Stream of Consciousness

What is Stream of Consciousness?

The American Psychological Association uses the stream of consciousness as a metaphor for the loose, flowing, and relatively unstructured form of our thoughts. For example, as I’m writing this blog I’m reminded of all the times I’ve written essays for school. But if my thoughts were perfectly transcribed onto paper, they wouldn’t look like the structured sentences I’m currently writing. They would probably look more like this.

“Words lines words writing essays for Professor Smith ninety-four percent my dorm room desk chair rocked back and forth back and the screen words is so bright my creative writing class my story with stars and carskeys? where pockettablecouchtablered line? Lines what spacing is ow too bright words”  

It might seem strange to tell a story this way, but that was (partially) the point! Kathleen Kupier of Brittanica notes that this narrative style was first used and popularized by modernist writers. Some goals of literary modernism were to represent more authentic human experiences in a rapidly changing world and to break away from past literary traditions and writing conventions. Replicating the structure of stream-of-consciousness thought in writing was an effective way to accomplish these goals simultaneously. 

Some notable novels that use this style include James Joyce’s Ulysses, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, and many more! Each of these novels uses stream of consciousness in different ways, but ultimately towards the same goal: to give the reader a better understanding of their characters’ minds. 

Why Write a Stream of Consciousness?

This narrative style provides a unique lens through which to view a character. While other narrative styles can show and tell you what a character thinks or how their mind works, seeing their thoughts laid out helps us understand their psychology, experiences, and what it’s like to be them. For instance, my previous example. Rather than as a stream of consciousness, I could have written it like this.

“As I wrote the draft for this blog, the words muddled together as my mind drifted to all the words I’d ever written before, rocking back and forth at my desk. I squinted at the bright screen and thought of the short story I wrote, filled with stars and an old car– and suddenly, I realized I forgot where my car keys were.” 

While this example provides you with the same information, the stream of consciousness example more directly shows you what it’s like to think how I think and process this moment how I process it. It more accurately reflects the truth of what I’m thinking, how I experience the world, and who I am. 

How to Write a Stream of Consciousness

Referring back to the psychological definition, the stream of consciousness frames conscious thought as a freeform stream. Thus, stream-of-consciousness writing should be equally freeform and stream-like. This can be reflected in both the structure and content of your writing. Liz Delf of Oregon State University provides this comprehensive list of defining characteristics of the stream of consciousness that you can use in your writing:

• Free Association: One of our brain’s favorite pastimes is finding patterns and making connections, as thin as they may be. Using free association to transition between ideas can reflect your character’s brain making these rapid, almost reflexive, connections. 

• Looping Repetitions: Consciously or not, our attention can linger on or circle back to certain ideas more than others. Repeating certain words, phrases, or ideas can reflect how long or how much your character is paying attention to something. 

• Sensory Observations: We process the world around us through our senses, making sensory observations one of the first things we notice and think about. Using various sensory details can reflect your character processing their environment through their senses. 

• Strange punctuation and syntax: Our thoughts aren’t always coherent or neatly structured. They can flow so quickly and continuously that they blur together in ways proper punctuation can’t accurately represent. Bending or breaking the rules of grammar, punctuation, and syntax can reflect this loose, freeform structure. 

You can use all of these in your writing, or mix and match. Here are some excerpts of stream-of-consciousness writing from The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and my previous example to see them in action!

You’re Ready to Write!

In summary, stream-of-consciousness is a narrative writing style that mimics a character's stream-of-consciousness thoughts. It lets the reader have a direct look into a character’s mind to gain a deeper understanding of them. To write in this style, the content and structure of your writing should mimic the patterns of stream-of-conscious thought. 

This narrative style might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s okay! However, if you’re interested in this style and its storytelling capabilities, there’s no better way to start than to start writing. Although thinking about it first might help. 

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About the author: Leo is a recent graduate in English from the University of Michigan. He loves to read and write speculative fiction, particularly fantasy and science fiction. He primarily writes short stories but has begun working on longer pieces, including novellas and screenplays. Regardless of the medium, much of his writing concerns the crossing and breaking of borders. Most of his professional writing experience has centered on tutoring and editing.