Get Immersed in Your Reading/ Writing With The 5 Senses
In the writing world, we always hear about ‘showing instead of telling’ but what if we, as readers helped bring the stories to life, ourselves. I’ve talked a little about immersion reading, on this blog before, but this takes it to a whole new level.
In the writing world, we always hear about ‘showing instead of telling’ but what if we, as readers helped bring the stories to life, ourselves. I’ve talked a little about immersion reading, on this blog before, but this takes it to a whole new level.
Sight
Of course, first and most impactful sense is that of sight, and it makes sense that we’d use that sense in our reading immersion. However, what might not be so obvious is that readers can create an environment in their minds, in the tangible world around them, and online to bring the stories their reading to life. First, I would create or save an existing pintrest board that is made specifrically for your story. This is something I’ve been doing as a writer and it helps make my fantasy worlds more real and believable when I have something to actually look at.
Sound
The next most important sense is that of sound. You might be listening to an audiobook which definitely employs this sense. But if your reading a hard copy or e-book, you can also enjoy this kind of immersion. You can listen to playlists made for the genre of the story your reading, such as “Celtic Woods” for fantasy or “Dungeon Music” for a thriller. I really enjoy listening to video game soundtracks, and two of my favorites are the Assassin’s Creed Origins Soundtrack and the Ashenvale Soundtrack from World of Warcraft. Likewise, you can also create ambient soundscapes to play in the background while you’re reading. There are tons of ready-made mixes, such as “The Slytherin Common Room” or “Rivendell” on Ambient-Mixer.com!
Smell
The third sense, and one of the easiest to employ is that of smell. When I really want to feel immersed in the story I’m reading or writing, I will light a candle or put oils in my diffuser to give my environment a new scent and pull me deeper into the story. If you want to feel like you’re in a fall environment, you can burn a pumpkin-spiced or apple-cinnamon candle
Touch
This is one of the lesser-used senses for immersion reading but it can be incredibly effective, especially if the story is set in a certain season. (And even more effective if that season is active while you’re reading the story!) Touch sort of ties in with Smell in that if you want to feel like you’re in a certain season, you can manipulate your reading environment to match the conditions of the story! So, the story’s set in a frozen wasteland? You can just turn the A/C all the way up! (…or not.)
Taste
While not altogether impossible, this is easily the most difficult of the five senses to employ when immersing yourself in a story. Consider the setting and characters in the story and what they might eat or drink and try to recreate it. If you enjoy snacking while you read, then make something from or inspired by the story. Consider making fictitious dishes. Perhaps the characters drink tea or coffee? Brew yourself a cup, cozy up and get immersed.
What do you think about immersive reading with the 5 senses? Have you ever tried this? Let me know in the comments below!
Thumbnail photo by lilartsy.
—Payton
Immersion Reading - Audiobooks and Ambiance
Audiobooks aren’t really books. Or are they? While many argue that listening to an audiobook doesn’t really compare to reading a book, there’s something to be said about immersion reading -or reading text while listening to an audiobook simultaneously. By using two of the five senses, readers gain a richer reading experience and find it easier to get into the story.
Woman wearing headphones while reading. Photo by Karolina Grabowska
Audiobooks aren’t really books. Or are they? While many argue that listening to an audiobook doesn’t really compare to reading a book, there’s something to be said about immersion reading -or reading text while listening to an audiobook simultaneously. By using two of the five senses, readers gain a richer reading experience and find it easier to get into the story.
So, if reading tackles one sense -sight, and listening tackles a second -sound, then shouldn’t this foster a better reading experience?
Not exactly. Many readers argue that audiobooks are distracting to the story, or their reading pace differs from the reading pace of the voice actor, or the narrators read in strange voices for each character. These are all issues authors face when considering having their manuscripts formatted as an audiobook. While these are real issues to readers and authors alike, they still receive an overwhelming positive response, and here’s why:
There’s a new trend in the reading community called immersion reading. As defined above, immersion reading is when a book (or e-book) is read in tandem with an audiobook. This has helped many readers better get into the story and has fostered, for many, a richer reading experience.
Not all voice actors read character voices. If you’ve listened to George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” the first book in the Game of Thrones series, you know how fun/annoying character voices can be to listen to. This is an issue for some because it doesn’t allow the reader’s imagination to create the characters’ voices, but instead provides them with a narrator-interpreted voice. However, this isn’t always bad; readers who want to focus on the writing and the content of the story won’t have to waste their time imagining voices if they hear them while they’re reading. A quick check in the reviews of your audiobook will tell you if the narrator used character voices.
The pacing. Readers often read at their own pace and many argue that audiobooks don’t read as fast/slow as they’d like. If you’re using the Audible app, there is a slider that allows you to change the speed without butchering the narrator’s voice.
Another way for readers to experience immersion reading is by playing music in the background of your reading space. No, I don’t mean Lady Gaga should be blasting while you’re reading your next high fantasy novel. Instead, you should put on music from the Slytherin Common Room at Hogwarts, or something fantasy-based. This helps drop the reader into the setting of the story and makes for a richer reading experience. A great place to find music like this is Ambient-mixer.com or on the Ambient Mixer app. This app allows the listener to create different sound loops and has a variety of looped tracks for any genre/setting.
A quote from the Ambient Mixer site describes what the site offers to listeners:
Ambient Mixer Slytherin Common Room slider volume controls. Photo by Payton Hayes.
“Ambient-mixer.com is a community driven project offering you some unique quality soundscapes with different atmospheres for chilling, relaxing or your recordings using our endless audio loops. You can further effectively mix and create your own sounds absolutely free, with no software installations required. You can begin listening to our sounds by clicking on the images above, which are based on different themes. All atmospheres are royalty free audio files and you can use them even in your commercial projects, thanks to the Creative Commons Sampling Plus license.” (Ambient Mixer, Homepage Footer, Para 1).
While not everyone supports the use of audiobooks over reading tangible books or even e-books, immersion reading is gaining traction and becoming more popular throughout the reading community.
Thumbnail photo by cottonbro.