Write it Like You'll Watch It

 What makes books entertaining? A scene from iCarly (yes, I watched iCarly growing up), phrases this eloquently. When dared to read a book, Sam Puckett obliges, then later says "They're great, they're like TV in your head!" (iFence, 2008)

 Essentially, that's true. Books are like a theatrical experience produced by our imaginations. Words come to life and can create memorable people, pets or creatures; they can tug on our heartstrings; and even take us places. Right now, I want to focus on that last point. 

A good book should take you somewhere. Make sure you set up the setting vividly very early on and carry it throughout your work. Although chances are the primary motive for going to the movies is for laughs, frights, heart-pumping/adrenaline-racing excitement, (or lovey-dovey scenes if you're into that sort of thing), movies that are beautifully filmed are often praised for their visuals or cinematography.

Think about the visuals in Star Trek, Avatar, The Batman, Sin City, Pacific Rim, A Cure for Wellness, 300, Tron Legacy & The Book of Eli. Each movie has a distinct visual style which sells the mood and genre of the movie.

You may not have the cameras, lights, or set pieces, but use your descriptions of color, your evocative word choice, and detail the places your characters go to just like you want an accurate adaptation of your novel to hit the big screen someday. Write it like you would want to watch it.

 

Auvic - Upgrades (Original Mix)

To debut my electronic musical tastes, I'm going to share Auvic. If you're looking for an energetic fusion stronger than the audio equivalent of Mountain Dew and Coffee, with breakbeat and glitch hop influences, look no further!

Artwork: Overriding Your System

 

 

 

It would only take one drop of water to short-circuit a whole electrical system.

It may only take one masterpiece, novel, blog, idea to be the change that you want to see.

You have a whole personality to express and you have the power to see what is missing.

 Stand out and override the system.

 

Stop, Drop and Write it Down

As I launch off the revival of my blog, I want to begin with just one notion.

 Your ideas are invaluable. You can't put a price on them, because you never know what they will blossom into as you develop them. Your idea could become the next bestselling novel, award-winning playwright, or chart-topping success on the Top-40 Radio station.

And they usually start with a draft that may not be impressive or groundbreaking at first glance. But we all had to start somewhere. Rome wasn't built in a day.

However, in the case that your daydreams or nightdreams or real life experiences strike you with divinely creative inspiration, realize that you've captured lightning in a bottle. Don't let it escape!

 Carry that notepad, recorder, sketchbook etc, and jot that idea down! Jot it down with the same urgency as if there was a fire, except the fire is not in the building, but in your mind!

You'll never know what that idea just might transform into.

Makin Moves by Hill Harris

      So to kick off the reboot of my blog I'm going to share my first Vibe: Makin' Moves by Hill Harris. Hard to listen to and not feel motivated and blood-pumped!

 

 How to Rap

This is the legacy page for what started this blog, originally titled Prestoverse: How to Rap, Write and More (though I only had focused on the Rap part). I still like to spit a verse or two, and for the future I may share "Presto-Approved" hiphop in my Vibes section or my own Lyrics/Poetry. However, I have decided that my primary pursuit will be on Creative Writing. Thanks for your understanding.

Friendly Tip #3

When you’re listening to rap music, especially by quality artists, the lyricism can really be deep and much of the content/meaning can go over your head. So you would have to learn on picking up patterns of how rap interpretation works, and see if you can use these patterns to reinforce your own work.

              

  So when it comes to rap, there are generally 4 types of ways you can break down interpretation:

                1) Base Value. What is said is what is meant. More common in old-school rap, though this is uncommon in modern-day rap, you can still find it. Many of B.o.B’s songs (ex. Airplanes, Both of Us) rely on base value.

                2) Symbolic Meaning. In many cases, rap consists of large amounts of figurative language: usually metaphors, similes, idioms (street-slang/urban expressions, derivatives and twists) and also slang terminology. In many cases, rappers will use themes involving everyday objects or processes (clothes, nature, games, light/dark, geography, driving/traveling, food, jewels) etc. so even if the lines may make sense by base value, keep in mind that the rapper may also be referring to something else.

                3)  Double/Triple Entendre. Similar to Symbolic Meaning but one step further. The sentence spoken has more than one correct interpretation. “ex.” by Jay-Z in Lupe Fiasco’s Pressure, “If you force my hand, I’ll be forced to draw.”

                On the surface, it sounds like a very basic sentence, but you can actually see three meanings in this sentence. The first meaning, you’ll probably think of playing cards, right? Your “hand” being the portion dealt to you, and draw meaning to pick up more cards from the deck. HOWEVER, draw, can refer to drawing a weapon, like a pistol—which, provided themes within the rap industry, is not surprising that this could be a possible meaning. The third meaning comes in context with the verse, where the theme is “artistry” so the meaning could be winking at you saying, If you force his hand, he’ll draw a picture.

4) Wordplay: The funniest thing about wordplay, is that in most cases, it doesn’t directly make sense, so don’t let it stump you. Very simply put, it’s a pun on words. If you can find the “link” between them, it’s all that matters.

So I realize this is only going to help but so much so what I would like to do now is introduce you to rapgenius.com, a very well-thought-out website of posting a large variety of hip-hop/rap music lyrics and offering the service of users and listeners interpreting them for you.  Enjoy!