Stream-of-Consciousness Writing—10,000 Neural Pathways & 100 Gel Pens

A while back, I posted How to Set Your Childhood Monsters Free, a piece about how writing can be a tool for healing. I learned that writing the words down—those painful experiences—then tearing them into teeny weeny pieces and discarding them helps a person heal.

Writing can be therapeutic.

Recently, I took a course where I learned another manner of therapy: stream-of-consciousness writing. But it’s not just for therapy. It’s a way to tap into creativity as well.

I write 20-minutes a day about literally whatever comes to mind. I’m most inspired right at waking. I dart to the kitchen to make a cup of my favorite decaf coffee, then I go to my loft and immediately begin writing whatever comes to mind. I have neither a topic nor a plan, which is exactly how it’s supposed to work.

Writing with pen and paper is essential. The physical process of laying down words differs from using a computer or electronic device.

“Studies show that people dig deeper into their psyches when they journal in longhand, as writing in this way stimulates and better engages your brain. And neuroscience has proven that when you handwrite something that requires deep thought, such as your goals, you build over ten thousand new neural pathways in your brain in one sitting; whereas on a computer, you are only building six hundred new pathways.” — Diana Raab, DailyOm

When I do this every day, I can’t get the words out fast enough, even when I think I have nothing to write about. It’s invigorating, transformative, and enlightening.

Where I start and where I end most often have nothing in common. And that’s a good thing.

What To Do

Spend 10 to 20 minutes using a piece of paper and a pen or pencil (remember, no computers or electronic devices) and write your thoughts in real-time as they unfold.

Don’t wait.

Don’t edit.

Don’t second guess yourself.

Your writing should be continuous, never stopping.

Just write whatever comes to mind, even if it’s something as simple as “I don’t know what to write about right now.” As you begin, you’ll likely write a lot of surface level observations (“I’m hungry” or “What am I going to do for dinner tonight?”), but once you get into the momentum, you’ll start touching on more important things.

Let the epiphanies begin.

I’ve taken up writing in spiral bound notebooks.

Good notebooks are like favorite coffee mugs. You need juuuuuuust the right one. Once, I really liked the ones by Rae Dunn (shown above). I got them at TJ Maxx or Home Goods at a fraction of their normal cost, but they are a hit-and-miss find there. No worries. Amazon sells them.

[Update: my new favorite notebooks are by Archer & Olive (https://www.archerandolive.com/). They have 160 GSM paper, they lay flat, you can use markers and pens without them bleeding through, they have ribbon markers and they are bullet-pointed. On Amazon though, you can get journals with the same attributes and quality that are much more inexpensive: https://amzn.to/3vpxoc3]

I write with sparkly, colorful gel pens of which I now own 100.

Yikes! That sounds crazy but hear me out: I got the entire, glorious set for $20 at Michaels on sale.

Like most gel pens, they run out of ink fairly quickly, but these last longer than others I’ve tried. And to be fair, I am writing every day. They are my favorite gel pen to date.

Say whaaaaat? Gel pens? Who am I, a 7th grader?

But a stream-of-consciousness writer and teacher recommended them to me, and they truly heighten the experience. Maybe it’s the colors. Maybe it’s the ease of the ink flow—how they glide across the page as smooth as my thoughts sail in. Perhaps the sparkly kind transforms me into an innocent, free-thinking, non-judgemental child—just for a spell.

I don’t know.

What I do know is that they help tap into my creativity.

Recently, my writing brought out some painful memories.

I hadn’t realized some childhood trauma still burdened me.

This really surprised me.

What the heck are you still doing here? Out with you!

Writing about it helped me finally resolve those complicated, nagging issues. Writing freely helped sort them out. Now I feel at peace—after all these years.

For reasons unknown to me, this kind of writing really does heal. And healing is inspiring.

Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and they will come forth later in uglier ways.”

—Sigmund Freud”

It’s a fascinating process and I’m much better for it.

I hope you not only find it helpful, but that it helps with your creativity, too.

Be well.

And write on!

Scatter what you must to the wind and revel in the creativity that emerges.

♥

XOXO