I know, I know. I’m pretty far behind in my blogging and haven’t tweeted much lately. My article about Thirty Days on Voices.com is still in my head and not yet on paper or screen. Worse yet, I haven’t been doing many voiceover auditions! Something has happened to my mojo. Where did it go? I can’t find it!
I know this is just sometimes the natural ebb-and-flow of things: Very excited, less excited, mellow, downright lethargic, engaged, and back to very excited. The pattern itself is predictable, even though its timing is not. In other words, how long will this lethargy last? I have no idea. But it blows.
I sent myself an email with the subject line, “GET OFF YOUR ASS YOU STUPID LAZY FUCK!” but to no avail. I tried binging on beer and nachos. I tried purging via group meditation. I tried talking it out with friends and I tried writing things down. I just cannot get myself in gear! Nothing is working.
Voiceover ain’t no desk job. I can’t just sit at my desk and surf the Internet all day. I need to BRING IT or go home. I just can’t muster the energy to bring it this week. Or the last couple of weeks. The days are starting to blend into one another. My mic stand is getting dusty, I can feel it.
Circumstances, while I don’t blame them, are also not exactly helping me out. Working at home is always subject to chain saws, leaf blowers, and helicopters. I don’t care if your home studio is sealed up like Fort Knox, some stuff is LOUD. Loud and unscheduled, which means it can happen at any moment. Any moment that I attempt to record, in fact, is when those things start up. It is making me a little insane. More than a little.
I don’t mind sharing that I’ve also had a couple of minor setbacks lately. One of my niches is doing “explainer videos” for apps, new websites, etc. I have that young-adult-hipster voice when I’m not recording kids’ storybooks, my other strong suit. I’ve done several gigs at a pretty low rate for the purpose of building my portfolio, with an agreement that I will get a copy of the final product or video to include on my website. Unfortunately, the last few recordings I did may never see the light of day. In fact, I know one will definitely not see the light of day, because the client told me so. In that case, all I’m left with is a scratch/beta animation video that they asked I not share publically. And my paycheck. Whoopee doo.
And just to drag you down a bit further, can I also express, as I have previously on this blog, how frustrating it is to not have your audition listened to? If someone doesn’t like my voice, or doesn’t feel I’m the right fit for a particular job, I can accept that. But if I get my audition in on time, I really wish someone would listen to it! Of course, I know there are no guarantees that any audition is listened to, and yes, I know that if the client finds a match before they get around to listening to my audition, they have no reason to continue. BUT IT’S SO DAMNED FRUSTRATING!
What else can I say? I’m in a slump. But I’ll try again tonight to record some auditions if I don’t fall asleep first (sleepiness seems to be a symptom of the lethargy). At worst, attending VOICE2012 next month should be a great shot in the arm, even though that’s a while month away. I don’t think I can be in a slump for a whole month!
Follow me on Twitter (when I have the mojo to start tweeting again) @AlgranatiW
Website & demos (Only one video right now! Sigh.) at www.wendyalgranati.com
algranatiw 
OMG Wendy you totally read my mind and I completely enjoyed your “reasoning” for the blah in auditioning and so forth. I have felt the same blah feeling for the past month since I returned from my trip from Vegas…I had hoped my trip would energize me as you said above and really it sorta put me more down in a slump. I do not have an agent yet and so the lovely V123 and scanning my RSS Feed for Craigslist for some supplemental income but the desire to audition has gotten me down completely with very little hope of booking has gotten me down. Boo!
Thanks for your blog, it helps point me in the right direction.
Just had a funny thought: If I were doing my 30 day test of Voice123 right now, with all my lack of recording / lack of audition submissions / lack of mojo, I would be knee-deep in audition invitations! Oh, the irony!