I have a little reading problem that pops up from time to time. When reading a book, immersed in the world as it's been laid before me, a new character is introduced. I imagine them. As I read on, perhaps the rest of the sentence, paragraph or chapter, newly revealed details morph the character in my imagination. It happens organically. Often I don't even notice.
My issue occurs when I've read much more, maybe half of the story or more when the author discloses new info about the character. The vivid red hair I've been imagining is all wrong, they have jet black hair. No matter how much I try to correct my image of the character, their hair remains flaming red and I find myself fighting to correct it to black, yet resisting it every time.
This happens with any physical descriptions like, height, weight, scars, eyes, teeth, and even non physical ones like the quirky pronunciation of their quirky name. As much as I hate info-dumps, I loath these late re-renderings.
It might just be me. I moved to Denver years ago and knew the mountains rose to the west of the city, but in my first days of learning my way around our neighborhood I got my mental compass rotated 90 degrees. It defied logic a few weeks later when I realized my error, but for the next year I struggled to not imagine our house facing the wrong way in my mental map.
So, is it just me?
by CoderJoe1