The Writers' Circle

My thoughts about veiled critiques in the Writers Circle.

	An article is an expression of the writer's feelings whether it is prose or poetry. There are situations when something written hits very close to home; not my home. Let me explain.
	When I started writing my second book, I had decided to do a piece that would involve people from Nigeria. It does not mean I am generalizing that all people from Nigeria are what I had depicted them so far in my upcoming book.  However, I'm delighted to share that it is over 60% done or as pessimists would have it, there is still 40% to go. 
	When I started my fictional piece, it was long before I had learned about certain people here in the Writers Circle whose best friends are from Nigeria. In fact, in the context of friends and acquaintances, I do not know anybody from Nigeria.
	The first chapter came out sometime in August 2009 and it had a gruesome scene involving a couple of reprehensible Nigerians and a hapless Indonesian victim.  My Nigerian character happened to be a businessman too and I'm not saying that all Nigerian businessmen are bad people; I'm not saying they are good either.  Some do extremely well with scams, swindles and frauds and I'm not saying that all fraudsters are Nigerians or vice versa. I'm not saying, too, that the despicable Nigerian character in my book was patterned after someone or a Nigerian that you would or might know as it was just a figment of my "Mr-know-it-all" imagination (as one writer might have imagined). The items researched came from reading about Nigerian bank scams, email scams, evil frauds, emails received from bad Nigerians, human trafficking, smuggling and drug dealings . . . all via internet reports, blogs, news and other sources like newspapers, television or magazines. In other words, the damn bloody Nigerian character in my book was purely fictional. 
	If I have a dime for every Nigerian fraud and scam email I received asking for my bank account, telephone number, address and other information in exchange for gazillions of dollars left by a rich Nigerian bastard looking for an email *heir*, I'd be rich. (By the way, *gazillion* is a real word, the gazillions of dollars to be *won* from wealthy Nigerians is not real).
	If, however, someone close to you is a Nigerian or your boyfriend happened to be Nigerian, and you felt slighted by an article (most especially if the article written had been around and had been submitted long before you had joined the Writers Circle), think of it as a plain fictional story (unless stated otherwise) and not meant to offend your highness and not meant to speak harshly about your boyfriend or your boyfriend's heritage. Heck, I don't even know you.
	Please don't attack the writer under the pretext of a *critique* and don't critique the offending article and the novel as a whole with an *invented* word; just to sound knowledgeable. *Invented words* (and any bodily functions like a *yawn* or perhaps a *rapidly-moving middle finger*) especially used as a *critique* won't work in any writers' circle, let alone, this Circle. It might work where you live but I doubt if it would pass the dictionary police in this forum. And don't attack the writer with your *Friendster articles* under the guise of a *cyber criminal* poem because it will only show your density and as such, your credibility would be at stake. Most especially if the *invented word* you had used originally as a *critique* was in, of, and by itself a veiled attack on the writer's ability to impart his knowledge to be understandable or readable (but actually it was brought out as a result of reading the writer's fictional articles about dirty Nigerians). 
	When you read an article in the Writers Circle, do not expect to understand every word that a writer had used. This advice applies to anything you'd read, whether it was a box of cereals, a magazine, a serial comic book, or a novel by an unknown American. Use a dictionary. This is not only an advice but I would really encourage you to do so. It might just increase your very limited vocabulary (heck, my vocabulary is limited too that is why I would need help every which way I could). If you received a *tongue-in-cheek* remark, well, take it as a hint. It wasn't an attack on your critique or your person but an advice for you to understand that writers use *real* words to impart how writers feel when they write. It's the same as everyone's writings. I would never expect to understand every word a writer would use but I would welcome the fact that I would learn a new word.
	However, please don't expect any writer to go along with your selfish wishes either, as the writer won't give a flying leap if you could not understand simple words. It's still up to the writer if he/she would change a *word* based on your veiled suggestion. And worse, using your failure to understand simple words as a leaping board to get back at the writer only because you had felt and still feel that the writer had slighted your boyfriend's homeland and its people is not a plausible cause to give your critique a lot of credence. To tell you the truth, I don't give a shit where your boyfriend is from and what he does. I didn't even know he's Nigerian until a few days ago.
	Just respect the fact that what I had written is purely fictional.
	And if you don't like what I had written in the context of proper grammar, reflective examination of the validity and limits of what I'd written, or a systematic inquiry into the conditions and consequences of what was submitted  as to its context, concept, theory or discipline, whether it is believable or not, or in line with what is believable or otherwise, its rallying point or otherwise, please say so.  So that I, at least could have a rare opportunity to respond properly (and not in a silly manner which was only because of the silliness of your veiled critique) and do not take the high road because most writers here are not stupid.
	Often, some of us use humour to prove a point.  That too is acceptable and not to be construed as an attack on you personally. 
	I suggest you don't use this forum to further your cause because I wasn't born yesterday. I accept real critiques, (not the *invented-word* varieties disguised as a critique and/or the anonymous *yawns* of the same miserable variety - what's next, a *rapidly jerking middle finger*?) - and I don't profess to be a know-it-all - just someone akin to some of the struggling writers here who try their damndest to improve their lot and in the process, help each other to ameliorate.  (Don't harass me with this one too, it just means to get better).
	I'm too old to be hoodwinked with your veiled critique to get back at me and my writings only because your boyfriend is a black Nigerian. I have no quarrels with you or with your Nigerian friends. Like I said, I do not know you nor would care to know what you do. I just wanted to write a fictional novel that exposes what anyone would read via the internet, albeit fictional. And if it doesn't sit well with you, well, there's a saying, "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen".
	Don't lose any sleep over these things. Remember, misery loves company. You might just attract like-minded individuals. Not me, I'm just too silly to be one.
	Flame off.

Grampa Pogi

ps ssst:  I would welcome comments here perhaps but this is not for critique either.