Rock is edgy, angry, and anti-authoritarian.The most common themes in rock music are rebellion, liberation, sex, and drug use. Romantic love is also a huge theme in the genre. Use your own experiences as an inspiration. If you want your rock song to sound authentic, you’ll need to know how it feels to go through the things you’re writing about. John Lennon’s song “Cold Turkey,” for example, is about his experience quitting heroin. Listen for catchy phrases in real life, look for them in books, and watch out for them on TV shows and in movies. Write down anything that sticks out to you in a notebook or on your phone. These phrases can become the title of your song, and that title can be the foundation of your lyrics in the chorus and verses. Play around with your title ideas and various melodies to see if you can come up with anything particularly catchy. Once you do, that can serve as your hook, the part of the song that sticks in your listeners’ heads and stays there because it’s pithy and memorable.  A quick rule of thumb for determining a hook’s catchiness: if a lyrical or melodic phrase sticks in your head, it will probably stick in other people’s heads. A variation of the title of the Rolling Stones’ song “Paint It Black,” for instance, serves as part of the hook: “I see a red door and I want it painted black.”

Summary: Decide on the themes of your song. Come up with a title for your song. Think of a hook based on your title.


Find a sunny spot in your garden that gets at least 6-8 hours of sunlight and dig a hole large enough to accommodate the seedling or plant. Use a gardening fork to gently dig up some soil at the base of the hole and rake a handful of compost into it. Gently insert plant and fill the space around it with an even mixture of soil and compost. Plant chilli plants at least 18 inches (45 cm) apart from any other plants to ensure that they will have adequate room to grow. In a warm, sunny climate, water your chilli plant every day to keep it hydrated. Avoid over-watering by making sure that the soil is moist, but not swampy. Feed plants with a general purpose liquid fertilizer (available at gardening centers) every two weeks. Chilli plants should only be transplanted outdoors in warm climates or places with very long summer seasons. In the latter case, it is best to transfer them outdoors in June. Purchase fleece or a gardening cloche (i.e. a protective dome cover that goes over the plant and is burrowed into the soil around it) to cover plants in case of unseasonally  cold weather.

Summary: Plant the chilli plant. Water and feed the plant regularly. Keep your plant warm.


The longer you let the ink sit in the fabric, the harder it will be to remove, so take action as soon as you notice the stain. Ideally, the ink will still be wet when you treat the fabric. There are a wide variety of pre-wash treatments available in the cleaning aisle of the grocery store, where you purchase laundry detergent and dryer sheets. The handiest variety is found in pen form; this allows you to keep a cleaning agent on you at all times in your pocket or bag.  Remove the article of clothing if possible and lay it on a flat surface — any table will do. Press the tip of the pen into the stain, releasing the treatment solution. Do not rub at the stain, as this will rub it further into the fabric and/or spread it around. Simply soak the stain in the solution. Dab at the stain with a clean paper towel or rag until the stain is removed, or at least significantly lightened. Place the stained fabric face down on a flat surface, so the stain is facing away from you. Put paper towels between the fabric and the surface to soak up the alcohol and the staining liquid, so you don’t mess up your table. Apply the rubbing alcohol to a cotton ball or rag, then gently press it into the back of the ink stain. Rinse the fabric with water when you’ve removed the stain. If you weren’t able to get to an ink stain while it was still fresh, you may not be able to loosen it from the fabric with the usual methods. If that’s the case, apply nail polish remover to it.  Place paper towels between the fabric and the flat surface you place it on to protect the surface underneath from the nail polish remover. Apply the nail polish remover to a cotton ball, then transfer it to the cloth by dabbing the cotton ball onto the stain. Apply a generous amount of nail polish remover; the stain should be completely saturated. Press clean paper towels or cotton balls onto the stain until the ink has come off completely. Reapply nail polish remover and change out the paper towels protecting the table surface as necessary. If you’ve gotten ink on pure cotton, silk, or high quality wool, you may want to avoid applying harsher chemicals to it, as they may damage the fabric while treating the stain. Instead, try one of these alternatives:  Create a solution of equal parts fresh lemon juice (not the bottled kind you can buy in the store) and a gentle laundry detergent. Transfer that solution to the stain using a clean rag or a cotton ball, soaking the stain with a generous amount of it. Allow the stain to soak for at least two hours before laundering the garment in cold water. Blot the stain using cold milk instead of detergent or alcohol. If you’ve gotten to your stain quickly with either a pre-wash treatment solution or with rubbing alcohol, you may have removed the stain effectively. However, to make sure you’ve gotten all of the offending ink, and to remove the chemicals you applied, which don’t belong on the fabric, make sure you run the garment through the laundry as soon as possible.  If you were unable to remove the stain completely before laundering the fabric, spray hairspray onto the stain and allow it to dry before running the garment through the laundry. The hairspray will help break down the chemicals, raising the likelihood of the stain coming out in the wash. With any stain, check the fabric to make sure the stain has been completely removed before putting the garment through the dryer. Applying heat to a stain that has not been completely removed will actually cause the stain to set even further, making it difficult to remove at a later date.
Summary: Treat the stain as quickly as possible. Apply a pre-wash treatment solution. Apply rubbing alcohol. Use nail polish remover on stubborn stains. Use gentler alternatives on delicate fabrics. Launder the fabric.