Ireth
Myth Weaver
I need some advice for a story I want to write. It's a VERY loose adaptation of the Hunchback of Notre Dame story, gender-flipped and heavily Disneyfied, with supernatural elements.
The story is set in Leeds, UK, sometime in the 1400's. The bellringer, Diana, is both completely deaf since infancy (thus rendering her unable to speak) and more recently a werewolf, which is why she is locked away in the belltower of the Leeds Parish Church, "for her own safety". The love interest is Vincent, a mage; the villain is Martin, Diana's ex-fiance and a deacon of the LPC, who broke their engagement after Diana was bitten by a werewolf and locked her up in the tower.
Neither Vincent nor Martin is deaf. This being the Middle Ages, there is neither any standardized sign language nor literacy available to help these three characters communicate. Diana likely has a system of signs that she would have learned from her family, who are also deaf; Martin, being Diana's friend from childhood before he was engaged to her, could very well have learned the signs as well, but Vincent did not. This is problematic, as the plot and character development depends on Diana and Vincent being able to converse.
I had thought that Diana could try to communicate with Vincent via various pictures that she'd draw (probably with charcoal on wood or cloth, since ink and paper were uncommon outside of monasteries), as well as body language, gestures or pantomime, but that would run into problems with the most basic phrases and questions, like "What's your name?" So I need a backup plan for use in-story and out. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
The story is set in Leeds, UK, sometime in the 1400's. The bellringer, Diana, is both completely deaf since infancy (thus rendering her unable to speak) and more recently a werewolf, which is why she is locked away in the belltower of the Leeds Parish Church, "for her own safety". The love interest is Vincent, a mage; the villain is Martin, Diana's ex-fiance and a deacon of the LPC, who broke their engagement after Diana was bitten by a werewolf and locked her up in the tower.
Neither Vincent nor Martin is deaf. This being the Middle Ages, there is neither any standardized sign language nor literacy available to help these three characters communicate. Diana likely has a system of signs that she would have learned from her family, who are also deaf; Martin, being Diana's friend from childhood before he was engaged to her, could very well have learned the signs as well, but Vincent did not. This is problematic, as the plot and character development depends on Diana and Vincent being able to converse.
I had thought that Diana could try to communicate with Vincent via various pictures that she'd draw (probably with charcoal on wood or cloth, since ink and paper were uncommon outside of monasteries), as well as body language, gestures or pantomime, but that would run into problems with the most basic phrases and questions, like "What's your name?" So I need a backup plan for use in-story and out. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.