The point is, I'm shifting focus back to the Encyclopedia for the next little while. I don't want to get too in depth about my plans, in case I get sidetracked again, but more stuff is coming. 

First up: the fight writing process. 

We went over the basics earlier on in chapter 5, but since it's been a minute, let's summarize the 5 phases:

1. Conceptualize: Think of this as the brainstorming phase. We're going to go more in depth later (for realsies this time), but the gist is, this is the point where we get an idea about what we want to happen later on down the road. We're not doing everything right here and right now, just getting some basic thoughts together, like who needs to be fighting whom, what they're going to use to fight, and brainstorming a couple of really cool setpieces for the action. Nothing is set in stone at this point, so feel free to let your imagination run wild. You can always rein it in later, if it turns out that your ambition exceeds the needs of the plot. 

2. Research: Exactly what it says on the tin. You have an idea of what you want to do by now, so it's time to figure out how you want to do it. Exactly what that entails will depend on the sort of fight you want to write, since different styles of combat involve different tactics, techniques, and procedures. This is also the part where you start to get a more clear idea of what is and isn't possible/practical. Don't feel bad if you have to rethink your approach or discard ideas. It's better to figure that out now than later on down the road, once you've started writing. 

3. Storyboarding: You don't actually have to draw a storyboard. If that's your thing then go nuts, but it's not mandatory. The important thing is to start firming up your ideas and get a clear timeline for the fight. Exactly what that looks like will depend on you and your brain. For some people, it'll be important to lay out every little detail in exact chronological order. Others will want to focus on the big picture and fill in the details later. I'll get into my process here in a minute. 

4. Fight Draft:  A distinct and separate entity from a normal first draft. The point of a first draft is to get all of your ideas written down and trust future you to make sense of it all. The point of a fight draft is to add flesh to the storyboard. This is also where you want to start nailing down the fundamentals, with a particular eye towards flow. If you're like me and you write up a 5k word storyboard for a fight that needs to be 1800 words at the most, this is a really good time to make some judicious cuts to the overall fight. Don't worry if the fight still feels a little janky during this phase of the procedings; you'll still have time to clean it up in the final draft. 

5. Final Draft: So you've written your fight draft and you've plonked it into the story where it's supposed to go. Now what? If you're anything like me, you lock the thing in a drawer and forget about it for a few weeks before you go back and edit anything. The final draft is the result of editing and revising the fight as part of the story as a whole. This is the point where you smooth out any residual jank, make sure it fits seemlessly into the story, and sometimes make the painful decision to start from scratch if it's just not working.  

Now, we're going to go into a lot greater detail on all of these here in a minute, but before we do, I want to point out a couple of things. 

Firstly, I know this is my list, but I don't always follow all of the steps, all of the time. I have a fair amount of experience writing fights, so it's not necessary to do a full conceptualization or research phase every time. I also sometimes like to blend the fight draft and final draft. It's not always necessary to do both, because, for the most part, I know what I'm doing. This guide is meant to be a by-the-numbers walkthrough for beginners or people who are looking to improve. If you also know what you're doing, you might not benefit from following it to the letter. Use your discretion. 

Secondly, this is my process. I freely admit that I'm not wired up in the head the same way that everyone else is, and what works for me might not work for everyone else. Don't beat your head against the wall trying to make it work for you if it doesn't click. Ideally, you'll want to take as much or as little of this as you need to build your process, one that's going to work for you and let you develop as a writer. 

Thirdly, I am not an expert by any means. I am, at best, an amateur with more experience with an average bear. I've built this process over the course of years and I'd like to think I can make it work, but I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. Don't follow anything I say blindly. You should still do your own research and form your own opinions off the best information you can. If this helps inform those opinions, great. If not, well, that's why I said do your own. 

Anyway, with that, let's get started.