Story Bible Template
The novelist's series bible: nine sections for the facts you'd otherwise reread the book to find, and a tag on every entry so each new book builds on the last one without contradicting it.
Create a setting card — no sign-upA story bible is the reference document for a novel: who the characters are, what the places look like, the rules of the world, the dates, the clues you've planted, and how you spell everything. A series bible is the same document kept across several books, with a tag on each entry saying whether it's established canon, new in this book, changing in this book, or retired. This template has nine sections (books, characters, places, world rules, timeline, threads and clues, style sheet, open questions, change log), comes filled with an invented example, and downloads as Excel, Word, or PDF. TV writers use “show bible” for a pitch document; this one is for writing the books.
Or fill it in online, right in LitMemo.
Create a setting card — no sign-upTemplate preview
One row from the Characters section of the example
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Name · Role | Maren Holt · protagonist, bookkeeper |
| Born · Age in Book 1 | 1990 · 34 (Book 1 is set in spring 2024) |
| Fixed physical details | Gray eyes, left-handed, burn scar on her right wrist |
| Voice and speech habits | Counts things when she's nervous. Calls her brother “Eli,” never “Elijah.” |
| Wants · Secret or wound | To protect her father's name · hasn't been on a boat since she was nine |
| Pronunciation | MAIR-en (for the audiobook narrator) |
| First mentioned | Book 1, ch. 1 |
| Series tag | Series canon |
Printable blank version
The Excel file has a tab per section, each starting with example rows and, where it applies, a dropdown for the series tag; it also opens in Google Sheets and Numbers. The Word and PDF versions have the same nine sections as tables with blank rows, for typing or printing.
Or fill it in online, right in LitMemo.
Create a setting card — no sign-upField guide
Write down what you'd otherwise have to reread the manuscript to find. Examples come from an invented small-town mystery series, Harbor Lights, whose first book, The Salt Ledger, is set in spring 2024.
The nine sections
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Books | One row per book: title, in-story dates, a one-paragraph summary, and where the series arc stands at the end. This is the page you read before starting the next book. | Book 1, The Salt Ledger: spring 2024, about six weeks. The 1987 inquiry is reopened; who set the cannery fire is still open. |
| Characters | Birth year and age in Book 1, fixed physical details, voice and speech habits, what they want, what they hide, who they're related to, and how to pronounce the name. Record what readers can check. | Maren Holt: born 1990, 34 in Book 1, gray eyes, left-handed. Calls her brother “Eli,” never “Elijah.” |
| Places | What each place looks, sounds, and smells like, plus the fixed facts: layout, distances, opening hours, and who is usually there. | Gullhaven, Maine: pop. 1,900, one road in, no cell signal once you're out past the breakwater. |
| World rules | Whatever constrains your characters. In fantasy that's the magic and its costs; in a contemporary novel it's the institutions, laws, and routines the plot depends on. | The harbor board meets the first Tuesday; votes need four of seven. The ferry stops in November. |
| Timeline | Dated events, including backstory that's only mentioned, with everyone's age at the time. Birth years let you check any age against any date. | Oct 12, 1987: the storm, three men drowned. Reese was 24, so he's 61 in Book 1. |
| Threads and clues | Each subplot, clue, or setup: where it was planted, where it was hinted, where it pays off, and whether it's still open. | The $40 cash advance: planted ch. 1, explained ch. 14. Who set the fire: still open. |
| Style sheet | Invented names and terms with their spelling and pronunciation, your capitalization and hyphenation choices, and book-level decisions like tense and point of view. Copy editors build the same kind of list for a manuscript. | Gullhaven, one word (GULL-hay-ven). Boat names in italics: the Marigold. |
| Open questions | Things you haven't decided yet, with the book or chapter where you have to decide them. | Who set the cannery fire? Decide before the Book 2 midpoint. |
| Change log | How entries move on from book to book: what an entry was at the end of one book, what it becomes in the next, and the chapter where the change happens on the page. | Cannery: closed at the end of Book 1, reopens as a co-op in Book 2, ch. 2. |
The series tag on every entry
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Series canon | Established in a finished book. Later books build on it. | Maren's eye color; the date of the 1987 storm. |
| New in this book | First appears in the book you're writing. It becomes series canon when the book is finished. | Ada Moss's granddaughter, introduced in Book 2. |
| Changed in this book | It moves on in the story: a new job, a reopened building, a relationship that ends. Log where it happens on the page, so the earlier book stays correct as written. | The cannery reopens as a co-op. |
| Retired | No longer in play: a character who left, a place that burned. Keep the entry so nobody comes back by accident. | Calvin Reese leaves town after Book 1. |
Plain-text version (copy & paste)
The nine sections as plain text, for Google Docs, Word, Notion, Scrivener, or a notebook.
■ BOOKS Book | Title | In-story dates | What happens (one paragraph) | Where the series arc stands at the end ■ CHARACTERS Name | Role | Born | Age in Book 1 | Fixed physical details | Voice / speech | Wants | Secret | Relationships | Pronunciation | First mentioned | Series tag ■ PLACES Place | Type | Looks / sounds / smells | Fixed facts (layout, distances, hours) | Who is usually here | First mentioned | Series tag ■ WORLD RULES Rule | What it allows | What it forbids or costs | Who knows it | First mentioned | Series tag ■ TIMELINE Date | Event | Who | Ages at the time | Shown or mentioned | Book, ch. | Series tag ■ THREADS AND CLUES Thread or clue | Planted | Hints | Paid off | Open / paid off | Series tag ■ STYLE SHEET Word or name | Use | Don't use | Category | Pronunciation | Notes ■ OPEN QUESTIONS Question | Why it matters | Decide by | Answer ■ CHANGE LOG Book | Entry | At the end of the previous book | In this book | Where it changes on the page Series tags: Series canon · New in this book · Changed in this book · Retired
Story bible, series bible, show bible
Novelists use story bible and series bible for the same kind of document; series bible just means it spans several books. In television, a show bible (also called a series bible) is a document for pitching a show and briefing a writers' room: premise, characters, tone, and episode ideas, written before the show exists. Search for series bible template and most results are that TV version. This page is the novelist's version, built for looking things up while you write.
When to start one
- Before the first draft: a light version. Main characters, the places you know, the rules the plot depends on. Leave the rest empty.
- After the first draft: the most accurate moment. Reread and copy in what the draft actually established, including the details you improvised.
- Before Book 2: if you didn't keep one, build it now from Book 1, because Book 2 is where the contradictions start.
Keeping it current
- Record what you would look up. A one-off detail that never comes up again doesn't need an entry.
- Update at a fixed point: after every chapter, or after every finished book. Some series writers update only once a book is final, so details that change during revision don't end up in the canon.
- Keep one master copy for the whole series. A separate copy for each book starts disagreeing with the others the day you make it.
- Write the chapter in First mentioned. When you're unsure, it takes you straight to the line in the manuscript.
- Once a book is published, its facts are fixed. If a later book needs something different, make it happen in the story, or plan to correct the earlier book's next edition.
How to fill in this template
Long books and series break in small places: an eye color, an age that doesn't add up, a town that was on the coast in Book 1. Readers notice, and you can't check every fact by rereading 300,000 words. A story bible is where each fact lives once, with a pointer back to the chapter that established it.
Start with the sections your genre needs most. A mystery needs Threads and clues from day one; an epic fantasy needs World rules and Timeline; a contemporary romance may need little beyond Characters and a style sheet. Empty sections cost nothing.
The series tag turns a story bible into a series bible. Series canon is the layer every later book builds on. When something moves on in the story, tag it Changed in this book and log the chapter where it happens, so a year from now you can tell a planned change from a mistake.
If you keep the bible in LitMemo, a world holds all the books in a series: characters, settings, timeline events, foreshadowing, and the outline are shared across the world, and you choose which ones each book uses. In a chapter you can @mention a character or setting to bring up its entry while you write, and search covers the manuscript and the entries together, which answers “where did I first say that?”
Fill the template in four steps
Fill the sections your genre needs most
Start with characters, places, and the rules your plot depends on. Leave the other sections empty until you need them.
Note where each fact first appears
Write the book and chapter in First mentioned, so every entry points back to the line in the manuscript.
Tag every entry for the series
Mark each entry series canon, new in this book, changed in this book, or retired, and log every change in the Change log.
Update it at a fixed point
After each chapter or each finished book, add what the draft established and close the questions you answered.
Better together
Work it straight into your story
This template maps to these LitMemo features — fill it in online and everything auto-links:
Want to write it better? Start with these
Frequently asked questions
What should a story bible include?
What's the difference between a story bible and a series bible?
Is a novel series bible the same as a TV show bible?
Book one is finished. Is it too late to start a series bible?
What if Book 2 needs something Book 1 established to be different?
How detailed should a story bible be?
Or fill it in online — make the setting card right here
Start without signing up, then link the setting to characters and chapters