Writing Exercise - Stream of Consciousness Flow
Stream of consciousness writing is a technique that can be incredibly valuable for a variety of purposes. Some may refer to it as "brain dump" writing because you are letting anything come through your mind and onto the paper. I think stream of consciousness writing is a little more focused though because you are usually starting with a certain thought, emotion or object.
Reasons why someone might want to do a stream of consciousness writing session:
They are feeling stuck creatively
To explore their consciousness for creative ideas and thoughts
Want to work through anger, hurt or resentment
In a bad mood or funk, but they aren't sure why
As a mindfulness exercise to balance them within their day
To direct their mental focus to a certain project or task
As a way to spark creativity before they start a longer writing session
Start with breathing and centering your body
You will get more out of your writing session if you can slow things down a little first. We often have twenty different things we are juggling in our brain and so if we can quiet our minds and release some tension before writing, it will help us to dive in deeper during the session.
I often will set a timer for two to three minutes and just do a quick body scan. Focusing on relaxing each body part - starting at the head and working down to the toes. I also try to deepen and soften the breath with each new body part I move to during the scan. This is just a simple way to release tension and center your mind so that you are prepared to write.
Choose your prompt
The best way to choose a writing prompt is to first ask why you are doing a stream of consciousness writing session to begin with. Perhaps you are feeling blocked off creatively and want to explore that more closely. In that scenario, your prompt could simply be the name of the project you are feeling stuck with.
Perhaps you are feeling angry or frustrated. List out your emotions and then let your mind relax as you let all of the emotions pour out onto the page.
One of my favorite reasons to do this exercise is if I am in a bad mood and I don't know why. I have been amazed at how many times the answers have literally materialized on paper once I give my consciousness the space to breath and communicate with me.
This writing style can also be a great mindfulness practice or type of meditation. When i'm just using it for this purpose, I will often pull my prompts from the most random places! You can look around the room and choose an object - let's say a clock - and then begin writing. A fun option would be to open up a random book, choose the beginning of a sentence, and then finish the sentence as a way to start the writing session.
Set a timer
You could go without a timer and simply write until you are done, but I personally like knowing that there is a start and end point. I generally like to do a five minute session. This is usually enough time to move past my "hectic" brain and sink in a little deeper - but it isn't so much time that it feels overwhelming. Keeping it short also means I can fit it into random moments in my day, without it feeling like a big time commitment.
Experiment around with different amounts of time to see what works best for you. It may even depend on how you feel that day.
Let it flow without judgement
This is the most vital key to the whole process. From the beginning, you have to just set the intention m that this is for your eyes only and will never be shown to anyone. You also have to accept that it will end up being the most random, crazy, grammatically incorrect thing you may ever write. If your mind jumps to a new thought... there is no need to finish the sentence on your last thought... just keep rolling with it!
You may find that just random words come to you at first, and then it ends up forming into sentances.
I did a stream of consciousness writing exercise in a meditation class tonight, and our prompt was "Go". My writing was all over the board from random words to song lyrics to my current struggles and thoughts. The writing morphed and changed as I went. It was really interesting to read it after the timer went off to see the journey of my thoughts.
Conclusion
I hope you found these tips helpful and decide to give it a try. If you have tried this style of freeform writing, I’d love to hear your experience and wether you found it helpful or not!
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i write like a 'yellow post it note' just to get started some days. i used to use 750words.com -- a website where you can just write and it never gets posted. i find it's a good way to get the brain in motion, it must have worked as i wrote nearly 2000 blog posts on me.dm because i sold it five years later -- i'm always thinking about long tail and sentiment analyse when i write too, who knows what these bots compute now. being present, being seen in a digital sense gives me a sense that i'm actually alive not existing too ;)
Great idea with the post/it notes!! Sometimes just getting started is the hardest part and I can see how that would work well. I like the idea of The 750 word site too. I bet knowing that it will never be posted helps remove that mental censorship and judgement. I’ll have to check it out.
Crazy that you wrote 2000 blog posts in a five year span. I bet that really dialed your writing habits and writing style.
it did when i sold it to evan williams for $50k after those years. i kinda had put a line in the sand in terms of my blogging and it was only steemit that bought me back. the me.dm story is a good one, i'll dig out the video from the time and upload it to youtube so i can post over here about it.
Wow, awesome that you got a nice return after all the sweat equity you poured into it! I would love to see the video of your story! Sounds like it would be a great post and I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy checking it out. 😊
yeah at the time i recorded a video about it so i have that but it's on wistia. i have a bunch of video that never made it out to the public. was a crazy time. i certainly wanna talk about it at some time because it really talks about the long tail of blogging which is kinda like HODL in bitcoin and cryptocurrency in some ways. i'll get around to it. i've got a BUNCH of stuff in bear (the writing app i use for blogs) so i'll get around too it, maybe for my birthday time, start of the year storytelling i'll open up about it.. .
The new year is a great time for refocusing/starting new things. From the sound of it, a lot of people would benefit from hearing your story whenever your ready to dig through the archives and re-open that chapter of your life. 😊
love new start, new year energy, new discovery, new outlooks, reformatting of the mental mind drive. yeah, i do wanna talk about that time because it was on the back of two years of depression and i really focused my mind that i wanted a better outcome and boom it just happened a few years later. that law of attraction of energy you know, constantly focusing on what you want kinda thing.
I haven't done a proper stream of consciousness exercise since my creative writing class in high school... Quite some time ago.
But you're making it sound good.
You should try it sometime this week! It only takes 5 minutes. 😉
I had to go back and read this old post because I love this type of writing! I happen to call it "Meditative Journaling" and have been toying with doing a post about it. I'm still pretty insecure with the vlogging, but we'll see where it leads. It certainly is faster for me to get a 5 minute recording in than trying to write a full out post complete with photos.
Anyway, I wish upvotes could be given past the 7 days, because this post is definitely worthy! You're awesome and I am loving getting to know you here!
Aww I’m so touched that you went this far back in the archives! This was when I was just moving from doing written articles to more vlogging and video content.
I totally agree about the time commitment thing. That’s part of why I made the switch. Even on Vlog’s, I think it’s Important to provide a high level overview... but the expectation is much different . It can be a quick synopsis and doesn’t need to be a fully written/formatted piece.
Also, I’m glad you enjoyed this particular article! Reading back through this again reminded me that I need to make time for this exercise more often. 😊
Just one remark... consciousness is something which simply is, right here, right now in this present moment without thought... mind is an activity 'fabricated', 'labored' on thought based in the past and future... <3
Great insights. I probably interchanged the terms too loosely and so I appreciate you pointing out that distinction!
If one uses this technique for Steemit, can one name it Steem of Consciousness?
Hahaha love it!!
I really love free writing because it removes the tendency to censor myself. Usually when I first start writing an article, I will just throw down a bunch of thoughts on paper to start without judging them or trying to structure them. That seems to help a lot. Then I'll re-read and find the congruency and flow!
Thanks for the awesome post @coruscate! Would love to hear your thoughts regarding my recent post about true boldness and how to harness it: Be Bold And Mighty Forces Will Come To Your Aid
Awesome that you are already using free writing to start your articles. I love that you find flow and inspiration from your free write musings. I used to find myself getting stuck on crafting the perfect first sentence and then id just end up staring at the screen. Free writing like this has really helped me move past that.
I love the title of your article and I can’t wait to go read it!!
Yes! I'm inspired by movement. Literally when I start moving, I start thinking. When I'm stagnant and lack creativity, it's usually because I am not moving my mind or my body!
Hmm great observation. I’ll have to play around with that. I know when I’m feeling distracted I’ll do 20 jumping jacks or dance around a bit to re-engage my brain. Sounds like a similar strain of thought.
yep same deal. spontaneous dance parties... most def ;-)
very interesting, I might give this a shot when I'm somewhere quiet.
You should try it! You never know... you might love it. I do these little 5 minute sessions all the time and it really helps me focus and center.
Well i did one, just posted it if you wanted to check it out.
So awesome! I just left a comment on the post, but I’m really stoked that this was helpful for you. 😊
The use of a timer has benefited me greatly. Excellent post @coruscate!
That’s great! There is something about giving yourself permission to stop after a certain amount of work time that feels freeing. At least for me!
Good post
excellent article!
Thank you @amity123! I’m glad you enjoyed it.