Young Writers Society

YWS Now on Cloudflare Pro

Nate just signed up YWS on Cloudflare pro. Expected results are faster site loading time--about 25% to 50% more--and a more advanced security protection system against SQL interjection attacks and the like threats.

Nate wrote:I've done a pretty good job at sanitizing input, but in this case, it doesn't hurt to be paranoid. Having an extra layer of protection will help a lot.

So far, I'm very happy with it.

Although Nate is not sure whether this effect is due to the switch to Pro, an unexpected problem appeared on the server, opening up more free memory in the last 24 hours, which isn't good for the system. To avoid any disadvantage from this situation, Nate moved .5 GB of ram back over from the web server to the database.

Many of us want to be editors. Whether we've been working our whole lives toward it, scribbling over our neighbour's paper at the age of three and saying 'that's not how you do it' or whether we've only just begun to tentatively thumb our way through the 'how to' book. It's something we want to do and we're going to find a way to do it.

Maybe you've taken your first baby steps toward that goal, or maybe you're hanging on to the bottom rung of the ladder and staring with a mixture of steely determination and avalanching fear up at the top. Great climbers will tell you 'don't look down' but that's exactly what I'm telling you to do.

Look down. Take your eyes off that big, shiny goal and aim for the next rung on the ladder. Think small. There's a lot of ways of becoming an editor and sometimes the less travelled roads are the way to go. Don't set your sights blindly on the end goal and stand by the road, holding a sign for Nevada. Start walking. And if a car pulls up and asks if you want to go to Utah, think about it. Don't pass up an opportunity because it doesn't look like it will take you far enough.

Because really, how far does a sail boat go; how long is a piece of string? (Though of course we know it's twice as long as half its length).

Six months ago I started working at an obscure I.T. Company and I was thinking of it as a stepping stone. A place where my foot would land for a moment and then I'd be off again. We have to keep ourselves away from that kind of thinking. That kind of thinking keeps us from putting our full effort into a task and I realised this a few weeks in and turned my attitude around.

It wasn't a role that used my writing abilities to their full potential and it was often frustrating or tedious. But a month ago this obscure I.T. Company started training me on their gazette and now I'm almost an editor. The gazette is our daily online newsletter distributed to three of the UK's top ten banks with a readership of around five thousand bankers. I edit it.

In a larger company I could work for years without being presented with the same opportunities but in the world of small business, where you're under-staffed and under budget, there's a lot of room for expanding your responsibilities. It might not look like much at first but stay alert and put both feet on the stepping stone. You never know where it's going to take you.

I start work at 7:30am sharp and right up until that 9:00am deadline, I feel like I'm an editor. I am selecting articles, cutting up descriptions and correcting headlines while re-ordering them around a strict template. When work resumes as normal afterwards and I remember it's only an hour and a half of my day, I also remember: that's an hour and a half more than last year.

This Week's Star Reviewers
The stars seem aligned this time...

Let's welcome this week's ultimate star reviewers!

niteowl
It seems that this owl has spent its nights reviewing at the Young Writers Society! Let's thank niteowl for his handful 12 reviews this past week!

magpie94
Our featured member is really living up to her name! With a pool of 17 reviews, magpie tries to liven up the Literary with her awesome reviews. Let's give her a pat in the back!

dogs
Dogs is back to claim YWS's doggiest position, the topmost throne of the Leaderboards! With over 70 reviews, it is obvious that dogs has nothing better to do than help other YWSers with their works! Let's congratulate dogs once again!

And that's the top three for the week. What you need to do next? Take inspiration in the work they've done and get reviewing!