Ignoring grammar for a second... - Writers Forum

suzakugaiden · 09-30-2006, 04:36 AM

Something interesting I noticed happening in der Thang I'm working on now.

For a few scenes, I had a hard time writing, so I basically just went into free-think mode, turned off my grammar and spelling lobes, and just typed out whatever words seemed to imply the mood of the scene. This is sort of how I do dream journals, when I do them. What I found out is that I was... much more fluently able to describe what I was trying to describe, and that, in going back in afterwards and applying grammar and syntax and, uh, English Language Conventions, everything just seemed to flow.

Is there a name for this process? I guess it's sort of like automatic writing. Maybe it's a free association exercise of some sort? I'm curious about similar things, too, since I've never really done this before.

Hakeem · 09-30-2006, 05:07 AM

Quote:

free-think mode, turned off my grammar and spelling lobes, and just typed out whatever words seemed to imply the mood of the scene

One of the forms of Brainstorming.

imrhati · 09-30-2006, 08:58 AM

i call it subconsious writing, some people find it hard becuase they think faster than their hands move. i hate it when that happens.

mammamaia · 09-30-2006, 09:14 AM

you're probably referring to what's called 'stream of consciousness' writing... it may flow easily for the writer, but it sure doesn't read easily for anyone else, so it does call for a painstaking rewrite to make it make sense and be reader friendly...

'brainstorming' refers to the process of coming up with ideas to solve problems, not the steady flow of writing whatever comes to mind...

Hakeem · 09-30-2006, 09:32 AM

Quote:

'brainstorming' refers to the process of coming up with ideas to solve problems, not the steady flow of writing whatever comes to mind...

Not necessarily problems Maia, generating ideas for anything. I always brainstorm when I want ideas for a long scene I want to write. It's the flow of the ideas crammed in my mind... or am I talking of something different?

FrankBlissett · 09-30-2006, 09:51 AM

I think "Stream-of-consciousness" refers more to the general idea of writing out a character/narrator's thoughts as they flitter about - regardless of the particular style of writing or how spontanious the writing is. Could be wrong though, as SOC has always confused me a bit. Maybe it's one of those things that have a couple different meanings - or have noticable differences between denotation and connotation?

-Frank

imrhati · 09-30-2006, 09:08 PM

L.E. Modesitt who has over twenty published novels often gives grammar the boot and writes in jagged to the point sentences. of course he males sure it flows well.

suzakugaiden · 09-30-2006, 09:37 PM

"you're probably referring to what's called 'stream of consciousness' writing... "

No. That's a deliberate effort to capture what goes on in the characters head, exactly, either right before or without the point of censorship. This is more like automatic writing, or making "word sketches."

cbrmale · 10-01-2006, 02:15 AM

My understanding of Stream of Conciousness is that it is an attempt to capture the narrators thoughts without intervention. To get a SOC passage to work, you may still pause and think on the way through, or at least I do.

Mike C · 10-01-2006, 09:43 AM

You can apply the steam of consciousness label any way you want, but maia's right. Stream of consciousness is generally where the writer pours words onto the page without 'intelligent' intervention. Writing without thought or inhibition.

aliceedelweiss · 10-01-2006, 09:56 AM

I could never do this...but it sounds like a really nice method. Helps you put out everything, then fix it up. But again, I don't know if I could ever do this...

When writing, I have thesaurus and dictionary at hand (Thank you, Internet!) and I use spell check like crazy because I can't spell at all, and I have to read over everything to make sure it makes sense. I need to shut off my internal editor for first drafts, but I always fail to do so. I should try really hard to learn how to do this, seeing as I'm going to need it for NaNoWriMo or I'll get no where...

Very nice idea, Suzaku! I'm going to steal it

Alice

cbrmale · 10-02-2006, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike C

You can apply the steam of consciousness label any way you want, but maia's right. Stream of consciousness is generally where the writer pours words onto the page without 'intelligent' intervention. Writing without thought or inhibition.

Mike,
You can't be correct on this, Virginia Woolf wrote short stories that were stream of conciousness from beginning to end and there's no way she could write 3,000 words without a pause to think.

My understanding is that it is a literary style, not a method of writing, although you could write short SOC segments as you describe.

mammamaia · 10-03-2006, 09:57 AM

cbr...
mike didn't say 'without pause'... and, when he said 'thought' i'm sure he meant 'conscious thought'... as in thinking of what you want to write and deciding how, before you put the words on paper... while that can take place in a split second for many seasoned writers, it's still 'conscious thought'...

in true 'soc' writing, that's not done... one simply lets words flow more or less 'on their own' and doesn't give any thought to how they'll be arranged into proper sentences and such other technical stuff...

however, when writers use the 'style' of soc writing to let their characters express their thoughts randomly and freely, then it's a 'technique' that is actually crafted, and not a natural flow of the writer, who allows it to go unchecked and doesn't do so with a reading audience's ability to understand it in mind...

so, mike is correct... and you're not so far apart in agreement as you think...

hugs, maia

Mike C · 10-04-2006, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrmale

My understanding is that it is a literary style, not a method of writing, although you could write short SOC segments as you describe.

SOC is both, it can either be a mode of writing or a style. It is indeed possible, VW style, to sit and write 3k words this way (and then edit into something readable after) or indeed, as a stylistic tool, a whole novel. William Burroughs was a prime exponent of this, although it was a popular thing amongst the beats generally. Much of Kerouac's work has a SOC feel to it, as has much of Gindberg's poetry. The distillation of - and probably the catalyst for - SOC as a mode was probably the increase in the use of recreational drugs in general, and Timothy Leary and the concept of the primal scream (not the band!) in particular.