Dear writers,
Quick! Find and erase! Delete that errant expression from your writing!
That your short story set in Lagos or Umuahia should not tell us about the ‘hot summer day’ or ‘autumn leaves’ falling. No.
No matter how tempted you are, no matter if you are domiciled in the western hemisphere. If you have chosen a temperate location like Nigeria, stick to the actual weather that occurs there.
The topic above is from a manuscript. Of course, you won’t find it in the published version. Editors don’t let writers get away with such mistakes.
I once edited a fiction, set in three states in Western Nigeria, written primarily for Nigerian readers and this desire to sound ‘international’ was obvious. The writer would use expressions like ‘she flung her hair’; I suggested all should be changed to either braids or weaves when the character is doing the hair flinging motion as these extensions are required for Nigerian hair to be ‘flingable’.
Other expressions that definitely do not belong in a Nigerian fictional character or a Nigerian setting ordinarily include:
‘…raked his hand through his hair’ for this to happen, the character must be sporting a lot of hair, either afro, dreads or hair left to grow out and straightened. This means you have to state it as the percentage of men who choose any these options is really low; for now.
‘Shut up, mum’ except the next lines show the person getting some form of the usual recompense for a sharp tongue or you are building a disobedient character who has a timid mother, forget this one. Even the Nigerian ‘agbero’ will not think of saying this to their mother and your readers will most likely be unable to suspend disbelief and this will result in low enjoyment of a book you really want them to love.
the future of Africa will be led by Africans telling their own story; from their own perspective and on their own terms.
Nana Aba Duncan