₦airaland Forum

chrisviral:
First time I'm seeing a lady that owns a goat!
But wait! Why did you get to her goat naa?

em... They always tell me that my head looks like corn (whether na the cob or seed, I no know). I guess that's why

Such vivid imagery. Wow... Make I settle down digest this food

*gladly drags someone's goat across thread*

Caracta:
Lol...you obviously don't know me.

Just trying to lift some people's spirit. I don't want anyone to feel bad afterwards. This may be someone's first competition.

@oahray

lol. Thanks for lifting my spirit too

theorbiters:
But pls don't be angry, did u submit any entry?

lol. No. I carry the matter for head abi? No mind me o.

Divepen:
For those that said tragedy cannot turn to comedy, that's a joke.

smh... Tragedy isn't the same as tragi-comedy. Go do your research and stop being so patronizing.

What is right is right, regardless of who is wrong.

I've said my own. Whitemosquito, no vex o. Your house, your rules. Time to keep my peace and watch.

whitemosquito:
Chris, the theme was the easiest I came up with. Now I'm wondering how the other themes would have been received. The one wey nearly provoke me na where person talk say nl contest rules are refined at will..Like wtf?
A promise, no matter how you choose to see it, is positive.

@theorbiters, yea, everyone should just relax and see the entries that make the first stage.

...nl contest rules are refined at will...mssstchew.

you are free to hiss as much as you like. Your choice. I mentioned this refinement you made. Literature is not mathematics with a definite approach, people see things differently. That's why you should be clear with your rules.

You gave room for creativity with the freedom to choose how to write it. That's commendable, but trying to condemn the resultant creativity isn't commendable.

I think you should have discussed your preferences with your judges, not bash the contestants with personal opinion which is by no means universal. There is no rule of life or literature that whatever is exciting cannot become tragic.

I could have kept quiet as an observer with no stake in the matter, since you are the organiser and have the right to look out for anything you wish. But it doesn't make any sense to shift the ground underneath one's feet without warning, and then call him drunk for staggering. Refining a rule is not the ish. Saying the contestants failed for not seeing things exactly the way you do, is just arrogant.

...and yes you refined the rules. Sue me. As a leader, you should learn to accept criticism as much as you are willing to give it.

whitemosquito:
Yes sir, a tragedy can have a happy ending in the context I used. What I meant was, if your story starts out as a tragedy( a ritualist kidnapped a little child and cut her head off) towards the end you must establish the excitement of the new year (the ritual worked, he made bags of money and went on to become a Chief or politician or whatever)

The rules were not ambiguous, were never refined at my will. The only time the rules were tweaked was at the insistence of contestants themselves. It wasnt my initial idea. I take exception to whatever you are implying, sir.

no vex, a tragedy ends badly in whatever context. When there's a sharp pleasant twist at the end it becomes a tragi-comedy.

A change from "any theme of your choice (eg romance, comedy, tragedy)" to 'you have failed because it is a tragedy', is a refinement. In reality, excitement and promises do no rule out the possibility of tragic events.

Relax, I'm not implying what you think I'm implying, whatever that is. Just an observer expressing my thoughts on a thread created for it. If it is unwelcome, I'd only watch henceforth.

whitemosquito:
I observed that a lot of us either did not understand the rules or we didnt bother to read them.

Very bad. In any contest, one of the most important things you can ever do is to READ THE RULES...and understand them. I even opened a comment thread specifically to respond to questions and clarifications, unfortunately even some of the questions asked were not the right questions..

So while the judges are judging, lemme be dropping little clues...

Now, one of the guidelines reads that contestants may write based on a theme of their choice- comedy, humour, tragedy, romance etc, right?

Okay.

But didnt I go further to state that this edition's Challenge is woven around the PROMISE AND EXCITEMENT OF THE NEW YEAR?

If you think about it carefully, it means only happy stories. Stories that are filled with happiness or excitement. Not tragedies.
If you decide to write a tragedy, you must tweak it or twist it with the best of your skill, somehow towards the finish such that it ENDS ON A HAPPY/EXCITING NOTE.
That's the Challenge.

A lot of contestants failed here.

lol. Tragedies can have happy endings with some tweaking?

Funny thing about NL contest rules, they are usually ambiguous, and get refined at will, often too late. Not all promises get fulfilled, and not every excitement end with mirth.

Mehn... See eye food, I go read tire. Thanks whitemosquito.

Caracta:
Tit

lol.

I'm sorry Caracta. How have you been?

Caracta:
Yes. Tit for tat

well I have neither tit nor tat. Which did I give you?

Caracta:
Huh?

hmmm... It haf reach like that?