I have been busy, busy, busy since the last time I posted. My work with Crystal Gator has been going exceptionally well and I’m super excited about the progress we’ve made. While I was correct that my days of lollygagging seem to be a thing of the past, one of the most awesome aspects of my collaboration with Mechelle at CG is that she takes care of all the day-to-day business-y type work and just has me writing full-time. I’ve been more productive recently than I can remember being in a long time.
And it seems that all of this writing has loosened up my brain-box, because the more I write, the more the ideas are beginning to flow. We’re focusing mainly on children’s stories, and I’ve already completed more than a few, with a list of nearly a dozen more that I want to write. I’m also working on a chapter book for older kids that’s substantially longer than the pieces for the little ones and is very near completion.
On top of all that, I’m still doing some freelancing work, both ghostwriting and editing, for a couple of clients. So, to say my plate is full is a bit of an understatement. But you know the old saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never work another day in your life.” Well, I don’t know about not working — I’m definitely working! However, working doesn’t feel like a chore or something that I dread doing. I can easily put in a 12-hour day on the laptop and wonder where the time went so quickly.
One thing I haven’t had time for is any animation work. Generally, when things are slow on the writing side, I’ll look to pick up an animation job or two, both for the experience and the extra fundage. However, doing animation is an involved process and, depending on the job, can take a great deal of time. While I enjoy doing it, I know that I’m a better writer than an artist, so I don’t feel that I’m missing out on my true calling when I have to step away from animating for a while.
While I finished my last animating gig a couple of months ago, the client has just now made it available on YouTube, so I can finally share it with you here. I’m proud of the final result and am pleased to report that the client, Nathan Marshall (he’s a talented artist, you should check out his website!), was very happy with it, too. I hope you’ll take a peek and that you’ll enjoy watching it as much as I did making it!
allisonhollandwrites.com 