWS Birthday and YWS Olympics activity has always been the YWS Scavenger Hunt - this event challenges users to search every thread and corner of the site in order to find the answers. Usually along the way you find some great trivia, inside-jokes, and history about the site too! This year in honor of the site being 20 years old, the scavenger hunt will have 20 questions! It will open up on November 13 and users can search for the answers until it ends on November 18th. Even if you don't find every answer, don't be afraid to submit - you may be in the running for winning because these questions are hard! The link to this year's Scavenger Hunt questions and directions can be found here !

As a small hint to those who are participating... reading this Squills issue might just give you a little bit of help! ;) Good luck!

Image

To read the full Birthday Week Schedule: Read Here .







I'll show my defiance through ironic obedience!
— AstralHunter