The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs - Literature - Nairaland
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| The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by senbonzakurakageyoshi(m): 4:17pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
I remember the very first time I posted a story on Nairaland; 23rd of April, 2012. That was my very first story posted online and, for me, it was huge. But my intention for posting the story on Nairaland wasn't just so others could read what I had written - I mean, I could get that by setting up a blog and bombarding my facebok friends and twitter followers with links. I wanted to present my work to a community that would analyse it, critique my writing, suggest ways of improving my style and generally make me a better writer. And I must say I am grateful for the first responses I got because they pushed me to keep on writing and getting better. Fastforward to presentday, though, and the Nairaland literature board is a far cry from what it was in 2012. And this is scary because it's just been three years, not thirteen. Let's face it and be truthful to each other, the Nairaland literature board is flooded with subpar works by people whose mistakes aren't pointed out and so assume they're doing the right thing. I cannot say I know for sure what the cause of this sad degeneration is but I can say for sure that there has been a erosion in the quality of the material I see on Nairaland. Once upon a time, I could read people's works and want more - so much more. But now I can barely get past page one without yawning. How did this hapen? Yes, that's the right question to ask because i'm not the only one asking it. I've been talking to quite a number of the folks I met on this board when I first joined and they are also of the opinion that there has been a noticeable negative change on the Nairaland literature board. Most of them don't even come here anymore - not to post, not to read the stories, nothing. Like me, they don't see an attraction here anymore. Is it any surprise that less and less stories from the board make the frontpage? While (my apologies) irrelevant and, i dare to say, pointless posts like what Nkiru Sylvanus wore on her birthday continue to show up there. The fact is that asides from the fact that Nkiru Sylvanus and her birthday clothes (not suit, for the pervy minds amongst us!) are more likely to generate hits for the site, there's very little worth reading coming from this board. Should we blame the fact that there hasn't seemed to be a healthy balance that promotes a full and complete approach to literature and writing on this board? Just click your back button and take a look at the board's main page. At least 75% of what you see there are story series. This in itself is not a bad thing, but a first time comer to the board would imagine that we only write story series here and either join the train or leave the board. Those that write short stories now have to include that in their title so nobody asks them for updates. There's little else that goes on on this board and it's saddening. The fact is, I have never really been a regular poster on Nairaland but at least I used to religiously visit the literature board everyday. But now it feels like a chore. Too many of these story series are a bore to read (no offence to the writers) and the more experienced writers on this board don't seem to be active at correcting the less established writers when they make mistakes, analyzing their works and suggesting improvements. And I feel that should be the point of a board like this; a place were writers can meet, share ideas and help each other improve. But with the current state, i'm not seeing that happening. And it's sad. I think i'm popular on this board for my humorous or comic stories, but this is not one of them. This is a serious issue we need to address because I want future writers to find on the Nairaland board a place were they can know what level they are currently at and work on thmeselves till they are confident in their ability as writers. This board shouldn't just be a place for churning out and consuming literary works. No! It should be a place were minds and pens are sharpened, were budding writers can find support and inspiration, where Nigeria's next legends of literature are born. I want the next Chimamanda or Wole Soyinka, when waxing lyrical about their history as writers, to say "I am thankful to the Nairaland literature board because it helped me become the writer I am today". I am no Chimamanda. Or Wole Soyinka. But Nairaland and NaijaStories, the two sites I turned to when I started posting my works online, have certainly turned me from a rough writer with good ideas to a writer whose stories can actually be read and enjoyed and knows there is still room for improvement. And there's no reason why this cannot be someone else's testimony too. Except the site's owner and the moderators are comfortable with just having a board that gets them hits and traffic, then something has to be done. And soon. I'm not comfortable with the way things are on this board and I have kept that bottled in long enough. Feel free to criticize my stance or opinion; our country's constitution empowers you to. But if you would walk the path of truth you would see that what i'm saying needs more than just cursory consideration. 6 Likes 4 Shares |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Divepen1(m): 4:41pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
pacesettercommn: This is one of our problems. 4 Likes |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by senbonzakurakageyoshi(m): 4:58pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Divepen1: My dear, I don't even want to talk about those ones. They should be the moderators' headache. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Ishilove: 5:07pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Welcome back senb. Yeah, most of the more experienced writers don't post again because of a number of reasons which I'd rather not mention for now because of the sensitivity of my position. On the area of constructive criticism, I have noticed that many writers here don't take it well. Few writers like Larrysun and Royver take it in good faith, but a lot of others like flow1759 react negatively. I remember the time I, Ihedinobi and EfemenaXY (damn, I miss that lady's stories!) critiqued one of your earliest works, sebonzakurakageyoshi, you laughed and took correction, and since then you have gotten better. Not many writers now will take it because as you well know, I don't mince words when I critique. I am not perfect, neither do I know all, but with the little one I know, I am very confident. I on my own part have stopped critiquing because I am tired of being called 'oversabi'. 4 Likes 2 Shares |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Ishilove: 5:17pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
I get a lot of requests to push stories from this section to the homepage, but at the risk of being misunderstood, I want to state categorically that very few stories here are homepage worthy. The major problem with these stories are typos and 'gramatikos'. How can you expect the mod to push a story fraught with grammatical errors and poor formatting to the homepage? I could reformat the story, but it would be too time consuming for me because I have so much on my plate. The reasons why stories by writers like Sharonwrites, Larrysun, Standd, Royver to mention a few make it to the homepage is because most times their stories are almost flawless. 3 Likes 4 Shares |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by stuff46(m): 5:38pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
I just wish the poster above me had made this comment long ago. All thesame, now i get. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by senbonzakurakageyoshi(m): 5:45pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Ishilove: Exactly, I don't blame mods or the site admin for not pushing stories from here to the front page because, as I speak, I struggle to find a story currently on the board's first page that are front page material. And God forbid that I would champion a sub-par or error-ridden story for a place on the front page. That's why I am asking that we look into this situation and arrest it before this board becomes just another board. I have a few suggestions as to how we can make this happen, only if mods and the site admin are also interested in making this board one of Nairaland's most important because, as it stands in my opinion, this board is lagging behind some other boards on this site and we cannot let that be the case. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by LarrySun(m): 6:08pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
The simple truth is, it is high time we started learning that the literary world we live in has gone beyond that of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. We writers should learn to say goodbye to our ostrich posture which leaves us with our brains firmly buried in the sand and unconscious of the fact that all we have to show for our being is our not so attractive sphincters. We are writers, granted. We all have stories to tell, granted. But when we tell our stories with grammatical lisps, even the stories - no matter how brilliantly plotted - would sound terrible to the listeners. And on the part of the listeners, we are great listeners but our hearing is defective. We, therefore, suffer from selective audition when all we can give the lisply storytellers is 'Bravo!'. I frown at what the board has become; both writers and readers are clad in terrible grammatical garbs. We design and wear costumes so laughable that we call them traditional sartorial prides. The Literature board is a palace; but in this palace the kings, queens, princes and princesses set their tables with cutlery in gold only to have the hosts take lessons on table manners and etiquette from their servants. The Literature board is now a home where fur-covered lavatory seats are installed only for the owners to be taught that one needs to seat rather than squat on the seats. And still unfortunately, the pathetic hosts chastise their advisers and go ahead to squat, even in public toilets! I still frown. 5 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Infomizer(m): 6:26pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
IMHO, I feel the zeitgeist has ebbed and y'all have identified what the problems are. Mediocrity is ubiquitous and any attempt to challenge it is seen as supercilious. In response, the critics lose interest and such mediocrity (and even outright sub-par works) continues to thrive. Afterall, it's a Web 2.0 world and anybody can post anything online. What an unfortunate pattern! I'm not a regular visitor here, but Op's post is easy to relate to when one takes a panoramic view of the entire Nairaland community. Let's hear what you've got Seb. All hope is not lost. 1 Like |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by senbonzakurakageyoshi(m): 6:57pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Infomizer: We'll have to start with the most important question first; is the site owner/administrator comfortable with the way things are on this board? There's no need diving into the ocean for a rescue when the man intends to drown. It is imperative to know if Seun, the Oga pata-pata of Nairaland, likes the current state of the literature board, is indifferent to it or also acknowledges that there is a problem that needs fixing. Seun needs to weigh in on this discussion before we can start talking about implementing possible solutions. I would like the moderators or whoever has access to the admin to bring his attention to this thread, so we can decipher a way forward for the Nairaland literature board. 1 Like |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by avicky(f): 7:45pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
I agree with you Senb. If it is posts like "10 ways to sweep off a girl's feet," it will make front page because of the mention of Ishilove, Farano or Lalasticlala. There's an educating piece I saw by Harddon and I mentioned these people to take them to the front page but no. It's cossy orjiako's bweasts they will shove in our faces. I think mods on this section don't represent this section like others do. Imo. I don't frequent this section like I used too, when Ishilove, Larrysun, Efemena_xy, Frank, sarah, Sola, etc will make you yearn for more with their suspense filled stories. But the reverse is the case. It's either these writers have unfinished stories that has lasted decades or they are not even writing at all. As for constructive criticism. .. So many writers don't take it calmly when they are corrected. If you act as a critique, they will take offence, so won't it be better if you just read their piece and move on? Btw, Senb, I have missed your hilarious write ups. Forgive my long epistle. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by D9ty7(m): 8:13pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
As a regular visitor of the literature board, I think the problem here is down to a lot of things. To start with, I think we don't have active moderators on this board. To make a board lively and interesting, you that is in charge of the board must be an interesting chap. I checked the profile of a moderator sometimes ago and I saw his last seen to be about 48hours ago. Am like wtf! And people will break a lot of rules during that period and will go scot free. Now that we have three moderators, I think one of them appears when mentioned, but the other two, only God knows. The mods should either work on this or the board will go into extinction like some boards on this forum. And to the issue of the writers and the quality of what is being written. Personally, I think the problem lies with the readers. I started posting on this board in 2013, but I remembered when I started there were a lot of criticisms and corrections which I took in good faith and I tried to adjust. In August 2014, I started a story and I remembered the corrections I got from LarrySun, AudreyTimms and a couple of people(mostly writers) which I tried to adjust to, afterall, I am human. I started a new story early this year and I can boldly say that no one came out to correct my work. Errors are bound to be found in things we write/type, we are not perfect. One thing I noticed is that, readers here don't critique the so called popular writers. And when a new writer starts posting, these same set of readers will call on the so called popular writers to critique the new story being posted. A writer that is a little hanging above average being asked to put a writer below average through. At the end of the day, you realise that all we have are average writers. Why can't readers criticise and not wait until LarrySun or some other popular people come around? And on the issue of writers taking corrections personal, I have criticised a couple of people here and none of them took it personal. I have seen a couple of people take it against others, I think it is down to your manner of approach. Most people criticise destructively to speak the truth. If there is a way to make this board better, lets do it, cos I have decided to spend the next one month posting on this section, after which I'll take my stories somewhere else, probably a personal website or something. But by then, I'll be in the category of readers and reading below average stories will only make me develop interest for "Maheeda n*de pics" and "Who wore it better?" topics on the homepage 1 Like |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Chuksemi(m): 8:17pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
This section remains one of the most educative, yet, I think it has been flooded. Mediocrity resides here now and the spirit of literature has waned. Over population causes such. In simple terms, this section is suffering from excess supply against lower demand. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by D9ty7(m): 8:19pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Chuksemi:No one could have said it any better. But, you know what pisses me of most? It is when a writer starts a story, creates a thread for episode 1, another thread for episode 2 what rubbish? Other times, you see a writer create a thread and just because the turnout is low, he creates another one with the same title. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by EfemenaXY: 8:20pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Ishilove: Thanks for the mention, Ishi.  |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by D9ty7(m): 8:27pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
In addition, I think the literature section shouldn't be about stories and stories alone. Many people don't visit this section because they are of the opinion that everything on this section are stories which is true. And what they say is, "why should I sit down with my phone and read stories written by unknown writers when I can download James Hadley Chase books?" There was a time when cuddlemi was the moderator here, quizes and debates if I am not mistaken. Ishilove, I think you should take that up personally. Just anybody can't do it, people won't take it serious, but when a moderator, with their wealth of experience takes it up, people will want to see it. A typical example of this is this thread, for how many hours now, how many views and posts? Please, do something about it and be sure that people will support you. In fact, you might not do anything at all, other than to create the thread and help us sticky it. 3 Likes |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Chuksemi(m): 8:37pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
D9ty7:Such still happens? Too bad. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by LarrySun(m): 8:46pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
D9ty7:A brilliant suggestion. 2 Likes |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by D9ty7(m): 8:50pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
This is a typical example of the believe that the so called popular writers should be the critics. Someone posted this on a thread this morning; And the writer/owner of the thread dropped this; not so long ago. -------------- I think the message is now clear. Until we stop thinking only popular writers or writers alone can make corrections, am afraid there won't be much improvement. And to say most of the writers are Engineers and Accountants, but the readers who studied or are studying literature or English Laguage will rather ask for more updates or call you the bomb. 4 Likes |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by D9ty7(m): 8:51pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
LarrySun:Senior! Its been a while |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Nobody: 8:52pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
I guess the problem is about the writers and readers. Most readers prefer to read than criticize dis days, because even if you decide to correct the writer, fellow readers might just flare up asking you questions like "Are you here to read or critcize or they say things like "the OP is a science or commercial student. Simply because he/she is not an Art student, does that means he should not be corrected?? Again, some of new writers here do give up when readers refuse to comment that why there are many unfinished stories here. The readers in the sexuality section do encourage their writers, but here the reverse is the case. Beside, most people have blog where they post their stories, since they have to beg before their story make FP. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Nobody: 9:08pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Just like Dee suggested, it should not be about story alone, a derailer thread should be created (the previous one is not that active) where writers and readers get to know themselves. A thread was also created on romance sect about a wk or 2wks ago, where they get to meet prominent Romancenlder. Similar thread should be created here where we get to meet our Writers/readers once a week (probably sundays). The like of stuff46, harjibola, and prettydiva should be useful here because they appear on almost all thread. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Infomizer(m): 9:51pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
senbonzakurakageyoshi: AFAIK, the onus lies on the Mods to bring decorum to the section. Seun isn't capable of overseeing everything on the forum (or so I think) and that's why he designated the duties to 'em. There's a reason why there's a Literature section and the status quo should be checked against the laid down objectives by whoever is in charge. But then, that's my opinion. D9ty7:This. It has to be a really engaging and interactive community. Back then in secondary school, the Literature club wasn't strictly all about storytelling nao... |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by stuff46(m): 10:02pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
This is exactly what happened the last time i tried correcting a writer. Mhizblizz: Like D9ty7 said and i believe, the only problem with this section is the moderators. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by stuff46(m): 10:11pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
like Op said, we need to hear from the site owner if he would accept his suggestions or watch it die off. I would have liked to his reply (s) before i would make any susgestion. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Nobody: 10:36pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Private mails should remain private, Ishilove. I never knew you as a supermod. I have none but the mods to heap blame on. The last time the writers embarked on a 'break', all that was done was to create another account, s'haronwrites' and I think we all knew what occured with 'sharons' stories, then. Where is Sharonwrites, now? If she was hired, then, things should've continued that way. Mods and wayo! All said and done, the mods here're simply not performing. I might get banned, for this, it means nothing! Sir D9ty7, the website thingy seems surest! |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by D9ty7(m): 10:39pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
thronekid: |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Ishilove: 10:39pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
thronekid:*facepalm* Pray tell, young sir, what magic would you like the mods to perform? |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by senbonzakurakageyoshi(m): 10:44pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Infomizer: I'm not asking or expecting Seun to bring about the changes we would like to see but as the administrator of this forum, it is imperative that we find out if the current state of things has been allowed to go unchecked because it favours his, well, business model if you like. And if it isn't, whether he would be willing to allow us make certain changes to how the board is run by the moderators and implement certain suggestions we feel would make this board better. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Nobody: 10:46pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
Ishilove:Fat lots of suggestions my preceedessors made, you should work on those, first. |
| Re: The Nairaland Literature Board And The Change It Needs by Ishilove: 10:47pm On Apr 22, 2015 |
senbonzakurakageyoshi:First things first, the writers need to up their game. There is no avoiding that. But D9ty7's suggestions are worth ruminating over. |
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