in hindsight.. its definitely took me years to really learn and be confident with my singing voice - for me - i started with speech level singing, a good way of learning to control your voice clearly and discover your true range - without resorting to falsetto. i definitely recommend looking up some literature on this practice, as it also teaches you not to strain the outer larynx muscles that aren't always required for singing - most singers do tend to strain these muscles unnecessarily - anyways thats what helped me learn articulation and control.
understanding ones vocal registers and singing through passage areas is also worth getting to know - as everyone has places where the voice jams up, suddenly shifts in quality, or even breaks - ain't nothing more discouraging!
i must admit .. i smoke like a demon though man.. but alas - rough as sandpaper vocals work for me!, ain't done me wrong.. some warmup scales and to hell i screeeeeam!