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by Sam McClelland Literature and immersivity have long run hand-in-hand. When we open a book we are not looking for the ink across the pages nor the caliper of the paper. We are looking for something deeper; to feel the heat of a fiery battle against an ancient dragon, or the smell of rain and blood as a detective stumbles upon the scene of the crime. We are looking to exist somewhere beyond ourselves.  Words and imagination can take you far, but what if you could go a step further? To not just follow a character, but to become a piece of them as you traverse their story. This level of immersivity can only be imagined through paper and realized through games. Sensory storytelling that pushes the bounds of our emotional, auditorial, and visual expectations; that isn't the image video games bring to many people's minds. Misconception will lead most to envision a grubby Pac-Man in the back of an arcade, or an online shooter with no meaning beyond competitive score-keeping. The idea that games are modes of entertainment void of substance, artistic intent, and credibility as an art form can be equated to many things. From their relative youth as a digital media in the modern world, to their limited audience. Games aren’t viewed through the same critical lens as painting, film, literature, etc. Yet, just beyond the hack-and-slash monotony and pixelated ping pong, there is a world of literature and storytelling that is truly remarkable.  Story-based video games have made their way into being one of the most creative and immersive forms of modern storytelling. Not only can they provide compelling narratives, they can jump the audio and visual borders of books by themselves. Through video games, characters, sounds, and scenes that were once left to imagination are transformed into events we can experience first-hand. With the addition of visuals, voice acting, music, and the ability to explore your environment rather than being subjected only to what may be described in a specific passage, we experience these tales in a brand new light. The sensory boundaries that games push aren't the only traits that make them such incredible modes of storytelling; games offer a level of emotional stakes that transcend those of books alone. Take games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Detroit Become Human, and Life is Strange  for example. Throughout these games, you not only follow the protagonist, you also alter their contextual fates. Choices made in these stories such as dialogue options, fights you pick and choose, and even things as simple as objects you interact with alter the story's outcome. Your choices directly impact the world you have immersed yourself in, creating a unique sense of responsibility and connection. I’ll use a pivotal scene from Detroit Become Human as an example. You have followed two sides of a war brewing on the sidelines of society throughout the game's story: Connor, an android designed to assist human law enforcement; programmed and taught to protect them since his first thought. As he's paired with his android-hating partner Hank, he discovers his own humanity, beliefs, and will for good.   Markus, an android cast into the junk heap after being framed for murder. The police did not care for his pleas of innocence, they did not see his humanity. Angry with the way his kind have been cast out and abused, he rises up. Using his voice to demand equality from those who created him, willing to fight for what he believes in.  You have spent countless hours behind their eyes. You have fought for their beliefs, created unbreakable bonds, and decided who their enemy truly is. Connor and Markus find each other at an impasse; a divisive fight about to ring out in the center of an android protest. A choice presents itself as you see them running for each other: X:Control Connor                                       O:Control Markus The hours you've spent, choices you've made, causes you've followed and fought for boil down to one moment–a choice. Do you stand with Markus, or Connor? I remember my first experience playing this game, and seeing that simple question pop up on the screen felt surreal. How was I supposed to choose?  That feeling is a level of immersivity that I truly believe is unique to games as a literature medium. Not the ability to make choices, not even the actions themselves, but the fact that they held consequences . The hero will live or die by the end of his adventure. No matter what you do, that fact is unchanging. The main characters of the rom-com will fall in love no matter how you watch. The pages of the book, the script, and the play are printed and will not change. Now put the fearless knight in the palm of your hand, his life now yours . The love interest asks you a question, and now you  must give a response. To be kind or merciless, say yes or  no, to save or abandon, questions that need your answers.  Ultimatums are no longer a spectator sport in the realm of video games. The security we often find in storytelling is gone. Now replaced with a new way to step inside the plot, making it unique to each and every player.  In recent years, appreciation for games as a literary art form has increased. Finally beginning to break the misconceptions that games are mindless fun, substanceless or simply a pass-time. Games have begun to shine alongside their storytelling counterparts. Their ability to not only use our minds, but also our senses to create a unique experience that challenges and utilizes our emotions, expectations, and morals makes them one of the most versatile and under-appreciated media forms in modern-day narratives.

by Lily If you’ve been involved with the more academic side of the internet in the past decade, you are likely to have encountered some mention of the elusive and controversial Oxford comma. However, there is also a good chance you haven’t encountered an actual explanation as to why teenagers on the internet will defend it until their dying days, nor why some think it is clunky, dogmatic, and allows for slopier writing. What it is Sometimes called the serial comma or the Harvard comma, the Oxford comma is an article of punctuation placed before a coordinating conjunction (usually ‘and’) in a list of three or more items. For example: “My favorite books are Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter.” In the AP style guide, it is only used to add clarity to an otherwise confusing sentence such as, “Harry went to visit his parents, Dumbledore and McGonagall”, without the Oxford comma this sentence seems to say that Dumbledore and McGonagall are Harry’s parents. Horace Hart, controller of the Oxford University Press from 1893-1915, has been credited with introducing the comma in his style guide for workers at the press, though it was without a name until the late 1970s when Peter Sutcliff referred to the Oxford Comma in his book, The Oxford University Press: An Informal History. In this book, Sutcliff credits another author, F. Howard Collins, with the introduction of the Oxford Comma. Why use it In all honesty, whether you choose to use the Oxford comma in your personal writing is entirely up to you and what style guide you follow. It isn’t really grammatically correct to use it nor is it wrong to. Despite this, there have been a few situations where a missing Oxford comma has caused a great deal of trouble. The most notable one being a real-life legal dispute that resulted in a 5-million-dollar lawsuit. In 2017, three delivery drivers for a Maine dairy company filed a lawsuit for missing overtime wages. Maine law at the time stated that overtime payment protections did not apply to: “The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3) Perishable foods.”, the important phrase here being “packing for shipment or distribution.” Delivery drivers worked in “distribution” but not “packing.” It was unclear whether “packing for shipment” was listed separately from “distribution,” and if they were not intended to be read separately, then delivery drivers would be entitled to overtime pay. Had an Oxford comma been used, there would have been no room for confusion. This seemingly small oversight led the United States Court of Appeals to rule in favor of the drivers who would be awarded a $5,000,000 settlement! For both the drivers and all the Oxford comma enthusiasts around the world, this case was a major victory. The use of the serial, Oxford, or Harvard comma is still entirely up to you, and I can’t tell you whether to use it or not. But where clarity and accessibility are concerned, if you forget your Oxford comma, you may find yourself paying a $5,000,000 settlement.

by Alin Sengjaroen “There is a minor crisis . Yet the only thing you can do is write in deafening silence . Suddenly, you realize that your handwriting is pretty ugly . Still, it’s calming to write away about the living dead  or the dead living .” There they are, oxymorons, one of the literary devices that writers use subconsciously. Not to be confused with paradoxes or irony, oxymorons are created when two contradicting words are combined to create an interesting contrast. Sometimes they’re both nouns or one adjective and one noun, and so on. Oxymorons are special since they are not exclusive to just literary works. We regularly use them in conversations whether online or offline. You’ve probably heard of the term love-hate relationships  or bittersweet . But first, how does that make any sense, and second, how do they improve our writing? THE DIMENSIONS OF OXYMORONS As stated, outside of writing, oxymorons are also used in daily conversations. Oftentimes, politicians use oxymorons as a way to persuade their audience. Since oxymorons are usually two contradicting words paired with each other – sometimes in ways you’d never expect -it encourages the listener or reader to stop and analyze the true meaning of the oxymoron. Phrases like “peaceful revolution” are often used by politicians. They are also used to present irony, which sparks the listener’s attention to rethinking what a “peaceful revolution” would be like. Oxymorons present words in a new manner that the audience would not expect and take them by surprise. One of the main qualities of a politician is to possess the ability to lure the audience in with a single speech. They will use a mixture of paradoxes and oxymorons so the listeners will both take in the facts and be curious enough to reflect on their words–during and after the speech is given.  The jarring difference between oxymorons and paradoxes is that paradoxes are concepts that logically make sense. For instance, “the only constant is change” means that change is the only thing happening all the time. Logically, it makes sense but for oxymorons like “living dead,” which if one is dead, one can’t be considered a living thing; therefore, rendering the phrase illogical, yet it adds a hint of intrigue as you take the reader by surprise. In a nutshell, oxymorons are a stylistic choice, while paradoxes can be used as motivational phrases.  Using oxymorons also indicates that the person speaking has an advanced grasp of the English language. Politicians need to display their skills and knowledge to be believable; hence, oxymorons are a way to show their linguistic proficiency. However, excessive use of this literary device can confuse the listeners and drift away from the main point. A question is then proposed: How often should we, writers (and maybe soon-to-be politicians), use oxymorons? WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF OXYMORONS? Frankly, there is no strict rule as to how many oxymorons can you use in a paragraph. But we must be aware of the impacts and use them accordingly to create an effect that takes the reader by surprise. To summarize, oxymorons are used for dramatizing, irony, specific descriptions, and sarcasm.  Using oxymorons in critical moments lets the readers linger on the message of the line like in endings. Not to mention, using them for first-liners will hook the readers in, especially when the oxymoron is unique. In descriptions, they will enhance the readers’ imagination and provide you to describe a specific feeling or object. For example, the word “bittersweet” describes the feeling of pleasure followed by a bitter aftertaste (feelings of regret afterward) which no other word can specifically indicate.  However, you should be aware that overusing oxymorons can reduce clarity and coherence. Yes, use them in every sentence. There’s no rule against that. But keep in mind that it may make the paragraph much harder to understand and follow through.  My recommendation would be the following: For poems, I usually use a variety of oxymorons at the end and in the middle. Since endings in poems are incredibly impactful, using this literary device can dramatize and therefore, elevate the “punch to the gut” feeling. For fiction, I often use oxymorons when it comes to descriptions and dialogues. As I stated, oxymorons are common in our everyday conversation, using these would show that the character has a lot of control over the language and a high level of English proficiency. This is especially helpful when you want to write a character who is good at linguistics. However, keep in mind to avoid using them in every dialogue as it can get cliche.  HOW DO THEY HELP YOUR WRITER’S BLOCK? Oxymorons can be used as prompts to counter that writer’s/creative block. There are hundreds of websites showing unique and common ones that you can steal: “small crowd”, “seriously funny”, “silent scream”, “old news”, and so on. Using these combinations as a story prompt can bring out those creative juices. Not to mention, you’ve learned something new today about oxymorons so why don’t you try it out after finishing this article? Besides that, you may also create your own oxymoron and use it as the first liner or the end of the story. Or write a poem that has at least one oxymoron in every line. Creating a challenge for yourself is a good way to get out of that writing slump. You can experiment with styles and find what’s best for you.  Regardless, oxymorons aren’t the ultimate cure for writer’s block. If the problem is caused by a lack of creative ideas then oxymorons can help you. Anything besides that means you should take a break until you’re ready to write again.  In conclusion, the oxymoron is a literary device that you can try when you’re stuck at writing. It can create dramatic moments, suspense, or even irony. Try not to overuse them too much and be aware of the situations you want to use them. Happy writing! Citations Abbood, None Husam Ahmed. “The Power of Oxymoron: An Analytical Study of Oxymoron in Political Speeches.” The Creative Launcher , vol. 8, no. 5, Oct. 2023, pp. 151–67. https://doi.org/10.53032/tcl.2023.8.5.15 .

Submissions We are currently accepting submissions for: Blog Article Non fiction - All year round Click here to know more. Issue IX: Welcome To Wonderland Prose, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Art, Photography Sep 01 2024 to Oct 01 2024 Click here to know more ​ Beyond The Veil: A Halloween Odyssey Poetry, Short Stories, Essays, Art, Illustrations and Photography Sep 01 2024 to Oct 15 2024 We are looking for pieces that young readers can relate to, pieces that make you feel something. Stories and poems about the teenage experience, fantasy that readers can use as escapism, worl ds that will suck them in co mpletely, pieces that will strike the very core of human souls are highly encouraged! We also appreciate pieces that are silly, weird, and might be out of place anywhere else. We seek to promote any work that makes us feel any kind of emotion - whether that's amusement, dejection, or nostalgia. Please check our specific themes for what we seek for that theme though! We currently accept submissions for our issues four tim es a year. (March, June, September, December). We are currently open for issue submissions. ​ ​ Submission Guidelines Submission Inquiries ​GENERAL All pieces should be in English. If you are including any words in another language, please include translations below Send all pieces as a Google Document/Word Document because this makes it easier to add comments and give feedback. If you are sending a Google Doc, make sure to give us commenting access All pieces should be written in Times New Roman/EB Garamond and font size should be 11 or 12 We have changed our policy of reading name-blind, and will be reviewing submissions with the submitter's context in mind. We highly encourage all creators to add a note to their work so it helps us evaluate the context in which the piece was written and provides more depth to the work. Add the releva nt trigger/content warnings Strictly no smut/anything sexual as this is a magazine for teens Plagiarism, offensive slurs and hate speech are strictly not allowed, If we find any submissions with the same, we will delete it and bar the author from sending to us in the future. ​ ​ ISSUE We allow four kinds of submissions: pr ose, poetry, visual artwork, and creative non-fiction. Per cycle, an author or artist may only submit to one category . Within that category, you can submit how many ever submissions are allowed for that particular category. Specific limits and instructions for each category are listed below. We will design an individual layout for each accepted piece, and reserve the right to design the layout as we believe best fits the piece. For pieces that are accepted, contributors will be emailed about details of publication, issue release parties, and features on our blog. Contributors have the right to accept/decline invitations as they please. Excerpts from accepted pieces will be promoted on our social media. The contributor reserves the right to choose whether they would like to be tagged or not. ​ BLOG No fiction or poetry submissions are allowed for our blog. Any such submissions will be deleted and rejected immediately. Pieces must be engaging and interesting pieces related to the bookish and writing industry. Any unrelated pieces such as makeup or skincare articles will be deleted and rejected immediately. For any research-related article, authors are expected to cite their sources below. Heads of blog department reserve the right to make any edits to the piece as they see fit. We also reserve the right to later archive a blog post if we feel it does not resonate with the theme of our magazine on a later date. We expect blog posts to be written in a fairly formal tone. Conversationality is fine, but a complete disregard of proper spelling and grammar is not. Topics for blog posts are expected to be interesting and unusual, and entice readers. Word count for blog posts is 500-800 words. We may accept longer articles, however this is dependant on the subject of the article itself. Prose: Any forms of prose are accepted with a maximum limit of 1500 words. Format it accordingly with the required line and paragraph breaks and submit as a Word Document or a Google Docs. During a single cycle you can submit a maximum of 1 story of less than 1500 words, or 3 micro stories of less than 500 words each. Attach them in the same document, split it with page breaks and submit it. ​ Poetry:​ Any forms of poetry are accepted with a maximum limit of 30 lines. We are not strict on line count, however the poem must not exceed 2 pages. Format it accordingly with the required line breaks and submit as a Word Document or a Google Docs. During a single cycle you can submit a maximum of 3 poems. [For issue viii, we are only accepting one poem per author.] Attach them in the same document, split it with page breaks and submit it. ​ Art:​ We accept both digital and traditional art, however if it is traditional, we expect a good quality picture with no disturbances. We allow a maximum of 3 pieces per submission. [For issue viii, we are only accepting one piece per artist.] We ask that you merge all 3 of them into a single file and submit it. ​ Creative Non-Fiction:​ Creative non-fiction includes essays on current world issues, book reviews, personal anecdotes, etc. We allow a maximum of 1 piece per submission, with a maximum word count of 1000 words. Photography: A maximum of three pieces can be submitted. The clarity must be high. Should be submitted in JPEG format.​ Submission Categories Prose Poetry Art Creative Non-fiction Photography Our New Policies If you submitted to a previous issue, you have to wait a whole cycle to submit to RTS again. For example, if you submitted to issue 8, you cannot submit to issue 9 and have to wait until issue 10 to submit to RTS again. This rule will go in place from today, i.e. if you submitted to issue 7 you can still submit to issue 8. This does not apply to features or mini issues, and you can submit to how many ever of those that you please. When we first started our magazine, we didn't have a lot of submitters so we wanted to encourage whoever wanted to to submit. However, now we believe we have a decent enough reach not to worry about reaching an adequate number of submissions, and thus we want to promote more writers instead of the same writers again. Don't get us wrong - we absolutely love recurring contributors! However, we'd like to give new people discovering us more of a chance too :) If you submit a piece that does not adhere to the submission guidelines, your piece will not be read, your submission will be automatically rejected, and you will be issued a warning. In the past we have been a bit more lenient with submissions that didn't meet the requirements, however it becomes extremely hard for our editors to keep track. Please read all the guidelines on our website thoroughly including the number of pieces you are allowed to submit and the instructions on how to title your document. Any piece that doesn't meet the guidelines will be put on a warning list, and if any single person gets three warnings they will be blacklisted from submitting to RTS. This also applies for people submitting our application form to closed positions (if a position is closed, it will be indicated on the application form itself). Note: The only exceptions to this rule we will accept are with respect to word/line counts, and that is only for marginal differences (<100 words). If your piece exceeds the maximum word count, please DM our Instagram or email to make sure it's okay. Only after receiving our confirmation that it's okay to submit can you submit this piece without receiving a warning. Anchor 1 Facts & Questions All Your Questions Answered In One Place Why should I submit? If you wrote a story that you're really proud of, or created an art piece you adore, and want more people to read and see it, we highly encourage you to submit. We understand how difficult it can be to put yourself and your work out there, but we're also young writers who started from humble beginnings, so we hope you trust us and take a chance. At RTS, we review all the pieces and provide individual feedback for all of them (only if requested for). We also take very good care of your piece (check this post for more motivation to submit!). No matter whether we decide to publish your piece or not, rest be assured that we will treat it with the respect it deserves, and make sure you're on the right track of your publishing journey <3 Who can submit? The aim of our magazine is to provide a platform for young and marginalized artists. We hope Rewrite The Stars Review serves as a platform for amateur artists where they can publish for the first time and use this magazine as a stepping stone into the formal literary world. Although we predominantly publish work by young artists in the age group 13-25, we do believe that there is no age for someone to begin writing. We will consider work from older creators, however we may prioritize publishing work by writers submitting for the first time, rather than authors with an extensive publication history. That being said, we encourage artists and writers from any part of the world to submit! What/When can I submit? We have submissions to our magazine which publishes quarterly. Check this page for more details. For our issues, we accept fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, visual art and photography. We accept submissions to our blog year round! We are looking for articles about the reading and writing community, whether this be your hot take on a popular trope or a rant about literary magazine rejections. Check this page for more details. Apart from these, we also will occasionally be having special events and contests! More details on this are published on our socials, follow us on instagram for updates <3 Where do I submit? Check the Issues page to submit to our magazine, and the Blog page to submit to the blog. Please adhere to the submissions guidelines as this makes it easier for us to review them. Interested? Submit now! Blog submissions are open year-round. Submissions for Issue IX: Welcome To Wonderland are open! Submit to blog Submit to Issue IX

Issue III: Kindle The Flame April 2023 Everybody has a fire within them, whether this be one of passion or fury. What are the flames that burn inside you? What is the inferno that keeps you awake on the darkest of nights? What does fire symbolize to you? What warms you from the inside out- or makes you want to burn down the world? What kindles your flames? ​ For RTS's third issue, we invited artists to submit pieces that revolve around fire, whether this be literal or figurative. We asked them to let their imagination run wild and send us their best work! This issue brings you wonderful pieces by contributors, ranging from all genres and types - from formatted to free verse, greek mythology to contemporary, this issue has it all! Click the link below to read their beautiful works. Read Now CONTRIBUTORS COVER DESIGNER Tazkia Sinan POETRY Zia Adora Flicker Christian Ward The Passion Shamik Banerjee Tomorrow Teresa M March 8th Kelli Weldon Perseids Elisabeth D The Greatest Flame Kanishka Kataria Between Us Let the Silence Scream Ghosty The Fourth Sumo Schadenfreude Ines Mueller Pyrophobia Ollie Shane You Say, You Want A Revolution Carline Chou Aflame Nai How To Cook Up Success Madison Jugram a letter to an alcoholic I called my grandfather Vastriane Reignite Kimberly I Am Ignited PROSE Shivi Sharma Did I Imagine It Jiayin Tang Kitchen Tiles Franzzine Delacroix The Fuel To The Fire Of Passion Isha Gandi The Show Must Go On Jack Morris The Origin Of Chaos Allison Kwan How to Remember "Home" Shu J Liu Burning Bridges, Building Walls ART I N Shimbuku o'foxy eve o'bite Austin Lubetkin the tower of ambition FEATURED INDIE AUTHORS E.D Bridges Strings on Me (Fiction)

YPW Literary Magazine Fair Young Poets Workshops is hosting a community-wide Literary Magazine Fair for young poets between the ages of 13-22 featuring a variety of youth-led literary magazines and writing community members. We hope to bring a stronger sense of inclusion and accessibility to the submission process while bridging the distance between submitters and magazines through this event, while cultivating new connections and passions. What? Join a diverse, passionate community of young writers for a literary magazine fair hosted by Young Poets Workshops! 8 literary magazines/presses are represented throughout 4 panels and workshops over the span of 48 hours, complete with an expedited response period and raffles! Literary organizations being represented arc Fleeting Daze Magazine, kith books, Eucalyptus Lit, and Winged Penny Review. There will be two youth-run literary magazine panels answering questions about their magazines, submissions, and more, a workshop by Rewrite the Stars on submitting for beginners featuring a submit-a-thon, and a panel by kith books on challenges for queer and disabled writers/publishers and holding your own in the publishing process. Throughout these events, the expedited submission period of 48 hours will allow all registered attendees to submit to the following literary magazines for an expedited response/feedback: kith books, Sophon Lit, Fleeting Daze, healthline zine, Rewrite the Stars Review, Eucalyptus Lit, and Winged Penny Review. A raffle for 4 mini-grants of $25 each will be hosted throughout the fair for all attendees. When? Event Schedule: Saturday, August 17th 2024 9:00 a.m. EST Expedited Submission Period starts (ends 9:00 a.m. EST August 19th) 11:00 a.m. EST Rewrite the Stars Workshop 3:00 p.m. EST Youth Lit Mag Panel 1 — Rewrite the Stars, Fleeting Daze, healthline zine, Aster Lit Sunday, August 18th 2024 3:00 p.m. EST Youth Lit Mag Panel 2 — Winged Penny Review, Eucalyptus Lit, Sophon Lit 7:00 p.m. EST kith books panel Who? Open and free to all young poets aged 13-22! How to register? Register now at the Eventbrite link given below. We can't wait to see you there! Register