Thinking in Pictures as Opposed to God Knows What Other Way

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HOLY CRAP! I just realized something!

When I write song lyrics, with the exception of Ballads (songs that tell a story), the process is exactly the opposite! It took me a long time to figure out how to do this, because it doesn't come naturally. Imagery is extremely important in songs, but the words can actually be far more important. If you want good cadence and rhyming, choice of words can often supersede the imagery. If I have an image in mind I want to portray, but can't figure out a way to word it in a way that keeps to a particular cadence and rhyming scheme, I have to dump the idea for the image in favor of words that work for the song.

I had to learn to THINK verbally first, then try to manipulate the words to form some sort of imagery scheme that makes sense along with the rest of the song. This explains why and how a song can start out meaning one thing, but in the end have a totally different meaning. I write songs with real meaning by the way. I refuse to write imagery even I have no explanation for.

If I hadn't developed the "talking while working" thing, long before I started writing songs, I don't think I ever would have been able to write a decent song. I think it's that practice that's enabled me to work out a way of thinking that is really the opposite process from how I normally think.

Songwriting is the only process I can think of during which I actually work primarily verbally rather than in images, but the images are still important. Without a doubt it's much more of a challenging process for me to come up with words that not only work with cadence and rhyme schemes, but also form imagery that fits with an overall concept for the song, than it is to work on other processes. It's hard as hell, so that's got me wondering why I'm so driven to do it.

I think that autistics think more using direct sensory perceptions or the equivalents that one generates in one's head, whether those are eye units or ear units or nose/mouth/skin units. Verbal thinking is good to layer on top of that for to communicate to others and keep as zip file in own head for to deploy out of zip file when needed, like space saver machine in space saver machine commercials, with the large amounts of clothing and bedding inside those plastic bags with all the air sucked out, and the fabrics cannot connect to each other in 3D arrangments and play.

When I write songs, I manipulate a combination of meaning and sound as well, with more emphasis on sound, so picking words and meanings to fit the sounds that I want.

What happens in my mind is it can be different for different things. if its location / physical orientated I think of it as a picture but if its a question and need more thought it's like i run it through a "tree diagram" such as if I do this then these things might happen against other options and supposed results. or if it's a question I don't know the answer of I go to the next closest thing I know of and guess off that answer. kind of too complicated to write in one post :p

The mind is a complicated thing which I think is pointless to try and find how we think of things or write them down. Its like the article where scientists say it's like a search engine where one word can trigger multiple memories at once. like the word "school" :p kinda like Google 0_0

I had one of these moments again today where a thought can be so disturbing, because you can visualize a certain situation so well, that it messes with your movements and your mood.

If i am reading i may have thoughts in a word form like reading a text book but more often it translates into images in that its how i read. i read very fast but i dont see words or sentences in mind but rather the words create in my mind a movie that is the novel. so in that sense all books are the same as movies in my mind and i just need suitable background music for it.