Stream of Consciousness: A New Approach to Journaling

I used to think “journaling” meant writing “Dear Diary…” and detailing my day, an idea I found unappealing. The media’s portrayal left me skeptical about its benefits.

My interest in journaling emerged from two unrelated sources: a desire to use my fountain pen inks (see: Amazon Storefront) and a need to manage my anxiety. It wasn’t my first choice, but then I stumbled upon a video by Lavendaire on stream-of-consciousness journaling, which piqued my curiosity.

What exactly is “stream of consciousness”?

Writing in stream of consciousness form is a method that attempts to describe thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind of a narrator.

Writing in stream of consciousness is like an internal monologue – you have a conversation with yourself but on paper.

How is this different from traditional journal writing?

Someone once asked if I write about my feelings or my day in my journal (they actually called it a diary). The answer is no, not really.

My journal isn’t a place for daily recaps or deep emotions; it’s for stream-of-consciousness writing, where I capture my thoughts as they come.

There’s no need for structure or fancy writing. You don’t need an introduction, body, or conclusion, and complete sentences aren’t required. Just write whatever comes to mind.

I start my journaling without a prompt, often mentioning the fountain pen ink I’m using before outlining how I think my day will go. I might touch on how I feel but keep it light. My thoughts often jump around, with one sentence leading to a different topic in the next.

It’s like talking to yourself, similar to a fast-talking character narrating a story.

Read: How I Benefit from Daily Journal Writing

What if you have nothing to write?

Believe me, this happens. Sometimes you feel that your mind is just blank. When this happens to you, just start by writing “I have nothing to write” over and over; you’ll eventually find yourself talking about something else.

I once had writer’s block while writing in my journal so I tried writing “I have nothing to write, blah blah blah”. After writing that five times in a row, I started talking [writing] to myself again and found something that I can ramble on about.