I bet you could still sing to some extent, but unless you had perfect pitch, I think it would be a lot harder to stay on key and harmonize with the others. I know Beethoven continued composing music when he was deaf, and in some ways that sounds harder than singing, but it's also different.
Okay, after writing that paragraph, I had to Google and see if there are any noteworthy deaf singers, and I found a girl named Mandy Harvey who was on America's Got Talent a few years ago. She went deaf at 18 while in college for vocal music education, so she was already an experienced singer before she lost her hearing. She uses a visual tuner that helps her tune her ukulele to match the pitch of her voice, and she takes off her shoes onstage so she can feel the vibrations of the music through the floor. Here's a video: https://youtu.be/oHUuCLgfMpo Impressive!!
Hospitals are a thing in the Wizarding World. They skip over this part in the movie, but Order of the Phoenix has a whole chapter set at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in London. They call the doctors "healers."
That's interesting that she uses a visual tuner and the vibrations to help! Very impressive! I think people who are already experienced in what they're doing, whether it's composing or performing would figure it out and still be badasses.
I wonder what special training magical doctors get to be better at magical healing than a regular magical person.
Sci-fi seems more restrictive than fantasy because you're still bound to the laws of science in some respects. Sure, you can include technology that does not exist (yet), but it still needs to be somewhat believable within that world. There are fewer limitations with fantasy because you can incorporate magic, etc. You still have to follow the rules you establish when world-building though, which I think is challenge for either genre.
I'm with you on mysteries. I like reading them, but I'm terrible at coming up with a creative and intricate enough plot that readers won't figure it all out before the end. I shied away from suspense for a long time because I felt like I wasn't good at writing believable villains.
Your compliments to these genres are spot on!
Exactly, those laws of science will get you. I've said it a few times that the physics of flying I hand wave in PBox are all wrong. Nothing that big could just basketball leap and be flying. And in science fiction, it would definitely get questioned. "It's magic" is a great excuse.I think you just have to make sure that you keep track of your rules, so you can call yourself out. It's good to have a list somewhere.
Same! You want it to be intricate, but still have that "if you payed attention to all the clues, you'll have the answer" feeling. And I am just not good at that. I'd rather read it and be surprised.
I like villains. They're basically a foil to your hero, and I think easier done when they're a smaller scale villain and not a "big bad with the good and evil of the universe in the balance" type thing. Realistically, they could have the same motivations as your hero, but different morals for achieving them; they're basically just another character with their own goals. As long as their motivations are believable and their character is diametrically opposed to the hero, then you're golden!
It feels nice to give out compliments!