Since last week I’ve been aphonic. For those of you who didn’t go to nursing school like me, that means, I have no voice. Allergy season is in full force here in New England and the pollen, rain, mold, moss ratios are uber-high, so when that happens and my allergies go “Yippie!” the polyps I have on my vocal cords swell, resulting in a very quiet Jaeger household. Hubby is pretty decent at reading lips, but I’ve become a real hermit this past week because leaving the house without a voice is difficult if you need to interact with people vocally.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been aphonic. Several years ago my ENT doc put me on voice rest for 2 months because the polyps were gigantor and he wanted to give them a rest. Have you got any idea what it’s like for a girl who loves to talk not to be able to?? Torture is too tame a word.
Anyhoo….
This past week, and like with every event in my life, I started thinking about how I could use this aphonia, or some aspect of it, in my writing.
How would you help a person who can’t speak, communicate?
What tools would you give them ( if any) in order for them to go about their lives?
Would a character like this be sympathetic? ( In reality, I’m not a sympathetic character, so this one stumps me.)
What kind of love interest would be willing to become involved with someone who can never SAY Iove you?
This is where the show, don’t tell part of writing would be strong, because I would need the character to continually be in movement, trying to get their point across, because they couldn’t say what they wanted to say.
Can you see how difficult, challenging, and thought provoking an aphonic character would be to write?
Kinda like my life right now: difficult, challenging and thought provoking.
Oh, and for those people who think they will be helpful and write to me telling me I can have surgery or laser removal of my polyps, know this: it isn’t a possibility for me. I would lose my vocal chords completely due to the size and scope of the polyps, so, no. I can tolerate a few days or weeks without a voice.But the next 40-50 years. yeah, not so much. Thanks, though.
Until next time ~Peg
Oh, and don’t forget:
- I’ve got a BOOKSWEEPS contest right now for Romantic Comedies that DEARLY BELOVED is a prize in. Enter here: BOOKSWEEPs
- The ROMANCE GEMS are having a June giveaway. Enter here: JUNE
TTFY
Peggy Jaeger, Author 
I do hope you get your voice back soon, Peg, it must be very frustrating for you
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I’m sorry, Peggy. Hope you get your voice back soon!
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So sorry about the loss of your voice, Peggy. For a gal who enjoys talking, being silent is a challenge. Believe me, I know. Due to complications of throat surgery several years ago, one vocal cord was paralyzed, and I went an entire year where I could only utter the faintest whisper. No fun for sure. Luckily, I was able to get an implant that helped me speak again. You’re such a trooper. Rest that voice and use those words to create your next masterpiece.
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🙂
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Best of luck with your voice! As to your question, I’ve read a few books where the hero can’t speak and they were written very well. Asher’s Voice comes to mind. The characters were very sympathetic and found other ways to show their love. An interesting challenge. Hope you feel better soon!
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You have a wonderful voice in your writing. I’m sure if you wrote a character that couldn’t speak, you’d find ways to communicate. Sign language would be one of them. It’d be an interesting interaction between the two people as one learns the language. There’d be humor and angst. Hope you get your physical voice back soon!
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Ay ay ay! I hope your voice heals quickly. And yes, that’s a very interesting idea for a story.
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Interesting post! I’ve used my mobility issues in my last novel “A Balancing Act.” I don’t know if you read it, but I was able to show the frustration if the problems.
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How frustrating! And you ARE a sympathetic character.
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So sorry you can’t speak-I can’t even imagine how frustrating it is. But like others have said here– put the pent-up energy into that wonderful writing voice of yours!
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