(Tutorial) Topicals by Shaojin594

[Scorp]

Topical Tutorial Part 1: Introduction

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The basics to a topical...

1. Staying On Topic
Staying on topic is key to a topical. Be sure each of your lines ties into the topic, or builds up towards it, or reflects it in some way. It's just like battling, you shouldn't include fillers that have nothing to do with your verse and detract from the overall flow, message, and consistency. There should be a reason behind dropping each of your lines.

2. Flow and Vocabulary
These two elements are key to a strong and effective topical verse. Your flow should be smooth and on point. It's always a plus to use inners, and even better to use multis. (This will be elaborated later). However, do not force the flow and use words that don't necessarily tie into the complexity of the verse or the overall topic. This is where vocabulary comes into play. The way you use your words and put them together not only helps with the flow, but also with everything else, such as staying on topic, imagery, and metaphors. Choose your words wisely.

3. Imagery
Imagery is important to a topical verse, especially if it pertains to the topic. Some topics may be harder to use imagery with, but most are not. Imagery is basically using strong words to paint a picture in the minds of reader. This not only makes your verse seem better and more complex, but it helps with conveying your message or topic. Detailed descriptions may enhance this aspect of your verse. Paint a picture with words.

4. Metaphors and Complexity
This is the hardest and most complex aspect of a topical verse. Often, regular readers will not catch metaphors, but most experienced topical critics will. By dictionary definition, a metaphor is: A figure of speech in which a term is transferred from the subject it ordinarily designates to one it can designate only by implicit comparision or analogy, as in the phrase evening of life. This is a difficult concept to grasp, but when perfected, can create wonders out of your pieces. Metaphors create complex verses and often convey strong images and messages to the reader...it is mostly meant to be deep and thought provoking.

[Scorp]

1. Staying On Topic
Staying on topic is key to an effective verse. It's just like in battling, your verse is always better if almost each line is an effective punch, or relates to the battle. Don't throw something random in it. There should be a reason behind keying each of your lines. If your topical is a story, then each line should build up to the conflict, climax, turning point, and resolution; just like in a normal story, book, or novel.

For example purposes, I'm going to use part of an old verse I did...and show how the lines and words inner-relate. This topical was for the WBL and the topic was: You're in an out of body experience and you're wandering around the city. You can see everything from a clear perspective without any bias or stereotypes, but no one can see you. Describe the problems you see in society.

1. Dignity holds no weight - 2. they believe the grass is greener on only their side ~ 3. as in infinity, 4. a cycle of hate - 5. broken and mended by the faults they hide...
1. This sets up the line, starting off with a statement relating to the rest of it, in this case, it's referring to dignity. "Holds no weight" is self explanatory.
2. The saying goes, "the grass is greener on the other side" but in this case that saying has been flipping to inply that people are selfish and egocentric. Again, with the lack of self-dignity, they don't care what others think, therefore they are self centered. (Seeing how this is tying together yet?)
3. and 4. These two parts tie together. Infinity is metaphoric, both as a symbol and as a meaning. The drawn symbol of infinity is a figure eight, which looks like a cycle. So, a cycle of hate is referring to the people and their hate, which is passed on generation to generation from parent to child, and it is a continuous cycle.
5. This part wraps up 3 and 4 mostly. "Broken and mended" refers again to the passing of ideas from generation to generation. Often times parents try to instill good morals and values in their children, but the children don't listen, or vice versa, the parents try to install bad morals and values and the children develop their own. This is a cycle that is sometimes broken, but ignorance "mends" it again, so it continues.

As you can see, each part of that line ties into one another, or leads to the next part. This involves smooth transitions and inner-related ideas. Always keep this in mind. If you suddenly go off topic, it not only detracts from your verse, but sometimes also from your flow, because the reader will stop and wonder why you put that in; or it sounds out of place and throws off your flow, ideas, and consistency.

[Scorp]

3. Flow and Vocabulary
These two elements are key to a strong and effective topical verse. Your flow should always be smooth and on point.

Check out Richard Corey's tutorial: Flow 101 for some nice tips on basic rhyming. It's pretty simple and easy to pick up...he goes through the syllable rhyming and flow. Inners and Multies always help with your rhyme scheme as well. Sometimes lines get way stretched, a way to avoid that is by using lots of inners, and making the lines concise. An inner is basically rhyming within the line. For example:

Stuck on Borders and Programmed Disorders
Destoring polls and woes and Life's Recorders

Not only does this accentuate the flow of your verse, but it keeps it interesting, keeps the piece up beat. You're not monotonous this way, and good inners reflect well on complexity, especially with the rhyme scheme. If you can develop a constant rhyme scheme with constant inners every few lines or so, it'll work wonders for your pieces. Multies are related to inners. However, they are slightly more complex, because they're multiple syllable rhyming. I'm sure you've heard PJK talking about multis before. He's written quite a few tutorials on multis, so I won't need to elaborate much. Here's an example of a multi:

escaping moral's ascention
retracing quarrel's prevention

Notice how each word rhymes with the word in it's corresponding position, and usually the syllables are matched as well.

As far as vocabulary is concerned, get advanced, but not too advanced or you'll detract from the overall message of your piece. You don't want to get advanced to the point where the reader has no idea what you're talking about, unless that's what you intended to happen...lol. Sometimes big words detract from the flow of your verse too, so be sure to pay attention to syllables and enunciation. Simple words can work sometimes, but usually aren't your best choice if you want a graphic verse with good imagery (which will be elaborated on later). Avoid rhyming the same word twice, it detracts from the flow of your piece. Here's an example of vocab use:

But let go, (1)escaping (2)ascention, prevention
Of the closest (3)confrontation, In this Nation
Of (4)Incarceration, Of (5)deprivation, I'm stating

1. and 2. Escaping was used because in the line, because it is a loaded word (you should know what this phrase means, if you don't, go ask your English teacher) and I am saying I tried to get away from progress. This goes directly into number two, because instead of progress, I used the word ascention. It's a more connotative (this is a word you should look up and understand if you don't already know it) word than elevate, which is common especially on these boards, and progress, which doesn't really bring as many images to ones mind.
3. Confrontation is another way of saying running into, bringing up, but it makes that idea concise and brings it into one word that can have so many different meanings with the same central idea.
4. and 5. Incarceration instead of jail, not only because it rhymes, but it gives the word more emotion, more depth and feeling. The same goes for deprivation. Being deprived of something brings up more images and emotions or lacking something, or hungry, being cold, lonely, etc. Deprived is a very very connotative word and when used well, can entice your mind and trigger lots of emotions and images.

Sometimes your pronunciation is different from someone elses, maybe because of accents or just the way you were taught to read it. Keep that in mind, always. Remember, flow and vocabulary can either make your piece excellent and among the best or it can hurt you, no matter how great the message was, without a flow, the reader won't be as interested in the piece, and weak vocabulary won't conjour as many images as you intended to have.