Nigerian writer and author of Allow Me To Introduce Myself, Onyi Nwabineli, is against using children as social media content: ‘I wondered how I would feel if parts of my childhood were showcased online for the amusement of strangers. I started to feel uneasy about it. Kids can’t consent.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
Once I understood that I loved words and books, I could not get enough. I read everything: Bible stories, Enid Blyton, comic books, smuggled copies of Mills & Boon, Goosebumps, Sidney Sheldon and Roald Dahl. My parents were subscribers to Reader’s Digest, and they sent books every few months, which I loved. My dad also made sure I read Nigerian literature, so I was introduced to Chinua Achebe at a pretty young age, and I could not be more grateful.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
I feel like I have been sending a variation of the text ‘I’m doing my best’ to all my people over the last few weeks. It has been a bit of a time of emotional upheaval here and they are all concerned about me. I am surrounded by love and hold on to that when I’m feeling particularly tired.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
I have recently been reading a couple of sci-fi-type novels, and I have to say that as a person who had zero interest in that genre, I have been very pleasantly surprised by what I’ve read. I read A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen recently and found myself devouring it. I really enjoyed it. So perhaps, I will need to make room for sci-fi on my already very crowded shelves.
My motto for writing these days is: ‘It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to exist.’
What is your writing process: edit as you write or draft first, then edit?
My motto for writing these days is: ‘It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to exist.’ So, I write first, then edit later.
What was your process for writing your debut novel, Someday, Maybe?
I did not have one! That was my very first foray into proper novel-writing and it took me a very long time to write. Years. I did not know that it would become anything at all. It was written at the behest of a very close friend to whom the book is dedicated, and I wanted it to be the best it could possibly be. It was a very steep learning curve for me, but I would not change a thing. I wrote as the spirit moved me to write; I did multiple messy drafts. I changed everything from my protagonist to the title. It was a very chaotic experience that taught me so much. I went into my second novel armed with everything I learned, and that process, though still stressful, was much easier.
And what inspired this story?
Someday, Maybe was written for a friend who went through something similar to Eve. She requested that I write something that might capture the grief and turmoil she was feeling. Originally, I said no but after some gentle pressure (bullying), I relented. If she did not love what was written, that novel would never have seen the light of day. It was imperative that it receive her stamp of approval.
How did your approach to writing change while working on your latest novel, Allow Me to Introduce Myself?
I learnt that my neurodivergence needs to be honoured in my creative process. So, I leaned into my natural propensity to plan, plan, plan. I love structure and I love being able to pull up a map of my plot or characters or chapters and understand where I need to go next. Even if I end up changing my mind, it is wonderful to have a plan. That was what made the writing process for Allow Me To Introduce Myself so much quicker than Someday, Maybe.
Allow Me to Introduce Myself is a ‘darkly funny, heartfelt satire about the dangers of social media and the deceptive allure of the picture-perfect existence.’ Why did you want to tell this story?
I used to be a huge consumer of mommy blogger and family content online. At one point I started to think that it was a little strange that I knew so much about these children when I had never met them, and I wondered how I would feel if parts of my childhood were showcased online for the amusement of strangers. I started to feel uneasy about it. Kids can’t consent. And they don’t seem to have full ownership of their autonomy. The internet is this nebulous and often nefarious entity that even we as adults don’t contend with well. I wanted to highlight the importance of safeguarding and the pitfalls of children as content.
I learnt that my neurodivergence needs to be honoured in my creative process. So, I leaned into my natural propensity to plan, plan, plan. I love structure and I love being able to pull up a map of my plot or characters or chapters and understand where I need to go next.
What is the most interesting thing you’ve read or learnt about social media?
I don’t like it when people say social media is ‘not real life’. The human beings behind social media are very real, and the sentiments and ideas are also real. It has very real-life consequences (I argue that it should have more.) The most interesting things I have learnt are that people are willing to justify almost anything they see online and that attention is a dangerous drug. And I have to be clear that when I say ‘interesting’, I use the word in a derogatory manner.
Which book or author had the most influence on your approach to writing the book?
I don’t think I had any author or book in mind with Allow Me To Introduce Myself . I started gathering research some years ago but there wasn’t much available. It seems it is only recently that there is increasing pushback against child influencers and the parents who make them. The bedrock for the book was the research I could do and the wonderful people I was able to interview who gave me first-hand accounts of how the world of child influencing affected them and how insidious it can be.
What’s one thing about readers’ reactions to Allow Me to Introduce Myself that surprised you?
I was surprised that a lot of readers said the book had changed how they viewed family and child content, but more so how they wanted to approach and engage with the children in their own lives. It was very encouraging.
What is the most meaningful piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
‘Write what you would want to read not what you think others would want to read.’ I hold that to my heart because it helps me remain true to myself as an author.
And what’s the first book you read that made you think you wanted to be a writer?
Probably Maximus Mouse by Brian Ogden. It was a kid’s book I read probably about 150 times when I was a child. I actually started writing my own Maximus Mouse fan fiction based on that book. I knew—and so did my parents—from then that writing was in my future.
I don’t like it when people say social media is ‘not real life’. The human beings behind social media are very real, and the sentiments and ideas are also real. It has very real-life consequences.
What’s a book on your bookshelf that might catch people by surprise?
The Human Target books by Tom King. Graphic novels gifted to me which I really ended up loving.
And what’s a book that brings you joy?
Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde is a stunning book. I adore it. My fav for life.
What’s the last great book someone recommended to you?
Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski. Again, I was blown away. I will be re-reading it very soon.
Which three books from/on Nigeria should everyone be reading at this moment?
Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde which will be released in July. Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh and Water Baby by Chioma Okereke.
What is your favourite topic to write or read about these days?
Love is at the centre of everything I write. And it will always soothe me if I find it in what I read. And I am talking about love as a whole—platonic, familial and not just romantic.
The state of the world will determine, in part, how we are remembered and how people will react to the work we have put out.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on book three, which is both the bane of my life and something I am truly excited about.
Question from Chitra Nagarajan: What do you think people seven generations on from us will think when they look back at this time and how will they react when they read your writing?
This is such a wonderful question. My answer is that the state of the world will determine, in part, how we are remembered and how people will react to the work we have put out. I would like to believe that seven generations from now, the world will be a gentler place and so people will read my writing with a sigh of relief because there will by then be a softness that we lack during this time.
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft
Which author living or gone would you sit down with, and which of their works would you discuss?
Who should we interview next?
Iris Mwanza⎈
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