![The template open in Strokes: a banner picture of a chain of small islands stretching out across a calm sea at dawn, above the title “Series bible: [Series title]”.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-light.59ddea8e.webp&w=3840&q=75)
![The template open in Strokes: a banner picture of a chain of small islands stretching out across a calm sea at dawn, above the title “Series bible: [Series title]”.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-dark.bafc65e5.webp&w=3840&q=75)
When to use it
- Planning a trilogy before book one is revised, so the ending can be set up early
- Drafting book three and checking what books one and two already put in print
- Running a mystery or romance series where each book stands alone but the cast, places and ages carry over
- Handing a series to a cowriter, editor or audiobook narrator who needs the facts in one place
How to use this template
- Write the overview while book one is still a draft
Fill in the series promise and the series question while book one is still your WIP. The promise is what readers come back for: each book in a village mystery series solves one murder with the same detective, and each book in a small-town romance series pairs a new couple and ends in an HEA. The question is what the final book answers. Two sentences now let you plant clues in book one instead of retrofitting them in book three.
- Log facts from the finished text, not the outline
The bible records what the final draft says, because that is what readers have. When you finish a chapter, add every new name, age, injury, rule and promise it introduces, with the book and chapter number. Plans that are not on the page yet go in the open threads table until they are. Plotters may fill the series arc first and pantsers the continuity log as they go.
- Store birth dates, not ages
Put each character's birth date in the characters table and work out their age in each book from the master timeline. A written age goes stale the moment a sequel opens two years later. A date does not. The same goes for anything that changes with time: how long someone has held a title, how long a war has run.
- Read the bible before you draft the next book
Before book two, read the open threads and the last rows of the timeline. Decide which threads this book pays off, which it moves forward and which it leaves alone, and mark them. During revision, use the continuity log as a checklist.
Series bible vs story bible
Writers use the two names loosely, and plenty of series authors call their master file a story bible. The useful difference is scope. A story bible covers one book: its characters, settings, rules and plot. A series bible covers the set. It holds everything a story bible does, plus what only exists across books: their order, the arc that spans them, how each character ages and changes from one book to the next, a timeline that includes the gaps between books, and the threads you set up early and owe the reader later.
| Part | Story bible | Series bible |
|---|---|---|
| PartScope | Story bibleOne book | Series bibleEvery book, in order |
| PartPlot | Story bibleThis book's arc | Series bibleEach book's arc and the arc across all of them |
| PartCharacters | Story bibleWho they are in this story | Series bibleAges and changes, book by book |
| PartTimeline | Story bibleThe events of the book | Series bibleBackstory, every book and the gaps between |
| PartLoose ends | Story bibleTied off by the last chapter | Series bibleTracked until a later book pays them off |
For a standalone, the story bible template is enough. When book one turns into book one of something, promote it: add the book list, the series arc and the open threads, and move the facts book two must respect into the continuity log. The last section of this template overlaps with a copyeditor's style sheet. If an earlier book was copyedited, its style sheet is a ready-made start for that section.
A filled-in series bible example
An entry is useful if you can act on it a year from now without rereading the book. That takes three things: the exact detail, where it appears, and what it rules out later. Here is part of a filled-in bible for an invented trilogy.
Series promise. Each book is a heist against one of the coast's guilds. The crew gets out, and every job costs one of them something permanent.
Continuity log.
- Ines's left hand. Loses the last two fingers in the book 1 finale (chapter 31). From book 2 on her left grip is weak: she deals cards right-handed and climbs slowly. She can no longer pick locks.
- Tide bells. Ring three times at slack water and never after dark (book 1, chapter 4). Book 2's escape needs a bell at midnight, so earlier in book 2 someone has to break the rule or fake the sound on the page.
- Marro. Born in the spring of 793. Book 1 opens in autumn 812, so he is 19. Book 2 opens in autumn 814, so he is 21.
Open thread. The sealed letter from Ines's mother, left unopened (book 1, chapter 12). Pay off in book 3, before the lighthouse job. Status: open. Mention it once in book 2 so readers remember it exists.
Keeping the bible current
- Update it at the end of each writing session. Five minutes while the chapter is fresh beats rereading a whole book before the sequel.
- Keep one bible for the whole series, not one per book, so a single search finds every mention of a name or a rule.
- Log deliberate changes. If a later book changes an established fact on purpose, note the change and the reason, so you or an editor don't "fix" it back.
For the world rules section, our guide to writing a fantasy novel covers magic with limits and costs, and the character profile template goes deeper on each main character than one row in a table can.
The TV series bible
In television, a show bible (also called a series bible) is the reference a writing staff works from: the characters and their histories, the settings and the rules of the show's world, kept current as episodes are written so later seasons stay consistent. The word also covers a pitch bible, a shorter document that sells a show before it exists. A novelist's series bible is the first kind, and you are the whole writers' room.
Frequently asked questions
What should a series bible include?
The series promise, a list of books with each one's main arc, the arc across the books, characters with birth dates and how they change, world rules, a master timeline, a continuity log of facts already on the page, open threads waiting for a payoff, and a style sheet for invented names.
When should I start a series bible?
As soon as you know book one will have a sequel, ideally before you revise book one, so you can plant threads early. If you are already on book three, build it by rereading the earlier books and logging facts as you go. It is slow once and quick after that.
Should I use a document, a spreadsheet or a wiki?
Use whatever you will open every day. A single document is the easiest to search and share. A spreadsheet suits a long timeline, and a personal wiki a very large cast. This template downloads as Markdown or Word, so it opens in most writing tools.
