Hmm…
I never heard of empathetic imagination, but why does that resonate with me so much.
idk if thats the right term lol its just what i use to conceptualize it.
do you have the same struggles when it comes to watching tv or listening to music or watching a movie? or animation? or comics? graphic novels? etc
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Sometimes, I do and other times I am able to continue on.
mhm. i meant more about the empathetic imagination struggles.
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Thanks. I shall give it a go.
Then yes.
okay got it. btw thanks for being vulnerable and answering all my questions.
i would say right now you are trying to read like a reader aka like someone who enjoys reading.
and in your mind if you just make yourself into that person than you will become a better writer. is this correct?
okay first of all even if you were to become that type of person how much that would help you or anyone as a writer is limited. this is how it helps someone
it provides them with inspiration but you can get inspiration from anywhere and anyone who is dependent on inspiration to create is most likely going to do so inconsistently.
reading like a writer is what helps you get better as a writer from reading.
what does reading as a writer mean. it means noticing how a writer writes and tells a story. how do they describe certain things. what styles do they use. how do those choices effect me? if im bored why? if its a struggle why?
you are studying how writers do the craft of writing and storytelling. you are studying their choices. and then you are seeing what you can learn from their “successes” and from their “failures”
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Yes.
this is what i would recommend.
when you read try to take notice of how a writer does something. whether you like it or don’t. then try to do what the writer did with your own idea. then take note of how it effected the way you wrote the idea. then see if you liked it or didn’t. or what ideas it may work with or not. and take note of why you liked or didn’t. why it worked or didn’t. anything you find you don’t understand and want to learn more of.
(however much is helpful to you, could be written down or mental).
this could be for one sentence, or a paragraph, or a page of reading. and like a sentence or a paragrpah or a page or so of writing. (though no upper or lower limits either way)
then when you feel you have learned what you can can, continue reading, if you feel the book or whatever you r reading can’t teach you anymore. move onto next thing don’t worry about finishing the book or page or chapter.
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So, trying a tiny bit of annotating?
mhm. annotating. and also having a journal on the side where you can practice doing the thing the writer did.
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Ah, understood.
Thanks for being so helpful and chatting with me like this. I appreciate that.
It sounds to me like you just don’t like reading? I’ve only just skimmed the rest of the replies, but your first message sounds exactly like my boyfriend. He loves fictional characters and worlds, and he loves stories, but he would never, ever open a book. He just likes video games and TV shows, instead - and that’s perfectly fine. He doesn’t write, but writing and reading are two very different things - it’s entirely possible you love writing, but not reading.
If that’s the case, then it’s fine. Everyone says you need to read in order to write but I don’t believe that at all (yes, it can help with ideas, yes, it can help with style, yes, it can help with structure, but no, it isn’t often the sole difference between a good writer and a bad writer). Thatstheway has given some good ideas if you want to study books instead of reading them, so you might want to consider their ideas! 
If you want to read just for the enjoyment of it, then don’t feel pressured to - reading genuinely might not be something you enjoy, like how I don’t enjoy cooking. There are ways to find more enjoyment in reading, like reading shorter works (it seems you also struggle with finishing a book, which makes you feel bad - I’m the same!). If you have a book that takes an hour to read, start to finish, you’re going to be able to get through it a lot easier than an epic. I also like to read in short bursts (30 mins a day until I forget about it, then I binge entire trilogies in a day), because I have a very busy schedule. Might be good to set yourself scheduled reading time.
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I love to read manga, then again the artwork is what I am really there for. It’s so weird that I am like this.
I do read, but I’m just not consistent and hate forcing myself to whenever I don’t.
There was a book that I read in one day and it wasn’t short. So, I can do it, but it’s a rare thing when it does happen. Though when I am able to do it, everything is vague and I have to wonder if I’ve gotten anything out of it in the first place.
Reading is such a weird thing to me.
So, give annotating a try? Which is funny because I was thinking about annotating the books that I have now.
This isn’t weird at all - plenty of people read manga but not book-books. I went through a phase where I didn’t pick up a single book, only manga, and none of the manga readers I know read book-books either.
This seems completely normal!! I am the same. I don’t actually read much anymore (I used to read every single day up until I was about twelve), maybe a few times a year like I said above. Spend a week reading every day, don’t read for six months, then read an entire series. Nothing to stress over at all, some of us just read as and when the fancy takes us
You should certainly try!
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Understood. I guess I just listen to people say that you must read as much as you should and when I don’t I feel a bit terrible. I get anxiety from trying to force myself to read fiction novels, then get pissed off when I don’t finish it.
I want to enjoy reading, but I do have to be real with myself. I tackle reading much differently than most people.
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its totally cool not to be into reading. for structure aka big picture stuff when it comes to writing/ storytelling any medium that does storytelling will help not just books. and also you don’t just have to consume that type of content; videos about structure/ big picture stuff/ theories on it is also helpful + pairing the two together- can make it easier to get through stuff.
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out of curiosity if the character is autistic, adhd, audhd, or even if not explicitly stated to be such feels that way do you still have the same struggle with empathetic imagination I talked about above?
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Well, if I am trying to publish novels, then reading has to happen.
That’s why I am feeling like a failure as well.
I suppose so.