Marin’s Mostly Writing

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• 18 Dec, 2025 *

I’m in the middle of what can only be described as an editing rampage right now.

I’m working on the second draft of next year’s big/first release. It was 129000 words when I started, and it’s shrinking rapidly as I cut chunks here, there, and everywhere. It’s interesting—I’m not usually quite this ruthless. I’m beginning to think that the final version will end up closer to 100k than anticipated.

Yesterday I managed to blitz through 17000 words, which is my absolute top speed. Sadly, this is not a sustainable pace. Some chapters will always need a lot more work than others.

I’ll tell you what—I physically ached after the sustained hours of butt-in-chair it took to get that 17k done. I’m well aware of how unhealthy long hours at the computer are, and I do make sure to get up and stretch regularly. I also tend to throw in a few sit-ups or jumping jacks, and then go outside and stare at the trees for a bit.

The thing is, taking breaks only goes so far.

No matter how hard I try to sit properly in my beloved old desk chair, I always end up either slumped like a sack of potatoes or curled over my keyboard like a shrimp.

In other words, it’s time for me to sideline the chair and bust out the yoga ball again.

I deflated it and packed it away about a month ago, because while it’s great, things were getting a little cluttered in my tiny study. Upon reflection, I’d rather put up with a ball and a chair vying for space than crawl into bed at the end of the day feeling a hundred years old.

Especially when I’ve got…let me do a quick calculation…

Yikes.

112000 words to go.

(I don’t think I’ll make it by Christmas. 😂)

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