Writing Would it make sense to use the stream-of-consciousness writing technique?

[HisDivineShadow]

On one hand I really enjoy writing in a stream-of-consciousness style. Or maybe it’s just my brain that does. It gives me a rush of endorphins. The plot flows easily and chapters come out fast.
But then comes editing and that’s a mess. Typos everywhere, awkward dialogue, and I usually have to cut about a third of the scenes. I don’t really see stories as lines of text anyway. I see them as images. Always have.
That’s why I’ve been trying to write more slowly now, paying attention to structure.
It helps. There’s less time spent editing, fewer typos, and most scenes stay where they should.
But it also feels more boring. Sometimes the story stalls completely and I have to go back to writing in a flow just to break through.

How about you, guys ? Do you ever deal with this? What’s your take on stream-of-consciousness writing?

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I did it every day for nearly 4 years and worked great. After writing each chapter, I would edit out all the typos and any grammar issues that I could find. Since my daily minimum was 800-1200 words, it was pretty easy to manage this way. Editing after finishing the series though has been hell. I had to reread all of my story from start to finish, editing as I went, and then beginning another editing session solely on the first arc. It can be done and I have 1 volume to show for it currently. You can still see how the rough draft looks in my signature under the adventures of a supernatural time traveler story. There have been a lot of minor story changes, tonal shifts, and some complete rewrites but the final product should emulate the original to some extent. I had a good experience with it and it helped with being consistent despite my ADHD. As I went, structure formed from the craziness in a way that I cannot explain properly.

 

[Martin_Banos]

I mean, if you're in a situation where you can't use pen and paper for planning but you somehow have access to your device, it might be useful.

Planning shouldn't be done digitally. Telemetry and cloud based storage ruined the good things computers had going for them. 2008 was the last good year for casual Internet browsing.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

It can be done and I have 1 volume to show for it currently. You can still see how the rough draft looks in my signature under the adventures of a supernatural time traveler story. There have been a lot of minor story changes, tonal shifts, and some complete rewrites but the final product should emulate the original to some extent. I had a good experience with it and it helped with being consistent despite my ADHD.

Which of your stories? I’m curious to see how it looks in other authors crafts. In my case, it’s usually a mix of telling and showing, often with poorly timed choices of technique. Then I end up spending a lot of time editing.
When I write in flow, I can easily produce 2,000–3,000 words in an hour. But then I spend 3 or more hours editing them.

I mean, if you're in a situation where you can't use pen and paper for planning but you somehow have access to your device, it might be useful.

Planning shouldn't be done digitally. Telemetry and cloud based storage ruined the good things computers had going for them. 2008 was the last good year for casual Internet browsing.

Sorry I don't follow

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Which of your stories? I’m curious to see how it looks in other authors crafts. In my case, it’s usually a mix of telling and showing, often with poorly timed choices of technique. Then I end up spending a lot of time editing.
When I write in flow, I can easily produce 2,000–3,000 words in an hour. But then I spend 3 or more hours editing them.

Of Course. I usually stuck to dialogue with minimal descriptions but as I wrote, I started expanding the scenes with more details. I also would take breaks to work on other stories to better a certain aspect of my writing, IE descriptions, emotions, dialogue, etc. Whatever time was spent writing usually had an equal or greater amount of time editing for the first few months. After that, it started to become easier to free-write with less typo's, better grammar, and a better story outright. I would recommend using a grammar checker as well to assist you. However, I do not condone the use of AI personally. I hope this helps!

This is my first draft, post typo and simple grammar checks.

The Adventures of a Supernatural Time Traveler

After waking up in the past, Lou Barret finds himself entangled with the supernatural. Eventually receiving the help of Scott Langston, a supernatural peacekeeper of sorts, and a witch named Elysif Avian. The three work together to keep the peace between the supernatural creatures of London and...

www.scribblehub.com

and this is the current first volume after editing.

The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Volume 1

Ever consider going back in time? Is it on purpose and to a specific time? Well, not this time in The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler. This story is the first in a series of time-travel escapades with various supernatural and mythological undertones scattered throughout the...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[HisDivineShadow]

Of Course. I usually stuck to dialogue with minimal descriptions but as I wrote, I started expanding the scenes with more details. I also would take breaks to work on other stories to better a certain aspect of my writing, IE descriptions, emotions, dialogue, etc. Whatever time was spent writing usually had an equal or greater amount of time editing for the first few months. After that, it started to become easier to free-write with less typo's, better grammar, and a better story outright. I would recommend using a grammar checker as well to assist you. However, I do not condone the use of AI personally. I hope this helps!

This is my first draft, post typo and simple grammar checks.

The Adventures of a Supernatural Time Traveler

After waking up in the past, Lou Barret finds himself entangled with the supernatural. Eventually receiving the help of Scott Langston, a supernatural peacekeeper of sorts, and a witch named Elysif Avian. The three work together to keep the peace between the supernatural creatures of London and...

www.scribblehub.com

and this is the current first volume after editing.

The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Volume 1

Ever consider going back in time? Is it on purpose and to a specific time? Well, not this time in The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler. This story is the first in a series of time-travel escapades with various supernatural and mythological undertones scattered throughout the...

www.scribblehub.com

Thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll take a look now. It’s interesting to see the difference.
As for AI it’s a great tool but also a tricky one. Its algorithms are designed to please the user at any cost. You ask it to check punctuation and it rewrites your sentences in that typical AI style.
The system’s internal priorities often override the user’s instructions which are treated more like suggestions. So it frequently just ignores what you actually asked for.
And then there’s the hallucination issue. At work I once asked it to find a law related to a specific situation. It did. Looked very convincing. But when I fact-checked and googled it, the law didn’t exist. It’s kind of fun now to play a game of “spot the AI” when reading emails. It’s weirdly entertaining.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

Of Course. I usually stuck to dialogue with minimal descriptions but as I wrote, I started expanding the scenes with more details. I also would take breaks to work on other stories to better a certain aspect of my writing, IE descriptions, emotions, dialogue, etc. Whatever time was spent writing usually had an equal or greater amount of time editing for the first few months. After that, it started to become easier to free-write with less typo's, better grammar, and a better story outright. I would recommend using a grammar checker as well to assist you. However, I do not condone the use of AI personally. I hope this helps!

This is my first draft, post typo and simple grammar checks.

The Adventures of a Supernatural Time Traveler

After waking up in the past, Lou Barret finds himself entangled with the supernatural. Eventually receiving the help of Scott Langston, a supernatural peacekeeper of sorts, and a witch named Elysif Avian. The three work together to keep the peace between the supernatural creatures of London and...

www.scribblehub.com

and this is the current first volume after editing.

The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Volume 1

Ever consider going back in time? Is it on purpose and to a specific time? Well, not this time in The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler. This story is the first in a series of time-travel escapades with various supernatural and mythological undertones scattered throughout the...

www.scribblehub.com

I’d like to note that even in the draft version, your texts are quite good. The edited ones have more concise constructions. But on the other hand, I’m coming to the conclusion that if a book isn’t being prepared for submission to an agent or publisher, then there’s really no point in heavy editing, trimming, or polishing. A web novel reader isn’t nearly as picky as an editor charging $400 per 10k words.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I’d like to note that even in the draft version, your texts are quite good. The edited ones have more concise constructions. But on the other hand, I’m coming to the conclusion that if a book isn’t being prepared for submission to an agent or publisher, then there’s really no point in heavy editing, trimming, or polishing. A web novel reader isn’t nearly as picky as an editor charging $400 per 10k words.

That is fair. I agree so long as you aren't intending to self-publish. Self-publishing critics will take after you with a bat if they can.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

That is fair. I agree so long as you aren't intending to self-publish. Self-publishing critics will take after you with a bat if they can.

I haven’t decided yet. One book is finished. A standalone. I’m still considering both options. If I go with self-publishing, I’ll reach out to the local writers’ community since they offer editing services and beta reading is free. In any case I’m not afraid of criticism. As First-time author just the fact of publishing even on Amazon would already be a nice boost to my ego.
Though I have to admit it’s not a cheap hobby.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I haven’t decided yet. One book is finished. A standalone. I’m still considering both options. If I go with self-publishing, I’ll reach out to the local writers’ community since they offer editing services and beta reading is free. In any case I’m not afraid of criticism. As First-time author just the fact of publishing even on Amazon would already be a nice boost to my ego.
Though I have to admit it’s not a cheap hobby.

Agreed. I hope it goes well, no matter what you do! Let me know if you self-publish or trad publish so I can purchase a copy.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

Agreed. I hope it goes well, no matter what you do! Let me know if you self-publish or trad publish so I can purchase a copy.

Thank you. I’ll let you know if I decide to take the more difficult path.
And if I publish it.
Thanks for the kind words and support.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

*Me looking confused as F after writing 8 book in 2 diferent languajes***
The heck they talking about?

 

[DireBadger]

Yes and no.
On the one hand, an outline, at least an idea of where I am going, helps enormously... not just in making sure that the book gets from point a to point b inside the 4-500 pages of a volume. but hardcore scripting? I find that actually ruins the creative flow of a volume.

basically, I try to figure out the beginning, the end, a few plot points between them, and then fill in the between spaces.

 

[Max02]

All writing styles are acceptable as long as the author knows what he's doing. Just like AI delivers what the reader is asking, the human editors will reshape a story to what is acceptable and readable for the GP. Thus killing originality in the process.

Stream of consciousness and second person narrative (you were there, you did that) are extremely rare in literature, and therefore tend to be more original.

For instance, here's one paragraph in one of my stories, second person narrative:

The first place you visited was, naturally, Brazil. More precisely, Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Brazil, which is, in so many ways, the exact opposite of Argentina, but in others, so similar, a country that welcomes anyone with open arms, without drama or formality, without any judgment, and where, precisely for that reason, it's so easy to get lost in the crowd, this country couldn't help but exert its peculiar fascination on you. Being an Argentinian, you knew well what it's like to celebrate life, but Brazil is something else in that regard, isn't it? Something that certainly surprised even you, accustomed as you were to living as a child of the night. Brazilian Carnival, taking place right at the end of summer, is a celebration of color, noise, sweat, and drink, but most especially, of sex. To understand the intensity of the party, you had to be there, didn't you? Amidst the costumes, the celebration in the middle of the street, in the houses, everywhere, what caught your attention most was the pulsating beauty of the mulatas, who danced joyfully, half-naked, as if the world would end after the party. While they invited you to think about sex, you couldn't just go up to one of them and get what you wanted; there was a whole social game to be played before simply taking someone to bed. In all the seven nights you spent in Rio de Janeiro, what caught your attention most was not just the passion for Carnival, for the party, but what that passion hid. Walking through the city streets, the contrast between the more upscale, urbanized parts and the parts where poverty reigned, the favelas [slums], which were not unfamiliar to you, having grown up in poverty, all of this made you easily deduce why the poorest people gave themselves body and soul to that week of celebration. The party was an escape, it was a collective catharsis where all the suffering of everyday life was forgotten, at least for a few precious days.

Most would say the paragraph is too long and need editing. But I like it that way.

 

[DireBadger]

reminds me of the old 'choose your own adventure' books.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

reminds me of the old 'choose your own adventure' books.

Those, "boxed text" in roleplaying game modules, some old computer games and a few short horror stories are the only effective uses of Second Person I've seen. It gets tedious in long-form stories in my experience.

 

[Max02]

the only effective uses of Second Person I've seen. It gets tedious in long-form stories in my experience.

Very, very few people use it. That's precisely the reason I like it. It gives a different vibe to the story. Is someone narrating the tale of a person they know or is the narrator talking to himself? You choose.

But I like first and third person too.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Very, very few people use it. That's precisely the reason I like it. It gives a different vibe to the story. Is someone narrating the tale of a person they know or is the narrator talking to himself? You choose.

But I like first and third person too.

The only professional writer I am aware of (other than ones writing CYOA-type books, like the Lone Wolf series, etc.) is Ramsey Campbell, and he has some great 2p horror shorts.

 

[DireBadger]

If you have been running a D&D game for 40 years, it probably would work... since it's basically the exact same skill set.
Today, though, most writers barely have enough focus to watch an episode of 'Big Bang Theory' without losing track of the simplistic storyline. That's not an indictment; that's the culture.

I strongly recommend you outline your story and then the chapter before you start writing it.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

If you have been running a D&D game for 40 years, it probably would work... since it's basically the exact same skill set.
Today, though, most writers barely have enough focus to watch an episode of 'Big Bang Theory' without losing track of the simplistic storyline. That's not an indictment; that's the culture.

I strongly recommend you outline your story and then the chapter before you start writing it.

Hahaha...I 'wing' my table every other Wednesday for a D&D game. We even record them as podcast and everything...I have no idea what happened in episode 3, 12, 17, or 22 (now in episode 24+ I think)

hell I barely remember what happened in the previous episode...I think we were in the middle of a bunch of stealth checks that our monk just decided to YOLO, and the start of this next episode is with a CR 13-14 creature with my avg player level at 9