I have partial facial blindness which makes it hard to picture faces that aren’t super familiar and I can’t create new faces in my head. I end up picturing faces of people I know and celebrities.
It becomes frustrating when I’m reading as the faces morph constantly into my head. I constantly stop to get the faces right. Sydney Sweeney ended up as 2 characters when I read “Bunny” lol. I also get a biased view of the characters this way. It makes it really hard to enjoy reading nowadays. Any suggestions? Different strategies for picturing or reading without picturing?
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.