Creating Imaginary Worlds on the Page and in the Mind

This PhD by published works explores world-building in the light of the author’s writing practice, which has been informed by his own neurodivergence in general and his aphantasia in particular. It has also been informed by Wolfgang Iser’s phenomenological exploration of the reading process. The thesis interrogates the techniques and conceptual framework employed during the writing of three novels: The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter (2014), The Queen of all Crows (2018), and The Fugitive and the Vanishing Man (2020). The author, being himself unable to form mental images, but wishing to stimulate that reaction in his readers, explores possible similarities between visual perception and visual imagination. Utilizing this exploration he devises and presents a framework for descriptive writing that may be useful to other practitioners and teachers of creative writing.