Book Bible. When I first heard the phrase, I thought it sounded a bit sacrilegious. During a class about writing a fictional series, the instructor highly recommended the creation of a book bible to help an author get organized and keep the details straight. There are a lot of good articles online about how to build a book bible. (e.g., https://atmospherepress.com/creating-a-story-bible/)
A book bible is alternately called a story bible or series bible, but the concept is the same. It’s a master reference document containing all the facts and details of your fictional universe. It’s an author’s tailor-made personal encyclopedia, a means of ensuring consistency and continuity. A well-developed book bible provides facts at your fingertips and facilitates the writing process.
A variety of key components must be included in a book bible to build a solid foundation for a series. First and foremost are the character profiles, which should include names, ages, physical descriptions, backstories, professions, personality traits, unique quirks, and relationships. Another important element to include is the setting. The town name should be identified, along with the geographic landmarks, town layout, relevant businesses, and location of the main character’s home, etc. Recurring themes, running jokes, prominent pets, character and relationship arcs, and other notable details can be included as well. Some authors include plot points, research notes, and even recipes. Book bibles can be extremely detailed or bare bones, whatever suits your needs and preferences.
My cozy mysteries are set in the real world in modern times. My book bible was relatively simple and straightforward to construct. One for fantasy or historical fiction would require the inclusion of many more worldbuilding facts and details.
My books are my babies, born from my creative mind. I never expected to forget any of the details. However, when you’re polishing your first book for submission, revising your second book for your editor, and simultaneously writing your third book, the facts can get fuzzy. Hopefully, my book bible will help clear any hovering clouds of confusion and avoid mix-ups. Now, I just need a tool to help me stop mixing up names and calling my grandkids my dog’s name!
