Tuesday, June 5, 2012

To See Or Not To See


I finished my third edit of the sequel to Screwing Up Time. (Throws confetti.) And I’ve given the book to one of my first betas. This beta isn’t a writer and doesn’t even do a lot of fiction reading. But this beta has one “gift.” He doesn’t see scenes in his head.

A lot of readers are people like me—as they read, they see the scenes of the novel in their mind. It’s like watching a movie. (In fact, that’s why I often think I’ve seen a movie version of a particular book even when I haven’t. It’s led to some unfortunately recommendations.) But not everyone “sees” in their minds. So a scene that’s clear to me and others who see in their heads may not be clear to readers who don’t.

I’m sure there are many readers out there like this beta, and I want my novel to “work” for them. So this beta marks the scenes that he can’t follow. And then, I go back to the unclear scenes and work on them until they’re completely understandable and the beta says, “Oh, right. I get it now.”

I’ve wondered over the years how many different types of reading experiences there are. For example, I have one beta who “hears” everything in her head. The characters actually speak aloud with appropriate accents, etc. (She’s an amazing beta reader for voice.) What about you all? What are your reading experiences like? Do you “see” movies or “hear” dialogue? Or do you do something completely different? I’d love to know.


BTW, I was recently featured on Samantha Sotto's blog along with two other authors. Samantha is the author of Before Ever After--a page-turning romance through history and time. If you'd like to visit here blog,click here.

9 comments:

  1. Oh I'd bet there are millions of different versions portrayed in each different reader. Because reading allows you to place any character you want or scenary you envision in your mind as you experience the book.

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  2. Great post, as usual :)

    I always see the scene and hear the dialogue in my head - accents included :)

    Can't wait to read Screwing Up Time II when it's finished!!
    Congrats on getting it out to betas :)

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  3. Thanks for the shout out, Connie! Congratulations on finishing your third round of edits! I'm the I-can-see-the-scene kind of reader and so I definitely appreciate a beta who can call me out when the movie in my head doesn't match the words on the paper. You're lucky you have one :)

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  4. Congrats on finishing your edits! I always see the scene happening in my head. Sometimes I speak the dialogue aloud to see if it flows naturally. Makes me look like a weirdo, but it works :)

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  5. That's a great way to get a beta to go through your book. I always see things like a movie, but I know others don't like my husband, he's always wanting me to write more in regards to my setting.

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  6. I see the things in my head like a movie. Hopefully my descriptions bring that to the reader.

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  7. I'm visual person, but I don't see scenes in my head when I read them unless I try.

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  8. I definitely see things in my mind, as if in a movie. I love being a visual person!!! It truly helps. Sometimes it's hard getting all those thoughts down on paper.

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  9. I definitely see a movie in my head. The dialogue is hard to hear in my head but I try to hear it. So basically, I imagine the picture without the dialogue.

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