How do you get revved up to write?

[Vulgar]

Ahhh, this ancient, cherished hobby.

How do you get yourself psyched up to write? Do the words go onto the page without much of a hassle of aroused passion or gradual inspiration?

Do you need to "go there" or get into the frame of mind related to your subject matter? For example, writing from the perspective of a murderer, as a priest or a child, as a peaceful sage in the woods... what gets you in the mood? Directly. Is it a variation of the same thing?

When I battle or write topicals, I have different states of mind. Especially pic battling. Just curious if there are some more different or unique customs out there, pre-writing rituals.

If there is already a thread like this in the past, my bad.

[Witty]

I usually hate myself and write stuff that is completely contrary to my character...mainly self loathing helps me write.

[Inno]

I listen to recordings of pencils writing on paper

[sral]

It just comes naturally to me, topical writing I mean.

These days I usually analyse what I determine are my opponents flaws, and write what I think I need to do to win.

If their lines are too long, I place an emphasis on flow.

If they can't tell a story, I'll do that well.

If they're not much of a metaphorical writer, I'll sometimes go for that.

If they're the type to go for a more high-brow approach, I'll maybe opt for something more conversational and relatable.

It completely depends on who the opponent is.

I write to win.

All this "I write for me," bullshit is for the birds. You guys keep doing that, I'll keep champing these tourneys and leagues you only ever make up the quarter finals of.

Truth be told I'm more likely to lose in round one of a tourney vs an unknown 32 seed because I don't know enough about them to write around them. It's completely down to me at that point and that's where I risk slipping up, though, let's face it... Ain't many 32 seeds writing to this level either to compete. Once we get to the business end of a tourney, the "known" heads make up the last eight or so and from there on, I'm not losing.

Who else you know ran through the biggest topical tourneys on the site back to back without a loss in either?

Lars the Gawd

[Mr. J]

I wrote about a page & a half on dos and donts & decided I dont want to do that...


usually a instrumental sets up my mood and I build off of that for about 30 minutes & go back & edit everything that fits the topic & build off of that...

when I first started writing in AOWL I would normally have about an hour or 2 to finish a piece...now that i have more time I just enjoy myself & wait until last minute...oh the joy of the cypher

[Adverse]

It used to just flow out, I used to write 16's in high school like nothing. Lately i've had a lot of problems getting motivated which is part of the reason I came back to NC, rapping on forums and text battling is how I got started so I wanted to see If it could kick start something back up.

[NYCSPITZ]

It just comes naturally to me, topical writing I mean.

These days I usually analyse what I determine are my opponents flaws, and write what I think I need to do to win.

If their lines are too long, I place an emphasis on flow.

If they can't tell a story, I'll do that well.

If they're not much of a metaphorical writer, I'll sometimes go for that.

If they're the type to go for a more high-brow approach, I'll maybe opt for something more conversational and relatable.

It completely depends on who the opponent is.

I write to win.

All this "I write for me," bullshit is for the birds. You guys keep doing that, I'll keep champing these tourneys and leagues you only ever make up the quarter finals of.

Truth be told I'm more likely to lose in round one of a tourney vs an unknown 32 seed because I don't know enough about them to write around them. It's completely down to me at that point and that's where I risk slipping up, though, let's face it... Ain't many 32 seeds writing to this level either to compete. Once we get to the business end of a tourney, the "known" heads make up the last eight or so and from there on, I'm not losing.

Who else you know ran through the biggest topical tourneys on the site back to back without a loss in either?

Lars the Gawd

Calling lars the gawd out ... topical 48 lines anybody picks the topic

[Vulgar]

I usually hate myself and write stuff that is completely contrary to my character...mainly self loathing helps me write.

Why Oh Why do you loathe yourself, Witty?

I listen to recordings of pencils writing on paper

That's an interesting idea. It would probably make me piss lead.

[Orc]

Echo is the best topical writer on this site bar none

As for me, I like to immerse myself in a topic and create a world

[sral]

Calling lars the gawd out ... topical 48 lines anybody picks the topic

lmao no one tryna read another verse about asian masters fighting with shurikens and hanzo swords from you though you Last Ronin knockoff

we past that

[Orc]

lmao no one tryna read another verse about asian masters fighting with shurikens and hanzo swords from you though you Last Ronin knockoff

we past that

Hahahaha wowww

[Vulgar]

Echo is the best topical writer on this site bar none


https://media.giphy.com/media/p3wkgg9XE7XNe/giphy.gif

[Ghost1]

Lma9ooooo

[Orc]

Hahahahahaha "three laugh face emojis"

[Aero]

Ahhh, this ancient, cherished hobby.

How do you get yourself psyched up to write? Do the words go onto the page without much of a hassle of aroused passion or gradual inspiration?

Do you need to "go there" or get into the frame of mind related to your subject matter? For example, writing from the perspective of a murderer, as a priest or a child, as a peaceful sage in the woods... what gets you in the mood? Directly. Is it a variation of the same thing?

When I battle or write topicals, I have different states of mind. Especially pic battling. Just curious if there are some more different or unique customs out there, pre-writing rituals.

If there is already a thread like this in the past, my bad.

What's up fam?

PM me let me know things are going

[Saitama]

Drink mad pre workout stimulants and do a line of coke

ill nik-A

[Vulgar]

https://media.giphy.com/media/TlRcavXJx2WD6/giphy.gif

Ok that gif was a bit creepy.

[NYCSPITZ]

lmao no one tryna read another verse about asian masters fighting with shurikens and hanzo swords from you though you Last Ronin knockoff

we past that

lmao u need a bigger bankroll and more ambition in life before you condescend me. Being loud and making videos with MMLP for topical mags doesn't make u a boss it makes you lame. Respect that you won a couple topical tourneys though must be nice to have that as the crown of your life achievements.

[Adonis]

I will sit on a topic for at least 12 hours and think of a different approach. Writing comes natural to me though. I can write a full length verse in under a hour. You know my style though vulgar, condensed lines with as much content per as I can fit. So this takes more time, I actually write two bars and condense them to one for maximum depth. I also would always write to a beat for potential recording possibilities, recently though I started writing to entire catalogs of beats instead of flowing to just one. But in the past month I found myself writing in silence,which is new to me, but I like it. The different beats I realized would dictate flow. So a single verse wouldn't flow well together, but individually fine.



Either way, writing is something I love, and Lars, I write for me. I'm not as evolved as you admittedly,but I see myself going down the route of tailoring each verse for a competitor soon. For now, I just enjoy writing and think I'm the best so don't want to change a thing. Even though I lose a lot, it's rare that I read my verse and my competitor and think to myself, "he would get my vote". The style I write with I would vote for every time pretty much.



1-0 vs Lars though. ;)

[Mr. J]

insomnia usually helps too..

[sral]

LOL Adonis caught me sleeping, we've all had a battle vs someone we don't respect at all in our craft and just wrote some bullshit we thought would be enough to win then they've lucked out and somehow won by a vote or two. You guys know how it is.

Not one person here thinks he is actually on the same level I am.

Real talk.

[NYCSPITZ]

Lol Black, Soulstice, Oats, Pinot Grij, NYC, Big Baby, Pancakebrah all doper than prime Lars. Lars gives 100% effort and comes up with good fanfiction about pirates on floating islands, and it does have good creativity, vocab flow etc all that but it's mostly the sub 110iq crowd who eats it all up and everybody knows that. Black robbed in winter topical. Everybody I mentioned also tries way less than Lars who is 100% focused bc not much else going on in his life than topicals. The people I mentioned are better writers and more intelligent, IMO just my opinion...

I am up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday working a shift and about to get breaded then turn that into more loots via options or bottom bounce plays while all of u are hung over and posting about bar fights that were probably a missed punch, an apology and a kiss on the cheek IRL...Diode's portfolio is meaningless now. Focused...

[Pharaohs Army]

...mainly self loathing helps me write.
sometimes, for sure
hate may be too strong a word in my case, i'd say loathing works well.

i have different modes of writin but 1 of the modes is:
i gather phrases or singular words which fascinate me, gather them from all over, in most cases I "hear" them, not "read" them.
sometimes they are new to me; sometimes not
then blend them with shit i already know, incorporate them into something which i''m usually stylin rightquick to 1 or 2 beatz.

hear them from:
People I know
People I don't know
Television programming/movies/radio

It's not even a chore or a task for me it just happens. Frankly it's kinda weird to even talk/write about it.
It doesn't take long to note them down and there really aren't "too many"

I was given a pocket thesaurus as a gift from someone.. I took a couple glances inside.. I felt like it was fucking cheating! It sits here next to my desk, it's so full of dopeness but I won't "allow myself to cheat". Don't open it.
I mean, I look shit up if I truly need to, on the interweb. But yeah I guess we'd call that weird.

I subconsciously wanna hear it used in the real world first I guess; I donno. I guess maybe I 'bite the world'..

J mentioned insomnia.
I sometimes watch CSPAN policy panels in the a.m. hours for gods sakes.
It expands my mind and no commercials.

But
As for me, I like to immerse myself in a topic and create a world

Yes dude. I am trying. Will be trying... it is not "on cue" for me, something I'm not used to.

If I was gonna be arrogant like most of U, i'd probably honestly say I'm too busy pushing the envelope working on dope text and improving my delivery to write a quality topical, but.. I suppose that is a cop-out. Too much fkn around mebbe.
once I get a fresh batch of ganja, should be able to put something interesting out,
If not, I have this "prose of a post" to be pissed off @myself with, later, for not getting the ball rolling.

Anyway
Interesting war of words here, with some heavyweights Lars and NycSpitz..

Both arrogant enough for me to be truly entertained in the pre-fight hype, so I guess a 48 would have to settle it for the viewers.

[Pharaohs Army]

NYCSpitz,
I've never done a single thing in the stock market.
But months ago I kept saying any sane man should buy low with oil.
Saw a thread on it here, which I vaguely remember some of the commentary.. Now prices have gone up a bit.. I wonder what the smart money does.

[Pharaohs Army]

or is that a new thread?^ My bad.

Writing? Well,
it's probably cliche to talk about "blowing trees every got damn day", as one user here put it (forgive me i, forget his name but he was fresh out of prison)

That being said, I'll quote myself by saying a
sack of weed is exactly what i need to be connected to the beat

no doubt it helps to be high with the beatz on.
but when i 'take a break' from treez is when ideas start flowing
kinda like a sweet spot I have to catch, and usually involves starting the smoking back up to 'craft it better'.

Lol, I'm beginning to think my whole writing life and my whole real life is just one big excuse to smoke.
But na, honestly, it's important let's not kid ourselves.

[Cimmerian]

"I constantly seek it, wondering why I have to drink a six pack to speak it."

- Common Sense

I usually drink a couple beers and find a track that works from an emotional and rhythm standpoint.

[UnbornBuddha]

I put on a good soundtrack and I just write. Then refine from there. But, in a way I kind of freestyle my writing. My freestyling process is one of spontaneity and transcendence, where one has to transcend thinking in many ways helps dictate my writing. Of course, what helps is also reading, reading, and reading. Nowadays, I'm a better emcee than I am a writer.

[Certain]

I masturbate.

[oats]

^^^in all seriousness, jerking off can be a huge help for me when I'm stressed by a deadline or just distracted in general. I always jerked before big tests and interviews, too.

mostly, I take my dog for a walk, talk things out with him while I'm walking, come back clean my desk and I'm good. I think better when I move around, on some transcendentalist shit. I also revise and rewrite a good bit, so once I get something on paper, even if it's not that good, it's not terribly difficult to get it to a reasonable quality with revision.

[Certain]

I was serious.

[oats]

Every time you write, Certain?

[Certain]

If I'm at home and actually care about the thing I'm writing, which isn't always.

[Vulgar]

lol

So it looks like our topical careers all unanimously came to an end.

Amirite

[oats]

interesting. you ever get in the work jerk Certain? Also, I'm sure Bags wants to know, is this to porn or not?

[Vulgar]

I think Certain works from home, which puts it into context.

also this gives the alias Certain Serpent a whole new meaning.

[Certain]

I've worked from offices for my entire adult life. I put in at least 40 hours a week in the office, then another 20 to 30 at home.

I have not masturbated in my current office, but I did in the bathroom when working the night shift at my previous job a few times. I used to go up to a floor that was unoccupied at night to take shits anyway.

[Ghost1]

Loluwotm8

Just clicked on last post an read certain shit....an I'm leaving immediately idk wats happened itt but I'm out.

[oats]

Loluwotm8

Just clicked on last post an read certain shit....an I'm leaving immediately idk wats happened itt but I'm out.

this is part of your porn rehabilitation. you have to be able to talk about masturbating without falling into the urge to do it.

personally, I jerked it at least once at basically every job I had that wasn't manual labor/didn't involve children.

[Ghost1]

I'm not on no fap bruh bruh

I jerk everyday

Tho Id like to cut that down too lol

An lately I've been jerking to twerk vines....I've told myself it's better then porn....I KNOW IT'S NOT....RELEASE ME FROM YOUR SWEET SWEET CLUTCHES INTERNET!!

[NYCSPITZ]

NYCSpitz,
I've never done a single thing in the stock market.
But months ago I kept saying any sane man should buy low with oil.
Saw a thread on it here, which I vaguely remember some of the commentary.. Now prices have gone up a bit.. I wonder what the smart money does.

Well I had a few good months sales last yr and was able to throw a lil over 10k into a stock which popped 800% from my cost basis. I could have probably received 600% or a little more (due to there always being less liquidity at the top of the run) return but I watched it fall to a 250% gain because I got greedy. Now it's back on the uptrend though so I'm getting out once it has momentum and ROC (return on capital) on my costs basis is 500%. With momentum and positive reaction to news which is end of week next week this is easily possible for me within 3 weeks. That's 50k off a 10k play. Also since I know the stock pretty well by now I would trade the dips after that and probably be able to squeeze a few more 10s of Gs out of it. I think the smart money after that would play any oil crash because last time oil dipped to 26/barrel pennies like WLL, PVAH, CHK, NOG etc. all doubled or tripled from the oil corrections 26--> 40ish. I honestly would go all in if it fell to 25 per barrel or lower levels again (on a cornucopia of stocks so that I make $$$ even if one of the companies goes bankrupt which is unlikely anyways but still) and that's an easy 100k portfolio for me but oil might not crash I think it will but we'll see. In addition I would play bottom bounces in the penny world bc odds r in ur favor. Think about it you find 10 stocks trading at .000X. Half of them fail completely, 1 doubles or triples in price, 2 stay about the same, one of them get to half a penny (.005), and one of them reaches a penny. If you put 1000 dollars into every stock, that's about 20 thousand dollars. In my case I got in at .0009 and it reached a high of .0184. Now it's at .005ish but it's ready to move up. I would then begin looking into options dough.com and tastytrade.com have great videos u can learn from. Would be very surprised if I didn't break into 6 figure territory this year off just a 10k initial investment. The options spreads seem heavy when you first look into it but like with anything else watch the vids a lot it becomes easy. There are various spreads like butterfly, iron condor etc. where if you know a few blue chip stocks well (APPL), or more complex ETF plays linked closely to commodities or whatever, you can guess price movements into the future and bank BIG as long as you have a margin account. I will still come talk to you niggas when I have platinum laced zeppelins floating over Italy with with wifi, pools and hoes on the top.

[Adonis]

lol

So it looks like our topical careers all unanimously came to an end.

Amirite



I thought it would be fun to host a short topical tourney dubbed "champions league"

where previous champions are only invited. I don't think you would qualify sadly, but the line up would be pretty sick.

I think pulling all champions would be too numerous, was considering taking end of season champs and final champs only. maybe champs who won multiple title defenses? Probably won't ever happen, point is at least someone is still active even if I'm not elite, I am from the old lore

[Certain]

Why the fuck wouldn't Vulgar qualify? He has an Art of Writing League championship and more wins than just about anyone.

[Split Eight]

accidentally feel an emotion/ read a great book

[Pharaohs Army]

interesting NYCSpitz,
due to my math skills and intellect I should probably participate in all this legalized gambling you speak of.
I just don't have the motivation or the passion to get into it. But thanks, I will check out those sites&vids if I get to a point in my life where I wanna dip my foot in the water.

[Pharaohs Army]

Vulgar,
It's interesting question you ask.
It is hard to pin it down.
It's easier for me to express when I'm "not" able to be in a writing mode.
Because most times I have the ability to "go there" when I "want to", if I turn beats on or read/rap my own raps, or other ppls raps... or just start something.
Right now is one of those rare "not" times. But I don't know why.

Regarding Dr Dogs comments about accidentally feeling an emotion. Yeah I guess that helps too sometimes, depending on what kind of "piece".

[Pharaohs Army]

I'm not on no fap bruh bruh

I jerk everyday

Tho Id like to cut that down too lol

An lately I've been jerking to twerk vines....I've told myself it's better then porn....I KNOW IT'S NOT....RELEASE ME FROM YOUR SWEET SWEET CLUTCHES INTERNET!!

lmao.

I don't jerk every day, but sadly I also did not last long with the Porn-abstinence.

One time I clicked on a twerk vid...I've seen maybe 2 of those vids in my life (but don't get me started). the chick was really a special talent. Like not only was her ass literally perfect, but she did something that takes a lot of athleticism and skill and stamina.. Something in my brain "wouldn't allow me" to masturbate to it.

[oats]

sometimes when I'm "super fucking horny" I turn on "the pornography" web site. after about 10-20 minutes of "browsing," I begin "stroking" my "penis" vigorously. eventually, after great "effort," I usually end up "blowing a fat load" into a "sock" or, if I'm a lazy "sack of shit," onto my "self." Then I wipe it off and write. ""

[Dominate]

Battles was mostly
Think broadly of something I want to insult about my opponent (eg Bags's attempts at getting swole) --> think of of a wordplay or something on that topic that could have a double meaning ("resistance training") --> word it as an insult, preferably with humour ("hardest resistance training you ever did was slapping urself for having gay thoughts")--> rhyme it with stuff that's relevant or sets it up ("you ain't no gym rat, maybe yoga class & a couple of tame squats")

Some lines were different but that was mostly what I did.

Topicals I only wrote few of but every one that I didn't no show for was a result of me constraining myself in some way, otherwise I'd spend too much time thinking of all the different things I could write and actually get nothing written. Once I could only interpret the topic I was given in one fairly specific way, so I knew exactly what to write about and was just focused on trying to write it well. Once I decided to stick with the same rhyme scheme for the whole verse, I just started with a vague idea of what I was going to write about and let the rhymes I came up with more or less lead the way. That sounds like a terrible way to write but that might actually have been my best verse. I wasn't just writing whatever if it rhymed, I was just doing a "what rhymes? --> how can I make that relevant to what I already wrote?" process instead of a "what should I write next? --> how can I make that rhyme?" one. Once was a 'short verse' week and the take on the topic I'd settled on had a lot of action for me to write, so again I knew exactly what the content was going to be and could just focus on the writing. Once I decided to do a job advertisement which had a very specific style to adhere to.

[Pharaohs Army]

good one oats. i guess all the booty you've plundered just isn't enough for your libido

[Pharaohs Army]

Lars, your take on this is interesting to say the least.
Kind of mindblowing if I'm being honest.
Not only must you properly assess your opponents weaknesses, but you then use a style to fill those voids.
So not only are you saying you're an impeccable judge of others (lack of)stylez, but that other judges will "see" what you've done (whether they know it or not).
I mean props if you actually pull this off (no pun intended).. but it sounds kinda farfetched to me.. in that I'm surprised you don't just write a topical how you wanna write it in whatever style you feel at that moment, or For that piece..
U know There is a middle ground between "writing exactly what i wanna write how i wanna write it" vs. "Tayloring my scouting report and exploiting opponents' shortocmings for judges to see." lol

[oats]

Pharaohs Army you're a good dude, but forreal, why do you use quotation marks like that?

[Pharaohs Army]

Well in a couple satire posts it was used to mimic Muzzle's Open mic piece.

But as far as when I'm actually using them?
Let's take my last post here....
I quotationed "see" because I meant the term beyond physical sight.
I quotationed "writing exactly what i wanna write how i wanna write it" and "Tayloring my scouting report and exploiting opponents' shortocmings for judges to see", because I was trying to portray modes of thought. It also separates those descriptions from the sentence as a whole making it a bit easier to read.
If I was writing something formal, or editing something for someone, I would only use them traditionally/appropriately.

[Ghost1]

sometimes when I'm "super fucking horny" I turn on "the pornography" web site. after about 10-20 minutes of "browsing," I begin "stroking" my "penis" vigorously. eventually, after great "effort," I usually end up "blowing a fat load" into a "sock" or, if I'm a lazy "sack of shit," onto my "self." Then I wipe it off and write. ""

Dead

[Ghost1]

Battles was mostly
Think broadly of something I want to insult about my opponent (eg Bags's attempts at getting swole) --> think of of a wordplay or something on that topic that could have a double meaning ("resistance training") --> word it as an insult, preferably with humour ("hardest resistance training you ever did was slapping urself for having gay thoughts")--> rhyme it with stuff that's relevant or sets it up ("you ain't no gym rat, maybe yoga class & a couple of tame squats")

Some lines were different but that was mostly what I did.

Topicals I only wrote few of but every one that I didn't no show for was a result of me constraining myself in some way, otherwise I'd spend too much time thinking of all the different things I could write and actually get nothing written. Once I could only interpret the topic I was given in one fairly specific way, so I knew exactly what to write about and was just focused on trying to write it well. Once I decided to stick with the same rhyme scheme for the whole verse, I just started with a vague idea of what I was going to write about and let the rhymes I came up with more or less lead the way. That sounds like a terrible way to write but that might actually have been my best verse. I wasn't just writing whatever if it rhymed, I was just doing a "what rhymes? --> how can I make that relevant to what I already wrote?" process instead of a "what should I write next? --> how can I make that rhyme?" one. Once was a 'short verse' week and the take on the topic I'd settled on had a lot of action for me to write, so again I knew exactly what the content was going to be and could just focus on the writing. Once I decided to do a job advertisement which had a very specific style to adhere to.


SIR

I am fucking yolked

[sral]

Lars, your take on this is interesting to say the least.
Kind of mindblowing if I'm being honest.
Not only must you properly assess your opponents weaknesses, but you then use a style to fill those voids.
So not only are you saying you're an impeccable judge of others (lack of)stylez, but that other judges will "see" what you've done (whether they know it or not).
I mean props if you actually pull this off (no pun intended).. but it sounds kinda farfetched to me.. in that I'm surprised you don't just write a topical how you wanna write it in whatever style you feel at that moment, or For that piece..
U know There is a middle ground between "writing exactly what i wanna write how i wanna write it" vs. "Tayloring my scouting report and exploiting opponents' shortocmings for judges to see." lol


There is, sure, but the fun for me in writing is the winning. I write to win. I'm super competitive.

Right throughout the Winter Topical tourney, I messaged all of my opponents via PM once our verses were up and told them exactly where the battle would be won, and why I would win.

[sral]

Lol Black, Soulstice, Oats, Pinot Grij, NYC, Big Baby, Pancakebrah all doper than prime Lars.



beat Black to champ winter topical, he's crew though
soulstice is actually a protégé of mine from my Word Perfect days
oats is long term crew and weve never battled
pinot is dope
NYC been wack since hiphopgame, Chink Won was always better
big baby? yawn.
dancake? yawn.

of your entire list they have a career total of 0 wins over me. good going. :^)

[The Ultimate Hater]

my inspiration comes from my extreme anger and furious hatred for all other rappers...

[Pharaohs Army]

stop h8in yo

[The Ultimate Hater]

stop h8in yo

lets battle then... 10 lines due tonight.

[Pharaohs Army]

lets battle then... 10 lines due tonight.

Set it

[dead man]

I stop thinking so fucking much about it and just do it

[NYCSPITZ]

beat Black to champ winter topical, he's crew though
soulstice is actually a protégé of mine from my Word Perfect days
oats is long term crew and weve never battled
pinot is dope
NYC been wack since hiphopgame, Chink Won was always better
big baby? yawn.
dancake? yawn.

of your entire list they have a career total of 0 wins over me. good going. :^)

blah blah blah that whole list all writes better than you and probably in dif formats too. You have a the personality of a 6th grade juvenile and you're like 34, which is a mark of insecurity and compensation. Veritas to thread...

Also again, black completely robbed in winter topical. Eons ahead of you. Weak lame dickriders that you PMed on twitter voted for you to secure the victory

[big baby]

fucking obliterated @ career wins

[Witty]

All I'm going to say is if I still wrote topicals like I used to, still put the time in I used to, and still cared like I used to...I'd be winning like I used to.

There's not a single writer on this site I can't beat, there are writers I would put above me on a list, but even to this day, if you battle me, you're in a real battle and there's a good chance you will lose.

And all these dudes know it.

[Witty]

Also, for the battles I have shown up to and competed in here, I'm pretty sure I'm still highly dominant.

I win battles...even when I'm rusty and uninspired. I know what to do to get the W in the majority of battles, where my opponents weaknesses are, and how to combat their strengths. It's not just about writing a dope piece.

[Razah]

Ahhh, this ancient, cherished hobby.

How do you get yourself psyched up to write? Do the words go onto the page without much of a hassle of aroused passion or gradual inspiration?

Do you need to "go there" or get into the frame of mind related to your subject matter? For example, writing from the perspective of a murderer, as a priest or a child, as a peaceful sage in the woods... what gets you in the mood? Directly. Is it a variation of the same thing?

When I battle or write topicals, I have different states of mind. Especially pic battling. Just curious if there are some more different or unique customs out there, pre-writing rituals.

If there is already a thread like this in the past, my bad.

My different states of minds are based on levels of sobriety.

I just write, sometimes it comes out naturally and I whip up a verse in 10-15 minutes, or sometimes it's forced just to post on time and it takes an hour or 2.

What's weird to me is how people react to it. Some of the shit I thought was most forced / borderline stupid, a lot of people liked. Go figure.

[Mr. J]

Everyone loves when I just fool around and hate when I try...



Its a funny world we live in.

[MMLP]

Witty's a beast, an opponent I'd love to face, we'd have a classic I think!

[sral]

Also, for the battles I have shown up to and competed in here, I'm pretty sure I'm still highly dominant.

I win battles...even when I'm rusty and uninspired. I know what to do to get the W in the majority of battles, where my opponents weaknesses are, and how to combat their strengths. It's not just about writing a dope piece.

of course you do

I taught you everything I knew... would keep you second to me

[sral]

Witty's a beast, an opponent I'd love to face, we'd have a classic I think!

lmao I wont lie, I'd be a bit geeked inside to see my two minions go at it for topical supremacy

[oats]

people I never topical battled that I would have liked to:

Lars
Witty
NYC

I'd add Pinot to that list just because, even though we did battle, both of us had fairly shitty/rushed verses.

[Witty]

people I never topical battled that I would have liked to:

Lars
Witty
NYC

I'd add Pinot to that list just because, even though we did battle, both of us had fairly shitty/rushed verses.

One day, my friend.

[Certain]

Witty, remember when I wrote 10 lines and you wrote 30 and I beat you?

[Witty]

Witty, remember when I wrote 10 lines and you wrote 30 and I beat you?

I do not, but don't doubt it.

We can go whenever tho broseph.

Certain Serpent vs The Witness

One for the ages.

[Frank]

It just comes naturally to me, topical writing I mean.

These days I usually analyse what I determine are my opponents flaws, and write what I think I need to do to win.

If their lines are too long, I place an emphasis on flow.

If they can't tell a story, I'll do that well.

If they're not much of a metaphorical writer, I'll sometimes go for that.

If they're the type to go for a more high-brow approach, I'll maybe opt for something more conversational and relatable.

It completely depends on who the opponent is.

I write to win.

All this "I write for me," bullshit is for the birds. You guys keep doing that, I'll keep champing these tourneys and leagues you only ever make up the quarter finals of.

Truth be told I'm more likely to lose in round one of a tourney vs an unknown 32 seed because I don't know enough about them to write around them. It's completely down to me at that point and that's where I risk slipping up, though, let's face it... Ain't many 32 seeds writing to this level either to compete. Once we get to the business end of a tourney, the "known" heads make up the last eight or so and from there on, I'm not losing.

Who else you know ran through the biggest topical tourneys on the site back to back without a loss in either?

Lars the Gawd

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