Ireth
Myth Weaver
How do you write deaf characters effectively? I have two MCs in two different stories who are deaf, and I want to write from their POVs and make it unambiguously clear what their disability is and how it affects their lives. Unfortunately, comments I've received so far on excerpts tell me that my usual tactics -- describing the way they both read lips and communicate in hand-signs, as well as avoiding any and all descriptions of sound -- aren't sufficient. (This is especially apparent with my mermaid MC; it's easily assumed that all merfolk communicate solely in sign language, when that isn't the case. It's mostly the MC and her pod who do, at least as far as the plot is concerned. The rest of the merfolk use vocal speech, and the MC is in constant need of an interpreter for those who don't use signs.)
What to do? I don't want to lead the reader to false assumptions, nor do I want to be blatant and simply say "she uses sign language because she is deaf". As a hearing person, I certainly don't feel the need to remark on that in my thoughts during everyday life. Since both of the characters in question are completely deaf and have been so since birth, with neither of them learning to speak at all, I think they would have a similar mindset. Deafness is just a normal fact of life for them.
What to do? I don't want to lead the reader to false assumptions, nor do I want to be blatant and simply say "she uses sign language because she is deaf". As a hearing person, I certainly don't feel the need to remark on that in my thoughts during everyday life. Since both of the characters in question are completely deaf and have been so since birth, with neither of them learning to speak at all, I think they would have a similar mindset. Deafness is just a normal fact of life for them.