Talk:Stream of consciousness
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3 out of 18 lines devoted to 'Alanis Morissette'??;-) I suggest we remove all musical examples here. Can lyrics be said to be stream of consciousness as they are not subject to the same narrative obligations as prose. Also practically if we include one then where do we stop? Surely the cannonical example would be Bob Dylan? --harry 13:41, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Stream-of-consciousness writing may seem easy to write. You just write your characters' thoughts, correct? Well, yes. But that doesn't mean it's easy to write. In fact, stream-of-consciousness writing may be the most difficult of all literary styles. The writer who does it best today is no doubt Edna O'Brien although most authorities would cite James Joyce and Virginia Woolf as the ultimate masters. ULYSSES and MRS. DALLOWAY are wonderful examples of beautiful stream-of-consciousness writing. William Faulkner also employed this technique, especially in ABSALOM, ABSALOM, but that is not the best example to study as Faulkner's style was, at the time of the writing of that book, still evolving.
Stream-of-consciousness writing can be so difficult because the author has to really know his characters inside and out in order to present their thoughts with verisimilitude. And, since those thoughts can and do jump around from subject to subject and back again, anything that's not "in character" will be noticed immediately, but perhaps more by readers than by the author, himself. The author may think he's remained "in character" but an austute reader may notice that he has not.
Not only is stream-of-consciousness difficult to write, it can be difficult to follow when reading. It's a style that's certainly not for every reader, but for those who make the effort, the rewards are well worth it. Some stream-of-consciousness books are among the beautiful ever written, for example, Edna O'Brien's book WILD DECEMBERS.
Stream-of-consciousness writing may seem to consist of jumbled thoughts, but really, there is a unity of thought, an interconnectedness, in this type of writing that makes it beautiful, but, once again, makes it very difficult and necessitates the thorough knowing of one's characters before putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. While "knowing one's characters" is important and essential for any type of good writing, it is even more essential if one is going to give stream-of-consciousness a go.
Gabrielle Renoir gabriellerenoir.com
What about the famous In Search of Lost Time? Add as an example?