Well, personally, whether I write or read, I am not a participant. I do feel in tune with my favourite characters, but I never put myself in their place in my imagination. I would guess this is because I LOVE the characters, but not so much myself. Being "there" would make it unrealistic and not very interesting for me, because I know they wouldn´t touch me even with a stick in reality, and I don´t even want to watch myself having sex in my head xD Saying that, ironically, it would be quite easy to imagine myself in somebody´s place, as I am a guy.