Okay, so all this time I thought I was alone in this. It might not be exactly similar, but I will describe my experience nevertheless. I will read something and it's like I'm viewing it in my mind. When someone describes a scene I can concoct an image of what that scene looks like in my head. The more and more they describe, the more I can add to the scene and change it according to the info they give me. I mean we've all experienced different tastes, smells, and sounds, but when I read about them, I can imagine the smells. If they say something like "The warm tortillas were placed on the table" my mind may fill in blanks the way I experienced it, perhaps the table is a certain kind from my childhood if it's not described, but the tortillas? I can smell the corn, feel the warmth on my hands, the feeling of a bit doughy soft texture. I'm reading a work right now and I can see the garden they're describing. Again, it might not be completely accurate or the way they're intending it to be pictured, but I see it and I can feel the way the mud sticks to the character's shoes. It's as though I am experiencing it while being there in my mind. When someone gets hurt, I feel this weirdness of ghost pains or tingling in the areas that are affected. If someone is punched in the gut, I feel that even if I have never been punched in the gut. It's interesting and I thought it was probably uncommon, but at least others seem to experience similar things.
I have to admit, it's pretty vivid. I'm totally aware I'm walking down the street or sitting at my desk or anything like that but, jeez I can conjure up a setting at a single word prompt right down to the signage on a shop door.
When I did my little bit of acting for a few years it came in handy in little theatre to work props.
So glad to see I'm not the only one.
I do, to some extend. I can see the surroundings and the characters (though not as detailed as in reality). Sometimes I will see through the eyes of the main character, or it's like I'm there as well, standing next to the characters.
But I never experience smell or touch, nor do I hear background noises (unless the story refers to these things).
Now that I think of it, it's almost the same as my dreams
But it's really useful for writing scenes, you can imagine all the surroundings, movements of the people etc. All that's left is just describing what you see and writing it down.
What I like to do sometimes as well, is after seeing a movie or reading a story, I will imagine what will happen after the story ends. Or I'll alter some of the events and let everything play out. Or I imagine what would happen if I was a character in the story
I literally cannot see anything in my mind.
And for most of my life I thought every one is like this and that when in books and movies the protagonist can see something in their imagination as if it is real - it is only written/made like this for the purpose of storytelling, never have I thought that people can actually experience it.
And then I stumbled upon the term aphantasia and I couldn't believe it and after some research and asking some people it seems like there is a spectrum of those who can't see anything in their mind to those who can see it and feel it as thought is real (and hear and touch and smell). I fall into one end of the spectrum where I can't see anything, most of the people I asked fall into the middle like they can see something in their mind but very vague and one person I talked to experienced it similar to what you have described.
Maybe it is also why writing is so hard to me because I can't see the scenes in my head and I can only start generating ideas when I sketch otherwise my head is blank xd
Honestly I've been doing this for my comic and I thought I was just going crazy from isolation XD I feel scenes, and what the characters feel, and each action has a sort of rhythm to it, so it's easier to dice up into panels. It all plays like a movie in my head, so I often get camera angles, gestures, expressions, sounds, touch, music, and vivid emotions. Some scenes are fuzzier than others, but the more I replay them the sharper they get. It's like a really vivid dream.
Writing and drawing are just like acting, but onto someone else. How would you make your audience feel something if you don't feel it yourself? Gotta respect creators with aphantasia, I can't imagine what that would be like! (lol irony!)
It's less common for me to experience smells when coming up with scenarios, but I definitely get what you mean. Today I wrote a summer scene for example and while not everything that you feel when thinking of that scenario ends up in the story, it really helps. The strain of sunburned skin for example of how a cracked tiled floor feels beneath your hands even if the character doesn't touch the floor. Helps visualize it.
The problem is that I must have experienced it in some sort of way to really be able to visualise it.
Very cool actually ^^ It's nice to know others experience things similarly! When other people told me that it was something they didn't experience, I thought perhaps it was rare, but I'm glad it's not as uncommon as I thought ^^ And yeah, the not-so-good scenes are not the best feelings but they help me remember the work regardless, the wonderful and not-so-wonderful scenes are great on a whole different level. I think if I didn't have this ability, I would definitely have a different experience with works. I like being able to enjoy and sometimes feel ghost pains because it makes me connect with the work in another level ^^
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately I don't have to experience it. But it does explain feelings of deja vu. When I was in Sicily a couple years ago it was as if I knew the place, I knew the sites and sound etc. Keep in mind I was raised by an Italian woman so the language and smells of cooking were known to me, but the rest of it... Like I'd never left, even thought I'd never been there.
I've always been able to immerse myself into the scene like I'm there with the characters. I think it's pretty cool and very helpful for my writing! I used to skip over descriptive details, but I've learned to do better with it by describing all the vivid images and scents I can sometimes smell, faintly in my mind. I can even picture my characters perfectly, which is why I struggle so much with character descriptions. I expect readers to be able to see the same thing that I can, both with their voices and appearances.
Something I can't do is feel what my characters are feeling. I don't imagine myself as any of them. I can't imagine myself as a character I'm reading either, yet I've heard that's pretty common in first person stories. I'm more like an onlooker, watching everything that happens to them from a safe distance. But I have always found it really cool how I can imagine myself in their world. It's helped me tremendously with the worldbuilding. I used to daydream a lot as a kid doing this, especially back in school if I got bored.
That was strong. I do imagine as the main character in my head or Imagine I read it or being as a TV show or movie but not till all five senses feel it. But I do experience some of my idea who ended up just idea, since I mostly only told only to my closest person but never act on it, will appear as movie or TV show in upgraded style in real life. Mostly the main idea story is the same. That's why I called it upgraded style.
Not sure what this is called. But it happened since I was young.
I was once watched this Korean drama, about demon can steal your idea and sell it to other soul. lol
I know its not make sense, but there's a time, I almost convinced.
I do often can guess the story plot of movie/TV show, as what they called de ja vu or simply I watch/read too much story. Lol
@therosesword, you can see all that while being awake right? what I know If it's while sleep, they called it lucid dream.
But you can lucid while being awake. Then, that's one of your strong aptitude, And An artist might really your path. Brava!
when you go places, and feel like you ever been there, I feel that too often. That's more like de ja vu, and I think what you tell us in the first post its more like being vivid while awake. Which much more difficult to do it.
Totally while I'm awake and writing or thinking about a scene that I want to write. It's like the brain is divided in two... one side working on the story the other side doing whatever it is I'm doing, whether it's cooking or even reading sometimes (that gets annoying). It's totally second nature to me.
It's a little like existing in two places at one time.