Books

my characters rarely have a face I visualize it’s more a tone/ feeling

I don't have facial blindness but I don't usually picture faces either. Characters are like background figures in a painting, reduced to only their most striking features which can still be captured at the scale of a small brush stroke. It would be like asking me how to imagine the specific grain on a wooden floor board, that level of detail would just never occur to me.

Maybe a weird question but does it only happen with "real" faces? Like live action?

I tend to see stories as animated in my head when I read. Maybe that'll be easier to visualize?

Have you tried focusing more on the characters' personalities and actions rather than their physical appearances? This can help create a clearer image of the characters in your mind without relying on specific faces.

Hmmm my suggestion would be if you’re reading a popular book to search for fancasts or to go on Pinterest :)

I can't picture faces, can't picture anything so I don't.

some authors clearly describe facial features and others don't - if you want, after reading a description, google a similar type face for use as a reference?

I have a very vivid imagination while reading, to the point where I can almost forget that I am reading, like a movie playing in my head.

And while I do not have facial blindness, I try to not see faces of characters unless I am reading after having seen a tv/movie adaptation in which case it is near impossible not to see the characters from the screen while reading.

I instead try very hard to go by shapes starting from a blank canvas which is like a faceless mannequin or the of one with details filled out by what i read, such as a red lipstick, purple eyes or a smirk but it's more like clear details on an otherwise blurry/faceless mannequin.

I used to get really hung up on visualizing everything in books like they were little movies for my brain. Then I realized that’s a real disservice to literature as an art form and also wastes a lot of time while reading, so now I just let whatever comes to mind come and let everything else live there in the text. If it’s important, the author will tell you, but rarely does what a character look like matter more than their dialogue or their actions or their personality and thoughts.

I find it easier to read the book versions of movies I've already seen.

I have a photographic memory but my recall is patchy. Even my nearest and dearest look different to me each time I see them. I'll often go through photos online before a social outing to remind myself what people look like. Can you print out pictures and keep them somewhere?

It sort of blows my mind every time I’m reminded that people picture things in their head while they read… I love reading so much and can’t fathom what it would be like for their to be a visual component as well.

If you worry facial blindless means you're missing something other readers aren't, I don't think that's necessarily true.

I don't have facial blindless and I rarely imagine character faces, it's just too detailed. I picture their body shape (skinny, short, obese, etc) clothing when it's a useful characterization (are they in a 3-piece, a trenchcoat, stillettos), and other unique features (dramatic hairstyles, amputations). Or in fantasy, their entirely alien shapes.

You're asking a question that compares your experience to others, and I'd be wary of the implied expectation of "normal" in that context.

I've nevepicturedr the face of a character in a book. I don't have facial blindness, it just never occurred to me to try. Sounds distracting like picturing what they are wearing.

Do you actually have facial blindness in real life?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia

Or just in the way you describe here, which is not "facial blindness." It's just part of the normal experience of reading.

You could try artists references/portraiture or preemptively choosing actors to assign to the characters once they show up.

Say a character is described as a young woman with red hair, so you pull up a picture of Liv Hewson in yellowjackets and use them as the face for that character. Create a "fancast" as you read.

If you are able to picture faces in your mind then you don’t have severe prosopognosia. What you are describing is normal wandering/free association of the mind.

Think about them using the same qualities you use to remember people in real life. If the author doesn't describe the clothes they're wearing, their hairstyle, their hair, the timbre of their voices.... make 'em up!

IF you want to picture faces and you're willing to do a little legwork, you can build a character roster. Just steal faces from Facebook or TV shows, and assign them to your characters.

I have aphantasia so I don’t picture anything when I read ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Imagine what it's like reading with aphantasia. I still love books and all but I appreciate them for the story and keep people straight by their names, since there are absolutely no visuals for me to see in my mind.

I have prosopagnosia as well. It’s never bothered me with books. Real life, sure, lots of times.

I recognize people by their voice, not their face, unless I know them well.

I find myself picturing people with a very distinct neck down and hair but an indistinguishable face that is somehow very ~them but I would never be able to reproduce it because it doesn't actually exist (like dream people). Sometimes men get a jaw line if my brain is feeling generous.

I don't have facial blindness and rarely have issues picturing characters in my head, usually it's only when I'm not connecting with the story or characters much.

One tip I can give is imagine and "set" a style for each character based on personality. What do I feel this person would wear? Are they grundgy sounding, does this person seem like someone who wears lots of accessories, do they seem like a stuffy person who only wears khaki shorts, maybe they have a particular hairstyle or hair color, or the cadence of their speech is particular. For easeir times imagine them always wearing that same outfit like a cartoon character.

I do picture people in my head, so I can see where you coming from, but I have issues with names, so many characters become a blur.

Audiobooks might be good, many of the better voice actors change tones and accents with the characters so it makes it easier tell them apart.

The other could just be write notes/draw pictures. When a characters description is first mentioned write down what they look like to keep that as a reference. You could then either draw them if your any good, or just type that description into google or an art AI and save that picture with the characters name. Anytime you think of it look down on your notes pictures.

I can only mentally picture simple objects and colors; I don’t really “see” anything while reading. Instead, I “feel” and get flashes of impressions. It’s a bit like being in the brain of the main character without access to the eyes.

Example: winter night forest scene is an impression of dark / crunchy snow underfoot / crisp winter pine smell / flashes of moonlight through trees + emotion of scene (determination? Romantic? Fear of being followed?)

Looking at fanart can help!

Many roleplay writers (collaborative storytelling) do what's called a face claim. This is when you pick a celebrity/stock photo model to represent your character, to help others picture them, and also to prevent multiple people form picking the same actor lol. You could assign each character an actor based on their descriptions, and print it out and put it in the front of the book like a map to reference. That actually sounds hella fun...

Everything I read I imagine neck down. I could tell a police sketch artist everything about a person from color of shoelaces to type of collar on their shirt, but nothing of their face. After 5 years together I couldn't describe my partners face from memory.

Reading I notice I see what's happening in my head from over the characters shoulder a lot. Reading Kitchen Confidential and I feel like I'm following Bourdain and watching him live from 5 ft behind

/r/whycantireadsupportgroup

I don’t have facial blindness but I typically imagine characters in broad strokes, their defining features stay but everything else about their face changes constantly

Idk if it helps but you could try picturing each character as a different colored blob, just to maintain the differences

I have a hard time forming clear pictures in my mind. Funny enough, I’m not bad at drawing people, so, for some books I followed the description to draw the faces of some characters, sometimes really feeling I got it right. I also take pictures of landscapes that remind me of stories I like, so I can look at them again because I won't be able to recall them exactly.

I love the Stephen King book The Stand and ALWAYS picture the actors from the 90's movie when I read it, but it's one of the few times I really picture the characters at all while reading.

I’m pretty face blind, and I think a big perk of reading is that you don’t have to distinguish external images that other people can easily tell apart! I suppose I envision more of a blur or composite for a lot of the characters that are not distinctive looking, and tell them apart more by their role in the story, name, etc.

It's called prosopagnosia. I have it and can't picture faces at all even if I've seen them before many times (like myself or my mother or father or twin sister).

It's actually one of the reasons I like books more than movies. You don't have to recognize anyone (which I've always struggled to in movies especially if characters have the same height, gender, and hair color). Just let go of the urge to and follow the characters using their names.

I have it & have no trouble reading. Guess I just don’t imagine faces.

I have anaphasia so I am just jealous that you can picture faces at all! I can imagine it being really frustrating if it's not a conscious decision to picture characters.

just read?? why is picturing faces a requirement?

I’m face blind- I just don’t picture faces. I either find something distinct about a character and use that or make something up myself. “This character has curly blond hair.” “I’m going to assume this guy is wearing fancy red boots.” It doesn’t really matter. A lot of time I just don’t picture anyone distinct at all.

Am a mostly aphant person with a high degree of facial blindness. This is why i prefer books to movies.