Young Writers Society

Back in 2004 Nate started YWS and what a wonderful community it has blossomed into, encouraging writers to grow in their writing and make friends while doing it! One of the essential components of keeping this site running smoothly are those little goblins coated in lime green! That's right we're talking about the Junior Moderator Team. While the GMs are busily doing whatever GMs do, the JM team lifts a lot of the moderating weight - making sure different matters are attended to, spam bots are caught, members welcomed, and the site remains being such an encouraging place to be a part of. The Junior Moderators often busily contribute to the site in ways that aren't seen, or recognized, but still make a huge impact. The Global Moderator / Admin Team really wanted to take this opportunity to say, "thank you" to our current group of Junior Moderators as well as our recently retired Distinguished Junior Moderators.

You're a great group of writers, event-planners, organizers, chatters, encouragers, and leaders - thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the hard work and energy you have put into YWS. You are appreciated.


- YWS GM/ADMIN Team

Storybooks Crew

soundofmind
soundofmind is one of the most accomplished storybookers and roleplayers in the crew right now. A few months ago, one of her storybooks came to its conclusion - making it one of the five finished storybooks that finish the current style of storybooking. She’s also taken part in every completed roleplay that the Roleplay Realm has churned out. Outside of the realm and storybook section, soundofmind has also completed several Roleplay Duos threads, and is an accomplished poet, artist and musician! We are in awe of your many talents!

She’s always scheming up cool, interesting ideas for new storybooks and roleplays, too! Chances are you've joined at least one of the roleplays or storybooks she's run in the past - not only because she's made so many, but also because she's a genuinely friendly and funny person. It's hard to imagine a SB Crew without her in it.

Featherstone
Even though the goal of this shout-out is to focus on the wonderful qualities of the JMs listed during their times as moderators, it would be a disservice to Featherstone if we didn’t start before he was modded. Featherstone’s greatest achievement pre-mold was creating the Roleplay Geeks club. Even though Featherstone doesn’t actively run the RP Geeks anymore, it still remains as active as it was when he first made it - and it's not going anywhere soon!

Once Featherstone became modded, he carved a niche for himself over in the Roleplay Realm. Since his name became green, he's run the Voyage of the High Seas Challenge, taken part in countless roleplays, and has created several of his own. He's also run multiple workshops on roleplaying and storybooking; he's actually working on a few for Storybook Month now! And, of course, you can always ask him for a random bird fact - he's our resident falconer.

(Featherstone, by the way, was also involved in two of the five completed storybooks on YWS! The first of them was sheyren's Curse of the Wyvern storybook a few years ago. More recently, however, he was involved in soundofmind's The Outlands.)

ScarlettFire
ScarlettFire is the newest of the SB Crew mods, but don't underestimate her for it! She's the brains behind storybooks that span both sci-fi and fantasy genres. Back when she first joined the SB Crew, she was always a frequent visitor to the Roleplay Realm - chances are that if you joined a roleplay back then, she would be joining it, too! While she may have turned her attention to storybooking alone instead, her legacy lives on in all of the roleplays that are scattered throughout the realm. Her creativity knows no bounds!

Even outside of the SB section, she's wowed us with her artistic choices. Anyone who was active on YWS back in the beginning of the year saw her unique pad invites on her wall. It was always entertaining seeing what Dragon Prince gif she'd link her latest write-in pad to!

Of course, it would be impossible to highlight ScarlettFire's role here on YWS without acknowledging how long she's a part of it! While she may have only been a mod for a year, she's been on YWS for a little more than a decade. And while she may not have been involved in any of the more recent completed storybooks, she was involved in a different and much older version of storybooks - making her a storybooking legend!

AstralHunter
Out of all the current active storybook crew members, AstralHunter is the one who has been there the longest. He was there before every other mod in it was a member of the crew and hasn't ever taken a break from modding, so that's saying something! AstralHunter is the man behind the curtain when it comes to the magic of the SB section. He's always the one to take care of the tiny, little things that make the section tick - things like updating the SB Challenges thread, making sure there's always an active Captain's Challenge out, and keeping current storybooks from moving to the archive section.

He's also always coming up with fun new ideas for the section. Case in point: you can thank him for the SB Month special challenge that lets you claim points from previous Captain's Challenges.

Without AstralHunter and all of his hard work, the SB Crew and section would definitely fall apart!

sheyren
sheyren may have only recently regreened, but he's already been giving storybooking and modding his all since his return! He's already made three new storybooks in the month that he's been back. All three of his new storybooks are intriguing, but two of them are especially unique - one of them focuses on a single character, and the other is the first official storybook the SB section has seen in almost a year. But sheyren's storybooking successes aren't just limited to recent times! A few years back, sheyren made storybooking history by completing his storybook Curse of the Wyvern. It's clear that sheyren is just the guy to go to when you're looking for a new storybook to join!

And if storybooking isn't really your cup of tea, sheyren is also a master of the abstract. The NaPo thread he wrote back in April - as well as the book of absurdist poetry that he self-published on Amazon - show just how much of an expert he is when it comes to making the abstract entertaining and artistic.

Resources Crew

CaptainJack
Well Captain, is seriously a Jack of all trades, and we're not just saying that for the name pun. Jack writes some of the most creative poetry on the site, is a regular in poetry jams and write-ins, has served as a Squills editor, and a champion of the Last Man Standing. Jack, during your years as a mod your leadership in Knights of the Green Room has been exemplary and really has morphed it into something very special. You've created all new lore for KotGR from your own order, titles, and courts, and have helped to resurrect it into something very magical and exciting for member to continue to eagerly join. On top of that, your library of gifs, jokes, memes, and monty python knowledge are a joy for the site!

mellifera
Mellifera is such a persistent writer! Seriously, have you ever seen her miss 20in20?? She's just always writing and editing. And when she's not doing that, she's throwing herself into reviewing! She's a multiple time veteran of Team Tortoise and are an enthusiastic and wonderful mod to have around the site. You've been a helpful addition to the mod team mell, and we're happy to have you aboard!

Hattable
Hatt always has a good joke or recipe to share, we love his creative sense of humor! Behind the mod-scenes you'll also see him dilligently catching review spam and he's always willing to chat it up in a write-in. We so appreciate your hard work and creativitiy!

General Literature Crew

Que
Que is someone who when she speaks, you should listen, because it's always something so well-thought out, and considerate of everyone. She has a calmness about her that puts everyone at ease. Que is also a super talented writer, she has exciting prose projects and her poetry is well known on the site - she's actually among the select few who have won April Madness the annual NaPo competition. We really respect your thoughtfullness Que, and look forward to see what you write next!

Tuckster
Tuck is a go-getter, when she sees something that needs to be fixed or done she jumps right in. Tuck's a welcoming presence in write-ins and always willing to hang out or chat, they're passionate about school and their writing, and it definitely shows through! Tuck's also a fierce reviewing force, and sets a high standard for every review she writes. We love your eagerness to help out Tuck, and everything you've contributed to the site!

EditorAndPerks
EditorAndPerks, our very own editor and chief of Squills is so dilligent in everything they do. While Perks (aka fraey, aka concord, aka killeham) is a General Lit Moderator, they wear a lot of hats around the site! They can be found fighting foes in KotGR, drafting up the next Squills issue, hosting April Madness over in NaPo or even working on a storybook. Editor is a mod we can really always count on to get the task done! You are so multi-talented and we love your willingness to "jump in" to everything under the sun!

ShadowVyper
ShadowVyper is quite the studious scholar, impressing us all with their school commitments and dedication, they still manage to make time for YWS and we are so happy they do! Shady was a leader on the site long before they became green - serving as one of Squills' editors and being a long-time writer and reviewer. During their time as a mod Shady also has crafted up some of YWS's most exciting competitions and challenges in the last years - Review Rampage, Review Palooza, and recently even #20in20. Shady brings that same determination and creativity to moderating too. Thanks Shady!

EternalRain
EternalRain is seriously the sweetest! She's one of our newest GenLit Mods, but she has been a positive force on the site for quite some time. She's one of the Squills' editors and is often buisily spreading great advice through her thoughtful reviews. She even recently completed Team Tortoise in the last Team Tortoise race! EternalRain, you have an energy and poise about you that puts a smile on our face!

Panikos
Pan has seriously the most interesting book reviews, and that's just one example of how you have a great ability to be astutely analytical in your reflections on writing. We really value the wisdom and experience you bring to the mod team. We also have loved how dilligently you work on your projects - and are inspired by the hard work you have put into them like, A Pocketful of Posies. We wish you all the best in your writing projects Pan!

Poetry Crew

Lavvie
Lavvie first jumped into moderating on the General Lit team, however since she's returned from a mod-hiatus she decided to jump into Poetry Crew and right in time for NaPo! We couldn't be happier that Lavvie decided to join us again and appreciate all of her creativity and hard work. She's got great ideas like the Speak Your Mind spoken-poetry section in NaPo this year, and always expresses herself with such thoughtfullness and kindess. Her poetry is a joy to read, and she even won April Madness this year!

Before jumping into PCrew Lavvie left a long legacy of impacting the site though, from informative Squills columns, astute reviews, and involvement in multiple site events throughout the years. The poetry mod crew has always been small but mighty, and we're lucky to have someone who brings such energy and insight into her writing and involvement!

Retired Junior Moderators

Not to be missed, there are many Junior Moderators who have since retired their green coats, sometimes just for a season, sometimes longer. We appreciate all the things that you have done and continue to bring to the site. Your involvement in the site has not been forgotten, and we are glad to have so many retired JMs hanging around for us to pester, seek wisdom from, and hang out with! You've each made your mark on the site, and we wish you a happy retirement wherever that brings you and your writing!

Thank you for everything you do around the site, JMs.

y'all are so nice ;__;; <33 and I love all my fellow junior moderators C:

Thank you so much, JMs! You do so much for us! <3

Thank you JMs & DJMs!! What a cool slimey gang!

Awwww you guys!! Thank you :,)

Wow I love you all so much!

like the very words
you gift us
i gift you
a thanks, soft & round
like ocean glass
always there

Thank you for everything you have put into YWS! JMs & DJMs!