Others may say that I’m naïve (for you dyslexics out there I’m referencing the symptom where you are gullible and inexperienced in the world, instead of fancy spring water) or that I‘m suffering from “Pollyanna syndrome“, but I truly believe that, with the right outlook, you can turn negatives to a positive. It may take a while depending on what the negative is, but it is possible. One thing I have read in the past is that you should write what you know and it took me a while to understand what that were saying. I think what it means is, if you don’t know about X don’t write about it without doing the proper research. If I was to write about what it is like to be a female instead of a male I would fail miserably, because I have not experienced life as a female. (If I have experienced being a female in a past life I certainly don’t remember it.)
You will always write about things you have experience in better than thing you are inexperienced in. It seems like a no-brainer, but some people forget that. I’m not saying that fiction writing is a bad choice, but if you are writing a story that has a lot of fighting in it, don’t try to name karate moves that you have seen in Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. I could be wrong, but I don’t think it is possible to throw a flaming fireball from your hands without a lot of preparation. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot write about talents like that. Just make sure that your readers know that this character has supernatural powers and/or set the story in a world that is different from the one we all live in. I have written about some moves in the past, but I did not specify the fighting style, I do not know that all the moves in my book are possible, but I painted my characters as ones that have done ridiculous amounts of study on different fighting styles, so I think I’m covered.
I am rambling on and on and getting off topic and I apologize. If you can’t handle this maybe you are reading the wrong author. I don’t think this will be the last time I ramble or get off topic.
I started writing this with a totally different objective and it got away from me. What I was trying to say, back in the beginning is that there are pros and cons to every situation (nothing is all bad or all good) and life experiences are the one thing you can write about without having to worry about extensive research. I have recently thought about something I have experienced that needs to be examined so now, without further ado I give you . . .
THE PROS AND CONS OF HAVING A SPEECH DISORDER.
Pro: You will rarely be called upon to give a speech or say the prayer unless the people in the group hardly know you (If you don‘t like talking in front of people, no problem).
Con: You are rarely called upon to give a speech or say a prayer unless people in the group hardly know you (How else are they going to get to know you?).
Pro: If you stumble and stammer when talking to an attractive member of the opposite sex you can blame it on your speech disorder.
Con: You and I both know that’s not the ONLY reason you failed to impress that person who causes your heart to skip a beat.
Pro: People will understand if you aren’t as talkative as some people, they might even appreciate the fact that you aren’t talking their ear off
Con: People don’t always know it if you are giving them the “silent treatment.”
Pro: You don’t get asked stupid questions.
Con: You don’t always get to ask your stupid questions.
Pro: You don’t have to talk to those annoying people.
Con: You might be perceived as one of those annoying people (plus you might miss out on talking to amazing people.)
Pro: You can tell if people are interested in what you have to say because they’ll ask you to repeat what you said, repeat what they understood, and/or sometimes try to fill in the blanks.
Con: You have to repeat yourself several times and hear what you say repeated, and sometimes it‘s repeated incorrectly
Pro: You might become amazingly proficient in another form of communication to compensate. Example: writing ;)
Con: You had to find other ways to communicate in the first place.
Pro: If you‘ve been to tons of different speech therapists you can practically teach speech therapy.
Con: It’s hard to get clients if you aren’t licensed and/or don’t have a diploma claiming as much. (That’s when you get out a printer and the fancy writing, DIY diploma anyone? [Tip: Make sure you use an obscure college, you don‘t want anyone calling the school to check your degree])
