Stream of Consciousness and Blogging

Feel like your blog posts are all looking redundant? Running out of new ideas for your blog? Stuck in a particular rut or topic? Let me tell you about this excellent gem that will not only give you ideas for a year’s worth of blogging, it will create new content for your blog while you do it!

What is Stream of Consciousness?

I think a lot of bloggers shy away from stream of consciousness (SOC) because they have this preconceived notion that it’s only used by literary authors like James Joyce or Virginal Woolf. However, they fail to realize that stream of consciousness can be much more flexible.

Essentially, stream of consciousness is a style of writing that portrays someone’s point of view by giving the written equivalent of their thought process. While traditionally established by literary authors applying this style to a character, many writers have employed this technique unknowingly in attempts to flush through their own knowledge on a particular subject. It is this use of stream of consciousness that I will cover.

How to Write SOC

Writing in a SOC style is quite simple. You only need to follow these two rules:

• Write continuously for a set period of time
• Don’t edit until that time period is over

These rules aren’t steadfast. For instance, I believe it’s alright to focus your writing to a specific topic (say, your blog theme). This requires the occasional slow-down to redirect your thoughts if you wind up on a completely unrelated tangent.

Simply write your mind’s wealth of knowledge on the subject of your blog. You may find your mind drift to certain areas of the subject that your blog hasn’t really established. Great! Make note of that when you read through your writing after the exercise. Other helpful hints for a successful SOC session include:

• Minimizing disruptions
• Setting a timer (not a requirement for all)
• Not worrying about errors or structure (you can always edit after the session)
• Making multiple attempts until you feel like you’re getting somewhere.

Benefits of SOC

• Create whole new branches of thought – SOC writing often create new discoveries. You’d be surprised how much you know and wonder that you don’t even realize. A lot of the tangents that you drift towards in SOC writing have the potential to become regular topics in your blog.
• Create content – In addition to all the ideas you will generate from SOC, you will also find yourself with a lot of content that can go straight onto your blog. Of course not everything you write in SOC style will be publishable, but it’s amazing how much content you might keep. I’ve had a SOC session produce enough content to warrant multiple posts that I published in the form of a series.
• Accessible to Readers – This of course depends on how your mind works because essentially you’re writing whatever your mind thinks. However, in most cases I’ve witnessed, SOC writing often reads well. Despite the sometimes haphazard structure, SOC relaxes the writer and lends itself to a natural voice that people relate to.

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.