--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Effective stream-of-consciousness…" description: "\"Effective stream-of-consciousness narration is the product of verbal precision, not just of literal documentation. It is decidedly not a matter of uned..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/albert-murray-37953_documentation_effective-stream-of-consciousness-narrat_2444335.jpg" --- # Effective stream-of-consciousness narration is the product… ![“Effective stream-of-consciousness narration is the product of verbal precision, not just of literal documentation. It is decidedly not a matter of unedited free-association.” quote by Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/albert-murray-37953_documentation_effective-stream-of-consciousness-narrat_2444335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/albert-murray-37953_documentation_effective-stream-of-consciousness-narrat_2444335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/albert-murray-37953_documentation_effective-stream-of-consciousness-narrat_2444335.jpg) > “Effective stream-of-consciousness narration is the product of verbal precision, not just of literal documentation. It is decidedly not a matter of unedited free-association.” [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective stream‑of‑consciousness writing requires deliberate word choice, not random unedited thoughts. **In simple terms:** Precise language shapes conscious narration. Key Takeaway Choose words carefully in free‑flow writing. Themes writing precision consciousness style Mood analytical thoughtful Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing classes - author workshops - editing sessions Key Concepts literary technique cognitive control narrative voice Questions to Reflect On - How to balance precision with authenticity? - When does editing improve versus hinder? A Different Perspective Over‑editing can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Precision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precision/) ## Related quotes > [I love to do the stream-of-consciousness thing, because it's exciting for me, and I like to think it's exciting for the audience, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-f-tompkins/i-love-to-do-the-stream-of-consciousness-thing-because-it-s-exciting/) [Paul F. Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-f-tompkins/) > [I basically just write stream of consciousness to a certain extent. I let the song kind of go where it wants to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-holter/i-basically-just-write-stream-of-consciousness-to-a-certain-extent-i/) [Julia Holter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-holter/) > [When I write, I usually follow my most inner voice, sometimes called stream of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidija-dimkovska/when-i-write-i-usually-follow-my-most-inner-voice-sometimes-called/) [Lidija Dimkovska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidija-dimkovska/) > [“Within your mind, there are hardly any lines at all. All its contents flow into each other, sensations becoming thoughts, feelings, desires, actions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hanson/within-your-mind-there-are-hardly-any-lines-at-all-all-its-contents/) [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) > [When people use that stream of consciousness, it's kind of just a term they use for anything that looks slightly different on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/when-people-use-that-stream-of-consciousness-it-s-kind-of-just-a-term/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [For the most part I write very stream of consciousness. I basically need to be recording an entire writing session because it's almost like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/for-the-most-part-i-write-very-stream-of-consciousness-i-basically/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“When you’re a cork in someone else’s stream of consciousness, all you can do is spin and bob in the eddies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/when-you-re-a-cork-in-someone-else-s-stream-of-consciousness-all-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [My thoughts went round and round and it occurred to me that if I ever wrote a novel it would be of the 'stream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/my-thoughts-went-round-and-round-and-it-occurred-to-me-that-if-i-ever/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [When I edit the poems - and I do edit, which some people don't mean when they use the term "stream of consciousness" -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-zucker/when-i-edit-the-poems-and-i-do-edit-which-some-people-don-t-mean-when/) [Rachel Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-zucker/) > [Consciousness... does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as 'chain' or 'train' do not describe it fitly as it presents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/consciousness-does-not-appear-to-itself-chopped-up-in-bits-such-words/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Be like a tree standing planted by a dead river bed, until you transform into the confidence of your own stream of consciousness flowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/be-like-a-tree-standing-planted-by-a-dead-river-bed-until-you/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [“Our brain continuously processes inputs and generates outputs while our stream of consciousness is more like an after-the-fact commentary29.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erman-misirlisoy/our-brain-continuously-processes-inputs-and-generates-outputs-while/) Erman Misirlisoy > [As we take, in fact, a general view of the wonderful stream of our consciousness, what strikes us first is this different pace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/as-we-take-in-fact-a-general-view-of-the-wonderful-stream-of-our/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I work a lot with sounds based on stream of consciousness. I like the way it sounds, then I turn it into something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-van-etten/i-work-a-lot-with-sounds-based-on-stream-of-consciousness-i-like-the/) [Sharon Van Etten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-van-etten/) > [“Buddhists say that thoughts are like drops of water on the brain; when you reinforce the same thought, it will etch a new stream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-doughty/buddhists-say-that-thoughts-are-like-drops-of-water-on-the-brain-when/) [Caitlin Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-doughty/) ## More by Albert Murray > [The United States is not a nation of black and white people. Any fool can see that white people are not really white, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/the-united-states-is-not-a-nation-of-black-and-white-people-any-fool/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [Now, one can often get away with playing music by ear when it is not being recorded, but writing is another matter; its mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/now-one-can-often-get-away-with-playing-music-by-ear-when-it-is-not/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [The juke joint, the honky tonk, and the ballroom also represent one more thing, anthropologically speaking: a ceremonial context for the male-with-female-duet dance flirtation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/the-juke-joint-the-honky-tonk-and-the-ballroom-also-represent-one/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [A jazz tune, melody, or composition is usually based on either a traditional twelve-bar, eight-bar, or four-bar blues chorus or on the thirty-two-bar chorus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/a-jazz-tune-melody-or-composition-is-usually-based-on-either-a/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [I am not an African. I am an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/i-am-not-an-african-i-am-an-american/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [The blues is not the creation of a crushed-spirited people. It is the product of a forward-looking, upward-striving people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/the-blues-is-not-the-creation-of-a-crushed-spirited-people-it-is-the/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [When the Negro musician or dancer swings the blues, he is fulfilling the same fundamental existential requirement that determines the mission of the poet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/when-the-negro-musician-or-dancer-swings-the-blues-he-is-fulfilling/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [If it is properly done, the 'as told to' autobiography represents how the subject wants his story told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/if-it-is-properly-done-the-as-told-to-autobiography-represents-how/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [As any competent student of literary composition knows, the more natural and casual a voice sounds in print, the more likely it is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/as-any-competent-student-of-literary-composition-knows-the-more/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [Jazz music, as is also the case with the old down-home spirituals, gospel and jubilee songs, jumps, shouts and moans, is essentially an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/jazz-music-as-is-also-the-case-with-the-old-down-home-spirituals/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) > [The improvisational nature of jazz musicianship is such that a truly competent performer must be prepared to function as an on-the-spot composer who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-murray/the-improvisational-nature-of-jazz-musicianship-is-such-that-a-truly/) [Albert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) [Explore all 12 Albert Murray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-murray/) ## More Documentation quotes > [Once you realize that documentation should be laughed at, peed upon, put on fire, and just ridiculed in general, then, and only then, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/once-you-realize-that-documentation-should-be-laughed-at-peed-upon/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [Developing fewer features allows you to conserve development resources and spend more time refining those features that users really need. Fewer features mean fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/developing-fewer-features-allows-you-to-conserve-development/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [The obsessive documentation is itself adjacent to hyper-consumption in our society. 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I'm quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/i-think-that-people-are-constantly-thinking-about-capturing-things/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [Nowhere are prejudices more mistaken for truth, passion for reason and invective for documentation than in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/nowhere-are-prejudices-more-mistaken-for-truth-passion-for-reason-and/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [Our reasons for believing Jesus existed and also that He was who He claimed to be - the God who came down - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-koukl/our-reasons-for-believing-jesus-existed-and-also-that-he-was-who-he/) [Greg Koukl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-koukl/) > [It is deeply shocking and incomprehensible to me that despite volumes of documentation and living witnesses who can attest to the horrors of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-udall/it-is-deeply-shocking-and-incomprehensible-to-me-that-despite-volumes/) [Mark Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-udall/) > [“There were waves of genocide that overcame indigenous populations of Oceania and do we have a library of books or films to tell our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-b-dallocchio/there-were-waves-of-genocide-that-overcame-indigenous-populations-of/) [M.B. Dallocchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-b-dallocchio/) > [I've always written songs to use music as a form of therapy or as a way to look at my obstacles or my memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-ragan/i-ve-always-written-songs-to-use-music-as-a-form-of-therapy-or-as-a/) [Chuck Ragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-ragan/) > [I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut. End of transaction! We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-need-a-receipt-for-a-doughnut-i-ll-just-give-you-the-money/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I think that the richer and deeper documentation is on the web, the better off we all are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/i-think-that-the-richer-and-deeper-documentation-is-on-the-web-the/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [“Behind every text footnote is a file folder with all the hardcopy documentation needed to document every sentence in this book at a moment’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-black/behind-every-text-footnote-is-a-file-folder-with-all-the-hardcopy/) Edwin Black > [Documentation is not understanding, process is not discipline, formality is not skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/documentation-is-not-understanding-process-is-not-discipline/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [I think it's important to have some documentation of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-think-it-s-important-to-have-some-documentation-of-the-past/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) Browse all 99 Documentation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Effective stream-of-consciousness narration is the product of verbal precision, not just of literal documentation. 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