Total Reading

1. Find a setting similar to the one in the novel. (Which is safe and may not be comfortable.)

The Sword of Truth novel series is set a lot in the woods. I went running around to remote parts of HK just to find quiet away from people to read it. Read it, Live it.


"...Sounds of birds, breezes, and bugs hurt her ears. Trees draped with
streamers of moss, rocks incrusted with lichen and snarled in roots and vines, and patches of damp, dark mist crowded in all around. The overpowering presence of it all terrified her. Breathe...." Extracted from a Sword of Truth novel.

2. Go out there and do the stuff in the novel.

OK, I didn't go all the way.

But getting chased down by a Quad (mounted assassins) at breakneck speed? I can get close to that. Getting on a horse and charging around a tough course of jumps as fast as I could in the best posture I could muster gets pretty close. Riding without a saddle also gives that awesome raw feel.

How about shooting arrows at nasty D'Harans? HKUST's archery ranges lets you do almost the same.

And what about torture by Mord Sith? OK, I can't match that. But spending a day and night programming some tedious assignment and I did rather want the torturous death by Agiel at the hands of a madwoman. Close enough.

3. Eat the food of the novel.

Soup and bread?

Richard came awake with a start. Warm midday light filled the room, and the wonderful, tangy aroma of spice soup filled his lungs.

Unlike the movie theater, popcorn and other junk food simply do not belong in the worlds of fantasy. And you know what? Fictional food often come from awesome recipes. Spice soup is awesome. Ideally, I'd love to try it camping somewhere and cooking it over a campfire, but a modern kitchen does just as well.

4. Play the music of the novel.

What music I'm listening to has a huge impact on what the setting and characters look like in my mind. It's hard to write about music, so you have creative license on this one. Generally though, if the novel you're reading has been made into a movie, then the soundtrack will usually do fine.

One way you know you got a great piece is when you find yourself humming it and then all of a sudden, the novel imagery begins to float in.

5. Read short, savor long.

I read 30 minutes daily, but I do it at my natural pace - as fast as my eyes devour the words, like a computer parsing SVG code.
After reading, I savor the passage for the rest of the day before reading another passage at bedtime. Bedtime reading is awesome, just don't overdo it.

6. Get the sleep you need to immerse.

The image of a teenager propped up against a pillow sneakily reading a Harry Potter book in dim light is a fantasy that people want to believe as true (Wizard's First Rule). A sleepy brain simply does not render the vivid imagery as well, nor does the imagery invoke as much emotion as it should have.

7. Get away from unnatural distractions.

These bring you out of the world of magic and back to reality. Instead, I encourage all to get into the Wardrobe - the portal of your fantasy world. Dive right in, stay in there for a while and go where it takes you.

8. Find yourself in all the characters.

We all have some part common with everyone, even fictional characters.

9. If there's a TV show of it, watch it before the book. 

Why? Because movies/shows of the books look stupid after you read the book.

Seriously. Why do you find people on the internet complaining about movie adaptations of books? Expectations are created from long exposure to the book's characters, story, settings that movies often don't match (can't blame them - everyone imagines them differently).
On the other hand, watching the show first adds vivid imagery to the reading mind, while delivering minor spoilers.