Turning Weaknesses into Writing Strengths

I was made fun of a lot growing up for my voice. Any insult you can imagine for a boy with a feminine manner of speaking, I heard.

The list goes on and on.

I was in third grade before I realized there was a problem. As I started to meet kids from other schools, the people who didn’t know me were the first to call out how my voice sounded.

It got to the point where I was terrified to speak in public settings. I refused to answer the phone. When I met new people, I would go as long as possible without speaking, sure that as soon as I opened my mouth they’d make fun of me.

It continued into high school as, even with a voice change, my tone was soft and boyish. On a particularly dark day at football practice, I seriously contemplated transferring to a mime school. That day I sat in the shower wondering how I was going to exist for the next seventy years with a voice I couldn’t use.

This isn’t meant to be a sob story. I mean, it sucked. But I grew up. My voice got a little deeper. Yes, I do have a boyish, gay voice, but, as an adult, most people don’t care. Turns out that when you leave a town of 2000 people there is a wide diversity of vocal sounds.

In recent years, my voice has even been seen as a strength.

But the biggest win I got from the whole being-terrified-to-speak-for-a-decade part of my life is that it developed into one of my greatest writing strengths: dialogue.

Growing up, I found comfort in silence. If I was in a group conversation, I’d talk 5% of the time (less if it was possible). The rest of the time, I’d spend listening.

I also had the added bonus of being the youngest of six. My entire childhood was spent being dragged to different adult events with my mom. No one cared what a kid had to say, so I spent…

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