Understanding Stream of Consciousness Writing

Writers know how important it is to use language to show the reader what a character is feeling and thinking in a story. Language that shows makes the world a writer builds on the page vivid and accessible for the audience. Beyond dialogue and outright exposition, writers have other literary tools to achieve this goal. 

Let’s zoom in on one of those tools: stream of consciousness. Keep reading for a definition, examples from poetry and novels. Then we have a writing prompt for you to try out this tool in your own writing practice.

What is Stream of Consciousness Writing?

Primarily used in poetry and fiction, the term stream of consciousness refers to a style of writing that breaks some rules and conventions in order to replicate the rhythm of a particular character’s thoughts. It’s an effective literary tool that immerses the reader in what the person or animal is thinking, feeling, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, etc. at that particular moment. 

Often when writers use this technique, they do so without adhering to traditional grammar and syntax rules. This can mean the writing looks like a run on sentence or lacks punctuation, for example. 

Let's Look at an Example from Virginia Woolf

“There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she did not finish her thought. She took a look at life, for she had a clear sense of it there, something real, something private, which she shared neither with her children nor with her husband. A sort of transaction went on between them, in which she was on one side, and life was on another, and she was always trying to get the better of it, as it was of her; and sometimes they parleyed (when she sat alone); there were, she remembered, great reconciliation scenes; but for the most part, oddly enough, she must admit that she felt this thing that she called life terrible, hostile, and quick to pounce on you if you gave it a chance.”

― Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse 

Stream of Consciousness vs. Inner Monologue

There are key differences between stream of consciousness and inner monologue in writing. Inner monologue still adheres to punctuation, grammar and syntax rules. This writing device shows readers how a character speaks to themselves, mostly in coherent pieces. This differs from stream of consciousness which focuses on sharp sensory details and jumps from one subject to another rapidly, the same way that our thought processes often do.

Key Features of Stream of Consciousness

• Sensory Details Take Center Stage: Sharp focus on sensory details of sight, smell, touch, taste, sound to immerse reader in the experience of the character’s thoughts and feelings

• Often Employs Unconventional Grammar or Syntax: In order to give the reader an authentic feel for how thoughts and feelings change swiftly, writers forego conventional punctuation, grammar and word order rules. Our thoughts do not always form complete sentences, or finish before moving on to the next idea. 

• Repetition, repetition, repetition: Writers employ repetition to highlight an impression that a character is obsessing over. This is more effective than outright telling the reader the character just can’t let this person or thought go. 

• Flash back, flash forward: Sometimes we read sections of a character’s memory or dreams about the future. Writers use stream of consciousness in these sequences of jumping around in the plot and timeline to show readers what is important to the character at a given moment and to provide context and momentum for where things are headed or where they started, respectively.

Which Writers Use Stream of Consciousness?

• Virginia Woolf in Mrs. Dalloway and To The Lighthouse

• Jack Kerouac in On the Road

• James Joyce in  Ulysses

• T. S. Eliot in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

• William Faulkner in  As I Lay Dying

• Toni Morrison in Beloved

Contemporary Examples of Stream of Consciousness

• Junglist by Two Fingas, James Kirk and Sukhdev Sandhu

• A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

• The Italy Letters by Vi Khi Nao

• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

• The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe

Why Use Stream of Consciousness?

It provides a greater level of interiority for the reader to experience the character as if inside their head. Rather than relying on dialogue or lengthy exposition to show the reader what kind of a person the character is, this technique puts the reader in the driver’s seat. Following what a character thinks, sees, feels, etc. in real time provides readers insight into the motivations or reasons for a character to act the way they do.

Writing Prompt

Now that you have a handle on the basics of writing the flow of thoughts, why not try your hand at it? Take your pen and notebook if you’re old school, or your phone’s Notes app if you’re not, and go for a walk. Without worrying about punctuation, grammar or word order on the page, describe in as much detail as possible, the sensory experience on this walk. I would love to read what results from this exercise; I am already imagining how different a walk down the coast would sound and smell different than a walk in the mountains or in Raleigh.

The Bottom Line

Writers are often told to show the reader, not tell, and stream of consciousness is a great way to do just that. After you have tried out our writing prompt above, polish your work and send it our way. We’d love to know what your narrator, reliable or unreliable, is thinking about next. Submit your poem, short story, flash fiction, or creative nonfiction today!

FAQs

What is stream of consciousness?

Stream of consciousness is a writing technique in which the writer draws the focus to acute sensory details and away from conventional sentence structure to make the text read the way our thoughts naturally flow in our minds.

Why do writers use stream of consciousness?

Writers use stream of consciousness because it is a powerful literary technique for immersing readers in the here and now of a character’s thoughts and feelings as they move through the story. 

What does stream of consciousness add to my writing?

It gives the reader an immersive experience, like they can walk around inside the character’s head with all their thoughts and feelings. It goes beyond metaphor and simile to paint a picture of their innermost being.

What is the difference between free writing and stream of consciousness?

What is the difference between free writing and stream of consciousness?

Free writing is an exercise to help writers get words on the page and is often timed. The goal is to keep writing without editing yourself, either until you fill a page or the time is up. Some people use a prompt to free write, while others just get down to it.

Unlike stream of consciousness, free writing does not need to show readers what a character is thinking about, seeing, smelling, touching, or feeling. Since you are not editing as you go along there may be errors in grammar or syntax, but you will eventually polish those out, which is not always the case with stream of consciousness writing.