Stream of consciousness. Day 41.

Traditionally speaking, when writing blog posts, they are supposed to be categorized in a way that makes sense. People will write weekly about dating, food, homeschooling, or some other topic that is easy to categorize, and usually their page is designed in a way that caters to their subject.

In this writing challenge or journey I am doing, I am using what people call stream of consciousness writing, but on a larger scale than a simple piece of paper or word document. I don’t want to lock myself into a category like widow or writer or baker, because I am all those things and more. Limiting myself when I am writing daily for 543 days straight would give me a headache and I may just quit.

I will give an example of how I use stream of consciousness writing to find a topic to talk about:

I don’t know what to write about today so I am going to type until something comes up. It’s frustrating to have writer’s block and I’ve tried using prompts but they simply don’t work for me. Although I write all the time and have a degree in English, I still struggle with spelling and some homonyms. Some that trip me up are words like conscious and conscience and I even Googled the word “stear” the other day because I felt there was no way turning the wheel of a car and a cow could share a word. Maybe I should write about cows.

Spelling and grammar do not need to be priority in this type of writing. It is a wonderful device when trying to figure out what to write about if you’re suffering from a stuck writer’s mind, and it is also a therapeutic tool I use at times to vent out feelings and frustrations. A writer will find solid and workable material in their mind that’s concealing itself behind memory walls and stress blinders.

Because I’m writing every day, and not pre-writing any of it, I am using this type of writing in my posts. My thoughts, activities, and encounters are what I write about, so it’s difficult to put them into tidy categorical boxes. I would say something like “A Day in the Life of a Widow” or “Mom’s Blog” but they’re a little too vanilla for me and I’m a little too flaky for that type of confinement.

Once I am done with the 543 days of writing, I will categorize them better if I see a way to do it, and if I feel it’s necessary. For now, though, I am going to keep doing what I’m doing. The practice is incredibly helpful in honing my writing skills, and I recommend it to any writer who simply can’t come up with a topic. It’s gold.

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