Stream of Consciousness Writing and Journals

I teach a writing class for college English-as-a-Second-Language students about how to write good paragraphs and simple essays. That was the topic of my blog yesterday.

There is a different kind of writing called stream of consciousness writing. As the name implies, in this type of writing you write about what you are thinking. You put down your ideas in words as they run through your mind like a stream, or river. Stream of consciousness writing can be fun to write and even more fun to read, but it is unorganized and all over the place because, well, that's what our thinking is usually like. I wonder how many thoughts run through our minds on a given day. I'm not sure anyone has every tried to estimate that! I ask my writing students to keep a journal every day. I encourage them to write about whatever they are doing or thinking. Sometimes they just write about their daily routines, but I encourage them to do more abstract writing about their thoughts, ideas, dreams, daydreams, plans, memories, likes, dislikes, pet peeves, whatever they are thinking about. I tell them that this will help them expand their vocabulary, and it might be easy, or it may be hard, to translate their thoughts into words. I tell them not to worry about grammar, spelling, or punctuation--just write. I explain to them that learning to write is like learning how to play the piano or ride a bicycle. Writing is a skill that you need to practice every day if you want to improve.