Reading is kinda weird, because I feel like I hear a voice, but if I think about it for five seconds I realize that "voice" has no qualities I could describe and therefore ... probably doesn't exist? Usually, anyway. Dialogue sometimes has clear voices, if I have a good idea of what the character should sound like. I'm extremely good at visualization in pretty much every way, like if I want to imagine something introduced into the real world (like, on top of my desk for example) then the image I create is typically only a little bit less clear than if it were really there. Like maybe a little fuzzy or shimmery in a sense, like it might not stay 100% clear for more than a couple seconds. And that level of detail takes conscious effort / concentration. Strangely enough, despite being very good at that in theory, I don't visualize very much while reading. Things kind of happen in a shadowy ambiguous void that's constantly shifting.
Strangely enough, despite being very good at that in theory, I don’t visualize very much while reading. Things kind of happen in a shadowy ambiguous void that’s constantly shifting.
I think that's normal, and I think it's impossible for anybody (even highly visual people) to fully imagine a new world from scratch while reading a book, IMO. I only imagine the parts that are actually detailed in the book, and the rest I kind of just sub in some setting/building that I remember from my own life, or a video game or something.
Reading is kinda weird, because I feel like I hear a voice, but if I think about it for five seconds I realize that "voice" has no qualities I could describe and therefore ... probably doesn't exist? Usually, anyway. Dialogue sometimes has clear voices, if I have a good idea of what the character should sound like. I'm extremely good at visualization in pretty much every way, like if I want to imagine something introduced into the real world (like, on top of my desk for example) then the image I create is typically only a little bit less clear than if it were really there. Like maybe a little fuzzy or shimmery in a sense, like it might not stay 100% clear for more than a couple seconds. And that level of detail takes conscious effort / concentration. Strangely enough, despite being very good at that in theory, I don't visualize very much while reading. Things kind of happen in a shadowy ambiguous void that's constantly shifting.
I think that's normal, and I think it's impossible for anybody (even highly visual people) to fully imagine a new world from scratch while reading a book, IMO. I only imagine the parts that are actually detailed in the book, and the rest I kind of just sub in some setting/building that I remember from my own life, or a video game or something.