Young Writers Society

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!





Of course, our content can’t come only from our staff. We also depend on you to help keep Squills successful. You’re all a part of a writing community, after all. If you’re interested in submitting to Squills, pop on over to the Reader’s Corner to find out how you can get involved by contributing an article or participating in other Squills activities.

Well, that’s all I have for now. So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy!

1. REVIEW DAY LIVE FEED
2. GREEN ROOM GALLERY
3. FEEDBACK FROM THE READERS
4. THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE
5. SOCIETY PAGES
6. STORYBOOK UPDATE
7. COW SAYS: AUGUST 25th, 2013
8. WHILE I SULK IN IMMORALITY
9. NEW ARRIVALS
10. THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 8/25
11. SHAMELESS PLUGS
12. SUBSCRIBERS

REVIEW DAY LIVE FEEDwritten by the Squills Team < PM: >

It's clear that there's nothing YWSers can't handle, but the one thing they would like to handle less would be waiting for amazing reports and statistics about Review Day. After the scores go down, there's an invisible crowd of people milling around in the Lounge waiting for the stats thread to be posted. And Squills wanted to provide something for lovely YWSers to read in the mean time. This week, instead of waiting until the next Sunday to provide a rundown of review day, we're trying something new. We're putting together a LIVE FEED of all the stories, statistics, events, and thrill of this Sunday's review day between the Green Lanterns and the Black Plague.

What's even more interesting? Remember how Review Day has Review Teams and each team has a captain? It just so happens that two of Squills own were chosen for these captain positions. @Hannah and @ArcticMonkey will be bringing you the inside scoop on the chronicles of their team's Review Day accomplishments. Who are you rooting for?

So, here's the starting situation on GREEN LANTERN:

Team Leaders @Hannah, @manisha, and @OliveDreams were chosen with relatively little trouble, but the name proved to be a little trickier. Suggestions like Nature's Ink, The Oobleck, or the Key Lime Coast Guard were thrown around before Green Lantern emerged as the majority. And now those technicalities are out of the way, the forum is hoppin'. More reports on the various threads in the Green Lantern forum as the day moves on!

And what's it looking like over at BLACK PLAGUE?:

Things are looking a bit quiet at the moment, but it's just like the Black Plague to hit when nobody's expecting! Beware because some members are already ready with their Review Day Goals and are already coming up with Black Plague Battle Lines.

Check this space for live updates as Review Day rolls on!

UPDATE 00:20 GMT

This is what an early lead looks like:



With Green Lantern reviews spear-headed by members like Johnathan , @Elinor%20Brynn , @Cailey , and @wholesomereader , the early reviewing Black Plague members @Iggy , @HomeschooledTeen , and @ArcticMonkey struggle to catch back up.


UPDATE 02:10 GMT
Green Lantern are currently still in the lead. Here is what the stats are looking like right now:


Although they're not in the lead, Black Plague have a team of great reviewers! @Carina's review of The Days we Forget to Love- *Prologue* *Edited* is particularly good because it gives an overall view of the piece showing good sides and things to be improved on. Not only that, it gives a very quick and useful lesson on grammar in dialogue!

So will Green Lantern keep in the lead? Do Black Plague have something special up their sleeves? Tune in for more!


UPDATE 09:05 GMT

Sorry that it's been so long since our last update, but here's what the top of the leader boards are looking like now:
1. Blackwood has done 26 reviews (Black Plague)
2. manisha has done 22 reviews (Green Lantern)
3. Cailey has done 20 reviews (Green Lantern)
4. Iggy has done 12 reviews (Black Plague)
4. HomeschooledTeen has done 12 reviews (Black Plague)

And this is the current score:
Green Lantern: 14976 • Black Plague: 15549

Sources tell me that Black Plague took over lead at 04:04 GMT after being behind by 1000 points.

Also, @HomeschooledTeen who has been top of the leaderboards all month has earned her fourth gold star! Considering she's only been a member since May that's pretty amazing- well done HT!

So it seems now the tables have turned, will Green Lantern get their lead back? Only time can tell!

UPDATE 11:25 GMT

As the day wears on, the battle looks to be more and more like a repeat of last review day, where when the timer buzzed, Team Dory was ahead of the Inc[red]ibles by only a single 100-point review.

Though discouraged by an early look at defeat, Black Plague did indeed take the lead after only a few hours. The lead, however, did not last. Green Lantern gathered together and pushed ahead to retake a lead that would last four about four hours, never more than a thousand points ahead of the competition.

And then they lost it. For nearly two hours, Black Plague cheered with as much joy as a team of death could, and held on to their well-earned second lead.

Now the scores are as follows:



Green Lantern: 17918
Black Plague: 17886

In addition, regardless of team affiliation, another victory has been won by the teams working together:

the Green Room is clear of all works!



For those of you who don't follow the Knights of the Green Room, this means that the Knights have finally fought their way to the mysterious castle in the woods, to which they have a key and a not-so-solid claim. They plan to make it their headquarters, but nothing worth having comes easy, which means the next step in the plot will be revealed soon.

Can Green Lantern keep the lead they won back?
Will 100 points be all that separates the team by the end of the night?
And who will top the leader boards when it all comes to an end?
Find out right here on the live feed.

UPDATE 14:52 GMT

What's especially amazing about this review day is not that after the previous update, Green Lantern lost their lead, regained it, and jetted ahead to a more than 3,000 point lead over Black Plague, but how amazing individual members are at supporting their team. Take a moment to think about the fantastic community you're surrounded by as Squills spotlights fantastic MVPs from both teams.

@crazycraz has, at press time, not actually been available to contribute any points to her team, but she's brought a lot of spirit to her fellow Green Lanterns. Crazy organized a fantastic challenge thread , presenting challenges like Challenge No. 3 - The Green Challenge: Mention something green in your review - whether it's grass, your favorite green bathtub duck, or an avocado. She's been offering point rewards to those that complete challenges. If you earn a star this review day, you'll get 5 points!

@OliveDreams is also proving to by a loving, supportive captain, highlight reviews from members like @SecreteJournalist and @ChangeTheWorld. Though this is ChangeTheWorld's first review day, she's already poppin' out quality reviews like the one OliveDreams mentioned on this piece by @futrauthr482 .

There are plenty of team challenges going on as well. Johnathon and @HighTop are racing to 25 reviews, with the prize being all the points the other person got from their reviews. @Hannah and @HighTop are working through reviews on piece that start with every letter of the alphabet together, and @OliveDreams and @Hannah recently finished a quick-race to 10 reviews.

In addition, @Rydia got her third light blue star by reviewing this piece ! Congratulations, Rydia!

Over at Black Plague, @ArcticMonkey is eager to feature @EloquentDragon, @HomeschooledTeen, and @Deanie for their quality reviews. She features this review by EloquentDragon , which is thoughtful enough to cover thoroughly all grammar concerns as well as the big stuff.

@kazza has also been an enthusiastic new member of Black Plague. Though for a moment kazza may have thought review day ended with the conquering of the Green Room, all misunderstandings were cleared up, and kazza moves on to build on the 15 reviews she's already contributed.

The team's also really into keeping with their chosen name. @Blackwood likes to start his reviews by saying he's there to spread the black plague, and with as catchy (and grim!) a slogan as that, team members can't help but be inspired to plow on.

There are still several hours left in the event, though. An entire work-day, practically. Will the tides turn from where they currently stand?

Green Lantern: 24528 • Black Plague: 21037

UPDATE 15:11 GMT

Some screenshots from the field, courtesy of @niteowl. One is recent -- a shot of her capturing the 450th review. We all like even numbers:



And one throwback from earlier in the competition to display just how close this race has been!




UPDATE 18:32 GMT

Here is what the scores are looking like now:



Green Lanterns have come up with a big lead now, around 65 reviews ahead now, and about 6000 points ahead. Green Lantern have got three members of their team in the top 5 of the leader board today, but if we take a look at this months stats:

We can see that it seems a lot of the members of Black Plague are at the top.

Green Lantern's @Niebla may not be at the top of the leaderboards, but she's done an amazing review here which is both detailed and organised.

@NightWolf of Black Plague is a new member and although a bit confused about how to review at first, they soon found their feet. They have earned their first star on YWS with this review here .

So will the Black Plague rise once again?
Will YWS meet its overall goal of 750 reviews?
Get the inside scoop here!

UPDATE 23:50 GMT

With ten minutes left in the game, it's clear that the Green Lanterns took off after they last overtook Black Plague and never looked back. They now stand more than 100 reviews and 10,000 points above the other team.



Of course, with that victory decided, YWS turned its sights to other goals. For individual members, that sometimes mean achieving stars. Squills congratulates @InfiniteSnowfall for achieving a second yellow star and @yubbies21 for earning a third yellow star! @HomeschooledTeen, from team Black Plague, earned her fourth gold star. Stars all around!

In addition, a big change happened late in the game. @Nate posted a status saying it as unlikely, as time wound down, that we'd be able to make the 750 review goal, but 700 was within our grasp. And suddenly, with around 15 minutes to go, the review goal dropped accordingly, leaving @DrStranglelove suddenly pushing the site over its review goal for the day. This means that at press time, with five minutes to go, we are twenty-one reviews over the adjusted goal. Success?

UPDATE 00:20 GMT

Squills is back with the word on the streets -- we wanted people's opinions on the sudden goal change, and we brought the reaction to you!

@Blackwood says he was completely angry.






@DrStrangelove, on the other hand, was thrilled.






And with that, Squills' live feed coverage of the August review day comes to an end. For straight stats, check out this thread in The Lounge by Big Brother .

GREEN ROOM GALLERYwritten by HomeschooledTeen < PM: >

Alright my pretties, we are coming up on another Review Day.

For those of you poor, ignorant people who are currently seeing all the Review Day propaganda on the site, and yet who are unaware of what exactly Review Day is, well, you are about to learn! HT is here to educate you.

A Review Day is a time period of 24 hours around the last Sunday of the month. (We are all in different time zones, so it starts differently for all of us. Keep an eye on your countdown clock at the top of your home page to know exactly when it occurs for you.)

During this time, the users of YWS attempt to review as many works as possible. This month, Nate wants us all to collectively review at least 750. Considering how in June we hit over a thousand and nearly reached a thousand in July, I don't think that goal is much of a challenge.

To make R-Day even more fun, you can join a Review Team. There should be a button at the top of your home page that you click, and it somehow selects what team you are on. (Don't ask me how it's chosen, I'm a writer, not a computer engineer. Oh, wait... DAD! Come explain this to me please!) Team members select their team captain, avatar, and their own name (though they have a general name before the selection: this month we were Team Black and Team Green).

For those of you who know how the review process works, nothing about it changes during R-Day. The only difference is that any reviews that you do and points that you earn during the R-Day period also count to your team's final total. Teams with the most points and/or reviews get bragging rights, and you can earn certain trophies depending on how active you are. You also cannot publish any new works once Review day begins.

Well, enough about Review Day, let's get down to this weeks featured Green Room work, shall we, my darlings?

You want to know something really, really sad? Not enough people homeschool where I live, and somehow @ShadowVyper has managed to be the author of the oldest, completely unreviewed work in the Green Room again! What has been happening, people? Do we not have any Knights willing to take on this challenge? Is Shady really that intimidating? (Obviously, she is considering I haven't dared to touch her works yet. I'm just as guilty as the rest of you.)

Oh, well. I hope you all have a happy review day, I hope to see the Green Room emptied, and I hope that some people are brave enough to take down The Charm of Deception: Ch. 3, Pt. 2

Until next week, lovelies!

FEEDBACK FROM THE READERS (that's you!)written by ArcticMonkey < PM: >

Since Squills’ Grand Reopening back at the end of July, the Squills team has been dying to know what you all think of the changes, whether it’s positive thoughts or negative thoughts -- anything really is great for us to know. We’ve had a couple of threads about feedback on Squills, but this week we wanted to go further than that. So, I asked various different members who read Squills some questions -- but if you’re reading this and think you have some feedback to give then feel free to leave it at the Squills Fan Club
or PM @SquillsBot with suggestions, and the team will definitely take them into consideration. We're pretty much begging you for feedback, okay?

Now, without further ado, let’s hear what the readers of Squills have to say! Starting with the positives: what do people enjoy about Squills? @Deanie says,





@Alpha says,





Hey, nothing wrong with a bit of cheesy-ness! I agree that I like how it brings us all together.

When asked what their favourite weekly articles were, ‘Cow Says’ by @CowLogic proved to be very popular. Some other popular weekly columns are the ‘Green Room Gallery’ written by @HomeSchooledTeen’, ‘Unsung Poetry Gems’ written by @SparkofDoubt, and the ‘Society Pages’ written by @StellaThomas (aka Lady S). Please let us know what yours is at the Squills Fan Club . @manisha says,





Now, it can’t all be praise about Squills, there’s always room for improvement with everything we do. When asked about suggestions for Squills, many people said that we need to get a larger audience, and get people interested in it all. One way to do this is have some more audience interaction, according to @VeeranVKS:





Which we all think is a great idea, so expect to see something of the sort in following Squills articles!

@Aley says,






Sometimes it’s hard to track these things, so we will consider including something like this is future Squills articles to keep people posted.

Thanks to: @ImHero, @LouisCypher, @VeeranVKS, @Deanie, @Aley, and @Alpha for giving some feedback on Squills!

If you too think you have some feedback to give, pop on over to the Squills Fan Club and share your thoughts, or feel free to PM any of the staff. If you’re unsure of who the staff are, they are listed here as staff in the fan club. We’d love to hear your thoughts!

THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE

written by Iggy < PM: >

We all know who they are! And if you don't, this is the club that has been amazing in its efforts to officially greet every single newcomer and show them around the site. They give the newbies links to read and help guide them to The Buddy System! , while also making sure they provide personal, friendly words of welcome.

Because of their amazing efforts, the three group leaders became Featured Members-- the first club to ever be featured! Squills sat down with @SushiSashimi333, @thewritersdream, and @KittyCatMeow for an interview:



SushiSashimi333: It feels awesome! I feel like I'm making history XD
thewritersdream: I think it's great! Really, I think Sushi deserved it-- mainly because she took the initiative to start it, even though I had been thinking about it for sometime. We all though are dedicated to it, so it was a wonderful thing that we all got FM. I know Kitty really puts effort into it, and I love it and enjoy being a part of it.
KittyCatMeow: A quite proud feeling. I only actually started to finally use YWS after 2012 when I created my account. I didn't think I would become FM so quickly. My efforts on the Welcoming Committee were for multiple reasons. Besides that, I am glad that I was not the only one to become FM for a while. Being in a group made me feel comfortable.



S: I started the club because I felt that all the people who didn't get welcomed should, but I couldn't get to all of them and I needed help. When I would welcome I saw other welcomes too, and thought that if all these great welcomers could be gathered into one place, and be an organized group, then we could welcome more efficiently.
T: Well, Sushi started it. I joined after it had been started, asking her with some reasons why. I really liked the idea, and wanted to help contribute to it anyway I could/can.
K: I didn't start this club myself, but I certainly do know what it was made for-- welcoming new users that weren't welcomed. For that very reason, some users felt as if this website was not the website for them. We all know they might've had their reason to stay, but that's usually if someone welcomes them. After a while, I started to welcome users myself, and then eventually became promoted to Officer.



S: Because of the welcoming committee and all of the awesome people we welcomed that decided to join YWS. Without them, where would we be?
T: I think I earned it because I was part of an amazing club which does what we all love to do, welcome people! I think a great example of this would be @Kevikur. He just recently joined, and he already started welcoming people.
When I asked him why, he said he was welcomed and he just wanted to do the same for others. That's how a lot of us feel. It's a great feeling to be welcomed, and it encourages people to be more active in the site.
And that really separates YWS from other sites in that we are really hands on. It makes us even more of a society.
K: Well, I don't want to sound like I'm trying to gloat, but I suppose it's because the Welcoming Committee is a somewhat selfless organization.



S: We are gonna continue to improve welcoming and helping them find the Buddy System. We do have games every once in a while, so maybe we can try and incorporate new members too, so that they can feel a little more welcomed. Also we want to try and make every welcome count. So instead of repetition we'll try to focus more on diversity of what we say and tell the new members.
T: I think designating people to certain age groups and areas would be wonderful. I saw one user looking for more people his/her age and I think it's important we are able to do that. Also I think that we could expand to also trying to bring back old users and help involve them into the society again. As well as have easy link access and such.
K: A lot of great ones. At the moment, we are still working on some more improvement, but we will definitely at least help make YWS a better place.



S: Just be yourself, have fun and laugh a lot. Everyone here is a person, so treat them like that.
T: I think the most important thing a YWS user can do is to be themselves. As long as they can just be themselves they can do anything they want to and become FM.

Welcome, be friendly, review, interact.

If they do the above in their own creative way they have the chance to be FM!
K: FM sometimes comes when you do something different than from what you usually do. I didn't, at first, want to join one of these organizations that's different from my usual fun, fun, funny. Now look at me. Former FM member because of a club I put a lot of my time to the Welcoming Committee only because I liked my job.

SOCIETY PAGES

written by Stella Thomas < PM: >

All aboard the good ship Tennifer!
That’s right, mateys, there’s a new YWS couple sailing these seas! Lady S can confirm that @Lumi and @JabberHut are together, although debate continues to surround the naming of this ship: Tennifer, or Lumber? I for one think we should put it to a vote. Either way it’s totally adorable, although those aboard this ship may have to brace themselves to go head to head with the HMS Siirlie or the HMS Nuttster. That’s one naval battle that might not bore me to death. It shall be filled with squeeing at the adorbs. Congratulations, you two!
Congratulations are in order all around this week: @ArcticMonkey aced her exams, @OliveDreams’ cousin gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and @Rydia gave blood… which probably doesn’t deserve congratulations, but maybe a round of applause? After all, it may save a life some day -- or be used by some super secret government industry.
@SparkOfDoubt switched moderator crews in the dead of night causing several eyebrows to rise, and then, scared for her life lest the leaders of the poetry crew hunt her down and use the power of the metaphor against her, considered a name change… only to incur more fury. Uh oh, Spark, better lie low this week! But she can't because, oh, that’s right, she has become engaged! The marriage of @sparkofdoubt and @OmarEhab will happen within the next week. Oh I can hear the bells…
Name changes were a common theme, with @Iggy becoming, well, Iggy. Ignorant no more, one must assume. I wonder what she’s learnt… And thankfully, Iggy has also gotten an ingrown toenail removed… TMI?
Everybody’s gearing up to get back to school and college, including Lady S, and @Noelle is amongst them. We wish her the best of luck with all the changes ahead!
There are also returns all over the place, @Snoink is back from her honeymoon, @AriaAdams is back from her own holliers and @Shadowlight is back from that dark place we call ‘real life’. It’s good to see you guys, the place just wasn’t the same without you!
That’s all for this week. Remember to get your scandal in to Lady S on time for the next issue (although a word of warning- I may not be operating through the same YWS account next week…)

xxx

Lady S

STORYBOOK UPDATEwritten by AfterTheStorm < PM: >

Welcome back to another Storybook Update! Inside this article, you’ll be taken on a ride through the Storybook section from this past week. So buckle your seat belts, hold onto your glasses, and please stand clear of the doors. Keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and enjoy this Storybook information that has been collected just for you!



Ladies and gentlemen, can I please get a round of applause for the very first “In the Spotlight” featured Storybooker and Storybook?

This week, one stunning Storybooker outshone the rest: @TaylorLove! This fabulous, charismatic Storybooker is definitely a pro. She has played countless roles in a very long list of great Storybooks, her characters ranging from a timid angel to a fearless warrior. TaylorLove has done it all. She said in a brief interview, “In Storybooks, I am active and really enjoy posting. I just have fun with it.” Congratulations, Taylor!

Now, drum-roll for the Storybook that stole the week's spotlight: High School Mythical
High School Mythical! Created by @ThingRed barely over a week ago, "High School Mythical" has already racked in fifteen colorful characters and five pages of exciting posts. It’s an active thread with an interesting storyline, sure to hook you in. I mean, who doesn’t want to write about a supernatural high school where students go missing? Check out "High School Mythical" now!

Fresh from the Press

Created just this past Wednesday, The Oakland Institute is without a doubt hot off the press. This Storybook was started by the wonderful mind of @Elinor%20Brynn and is still in need of a few more characters. Elinor wrote,






However, all is not as it seems in this institute... (Cue the dramatic music!)

Next up, we have the lovely @Lumi to thank for The Truth Between Us a brand new Storybook started Saturday. “The Truth Between Us” follows the life of a woman who has recently dealt with the death of a dear friend, and believes the cause of death wasn’t natural.

Lumi said,






Doesn’t that sound interesting? Plus, it has a unique twist. (Ooh, I do love a good twist!) The entire Storybook will be written as a poem, in any style you choose.

Go check out The Truth Between Us and The Oakland Institute now!




I want to hear from you, the Storybooker! This week, I asked a handful of YWS users their opinions on Storybooking. Thank you to all who participated!

@Crazycraz replied, “I love Storybooks. It’s a great way to meet other members and learn how to collaborate with them, and also a great way to become a better writer.”

@TaylorLove responded with, “[Storybooking] is great. I get to write with awesome people!”

@Seraph said, “I used to be a Storybooker like you... Then, I took a hiatus to the interwebs. Despite my recent inactivity in them, from what I recall, I find the contribution of multiple writers in the formulation of a singular plot to be the most intriguing aspect of Storybooks. Other interests and endeavors continually arise, and the promise of regular action escapes my grasp.” (Well put, Seraph.)


It’s been another successful week in the Storybook section of YWS, so as always: write on!

COW SAYS: AUGUST 25th, 2013 written by CowLogic < PM: >



Hello, and welcome to Snake Hurling Sunday. This is your host, Jeff Goldblum, talking with more lisp than you need to hear.

So sometimes people ask me, they say, Jeff, how do you become a rich and famous Hollywood actor? And I say, well, fans, you can get rich n' famous just about anyhow. You can work hard all your life, get good grades, go to a good school for cheap, work hard in college, get your degree, an internship, get money, more acting classes, star in some low budget projects before being scouted by Hollywood, end up in good graces of some producer.

Or you could be born to someone rich and famous and inherit your stardom.

Is that fair? No! No, it's not fair, that some work all their lives to get somewhere someone else got to just because they were born rich. They ask, why do we let this happen? Why can't there be equal opportunity.

And I say, listen. If you wanted equal opportunity, this would be just about the most selfish society there is. Everything you do would be for yourself, not for your kids, your neighbors, your prosperity, your future generations. Any hard work you put into life would be useless if you couldn't pass it on to your kids. The only person you would be helping was yourself.

So I think if you took away the possibility of some rich kid getting places without trying, you might also be taking away the initiative of the hard worker to get to that spot. He has no sense of fulfillment at the end but for his own, you know?

The luck of the draw may not be the best, but without it, society might become the worst and the most selfish and satanist.

Now, let me explain Chaos Theory...

And that was Snake Hurling Sunday, with Jeff Goldblum.

WHILE I SULK IN IMMORALITY
written by ShadowVyper < PM: >

This week, Squills takes you on an interview with the poet who created one of this week's featured works -- I am just a writer -- our very own @ImHero



ImHero: Nothing, actually. When I write, it just seems like my ideas are ingrained in my personality, is all. Nothing sparks my inspiration, usually.



I: Nope, not at all.



I: I don't very much like it at all. I just think the content is the best part then. It's not much of a poem.



I:I would like an image, and it to flow better.



I: If I can think of something I will edit it, but not repost on YWS.



I:I don't know. Anything can happen. I might get into articles, or submit some of my stories, or keep doing poetry-- just depends.



I: Sure.

Where I have come from is of a significant importance. This place, please believe, is not from fraudulent lands but sinuous lands-- let me explain. They call me a traveler, but these places I go could not be marked on so called maps; but rather examined from a certain vision in your mind. For I do not travel by distance, but I do go to places of a mysterious manor.

I: Nope. Thanks

NEW ARRIVALS
written by ShadowVyper < PM: >

Take a moment to welcome this week’s newest members to the site!

@LeoPenrhythm has only been a member of YWS for a few days, but has kept themselves busy reviewing. Luckily, they've already posted several poems that you can review in return! Go check out Sonnet 1 (My Only Love) .

@ChangeTheWorld has also stayed busy, spreading lots of awesome reviews around the site. She's a real sweetheart, too. Why not review her short story, Faking Perfect ? I did.

@malec is just starting his career as a reviewer, but has posted one of his works, The Magic Seal- Prologue . Why not bolster his drive by writing a review on his piece?

@SereneSimpliciT is also a new reviewer, but was brave enough to post some of her work. Why not reward that courage with a review? Read her work, LAPIS: The Introduction .

@Dymtra has only been a member for one day, yet she's already earned herself a gold star! She's also posted a lovely poem, The Bright Green Stars , which you should go review.

THIS WEEK'S ROUNDUP – 8/25
written by megsug < PM: >

I’ve got the popular links for this week. Twenty-eight percent more efficient than the other brand!


Ever feel like your novel is a living, breathing being? Ever get so frustrated with a chapter that isn’t coming together that you just want to scream at the paper in front of you? Or perhaps when you have that chapter finally get on paper, you want to hug someone? Who better to hug, scream at, or slap than your novel?

You probably think it’s silly, but there’s nothing as therapeutic when you’re stuck! And lucky for you, there's a place made just for you to talk to your literary creation in our Clubs . Rant like @SushiSashimi333






Or kiss your novel’s -- hopefully clean -- toes. Just make your way over to Dear Novel... and start your letter.

Dear Novel...


Sasha, a child in Russia, didn’t have their biological sex revealed until they were five years old. They played with toys they chose, wore clothes they liked. No gender stereotyping went on to decide what they should play with or wear. Is this truly a better raising technique? Is there any chance that psychological problems might arise? @Karzkin says,






Others are worried that going too extreme may cause difficulties for a child in the future. They think this technique is moving in the right direction, but perhaps takes the idea a bit too far. What do you think? Let us know your opinion on this and other relevant matters in the Serious Discussion and Debate forum !



And now, on our journey through the links, we’re getting deep into the Writer’s Corner . Most of us have the experience where others read our works and what we think is incredibly obvious goes right over their heads. Whose fault is it? Do we blame it on the reader? Or do we make it a little less esoteric? Each situation probably depends on the reader and writer. Is there a boundary though? A line that separates the kingdoms of Cleverly Subtle and No One’s Going To Get It? Perhaps...

@Rosey Unicorn thinks the line is where the author is subtle for the sake of being subtle.






Really, the only way to tell is to get a lot of people to read your work and see if they understand everything between the lines. Do you have your own stories about being misunderstood?



Our mods do a great job, but sometimes a user in the trenches of our site can have the best ideas! No matter how small or big or how hard it may be to do, we want to hear what you think would give this site a little extra oomph! Is there an issue you have with formatting? Do you think there’s a way to make YWS more newbie friendly? @Blackwood suggests






Even if it’s something as small as the fonts we use on the website, or if it's a change site wide, let us hear! Get the ideas out in the open and maybe they will grow.



It’s a hard question. Pink Floyd? The Beatles? Led Zepplin? Lynyrd Skynyrd? All iconic bands. Even if you have no idea what their music sounds like, you've probably heard the names. But which is the best? Some think the Beatles are overrated. Others say the same about Queen, and there’s always someone to disagree with both of those statements. @ArticMonkey thinks






So many choices! So many culture-changing bands! It’s hard to make a decision, but what do you think?

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