More into my journey

So, when I last left of, I had just given up the role of Hana and hired on a music composer. Things were going well for a while. We put out a few episodes. And then, as usually happens, I had to make changes in casting. Some people fell through. Some I had to let go. Things were getting frustrating. But I did gain a new composer, with more music experience, so that made life a bit exciting again. However, the other composer dropped off the face of the planet. And, on top of all of that, I had met the man of my dreams. Well, okay, not exactly of my dreams, but he was pretty darn close. All that aside, we decided to get married, and that added to the load of things I was doing. And with wedding planning, and real life happening, episodes began to become further and fewer between. I hoped to use that time allow my cast to catch up on their own lines, and even get ahead, but few took me up on that offer. And let me tell you, it was frustrating when I got back to where I could edit, after getting married and moving to a new location. We stuttered and started again, but got more sluggish as time rolled on. After another gap of not editing, I had a close member of my family die, which made it mandatory for me to take another break from even trying to coax my cast into sending in lines. And believe me when I say that once you get into the habit of not working on a project, it gets a lot harder to get back into it. That's party of why I try to have as many lines possible ready for my actors. I know they are busy, but I also know that if they get out of the habit of sending in lines, they'll let other things crowd out what they've promised to do for the project and we end at a grinding halt once again. But, the past few years have taught me a valuable lesson, or two. First lesson, long projects are hard, and it is very common for people new to voice acting and directing to abandon them as "real" life goes on around the project. Second lesson, it's easier to not voice in your own shows. Third lesson, keep a firm hand with your cast so that they don't get complacent. Let them know their deadlines and stick to them. Be firm. Be firm. Be firm. Fourth, script out your shows as much as possible before casting, and give yourself a buffer of episodes in case something comes up. Don't just release them as the lines come in. It doesn't work well. Trust me on that one.