I was in the library reading LOTR (Just finished the Fellowship, my god would I recommend it!), and at the beginning of the session, I was reading the book and the descriptions and prose were so magnificent that I willed myself to try imagining what everything looked like in my mind’s eye. So this raises a question. Do you see the picture while reading? If so, how vividly? And is it automatic?
Just to clear up confusion, I’m not just talking about understanding the text. Or retroactively creating an image. I’m talking about while reading the text, you imagine what’s happening visually. And when something changes in the text, say the grass becoming dimmer, do you imagine that process happening?
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Sometimes I make an effort versus whatever pops in my head! If I notice my visualizations are underwhelming compared to the description then I put in an effort. If I’ve seen a movie adaptation of the book I also put effort into NOT simply imagining the movie lol.
I make a project of doing it on rereads. This’ll sound corny but, for an example, when I reread Harry Potter I put energy into imagining it as an animation of the Mary Grandpre illustrations. It’s so charming.
No. I have aphantasia (don’t see images in my brain) and anaduralia (don’t have an internal voice).
I want to make it clear I still enjoy reading, but I don’t see/hear anything. I do rely on fan art or movies for images of characters and that’s the best I got.
I hope other people realise this is a type of normal as I didn’t until I was in my 30s. I thought ‘picture x’ was just a saying.
Yeah I don’t think it affects enjoyment of reading in any way, we just experience reading and life a bit differently is all.
Also visualization doesn’t equal imagination, so descriptive scenes can be just as impactful. It’s still just a matter of personal taste if you like descriptive writing.
Having lived without visualization I can’t say I particularly want to be able to visualize, maybe for an hour.
Exactly. Would be nice to experience it, but I don’t feel like I’m missing out.
Hello fellow un-picturererer!
Of course… it plays like a movie voices and all always just been a natural thing for me dont have to try