A story bible template for continuity

Build a reference you will actually consult

A story bible is a reference for the facts and rules your manuscript depends on. Its value comes from being easy to search, not from being encyclopedic. Start with the things you have already had to look up twice: a character's surname, the number of days since an accident, or who knows where a missing key is. You can add categories when they solve a real problem.

In our original fictional example, a courier named Dev carries letters through a city whose bridges close at different hours. The story does not initially need centuries of civic history. It does need bridge hours, delivery dates, and a record of which characters have read each letter. Those facts determine which scenes are possible.

Distinguish canon, inference, and plans

Use a status field. “Established” means the manuscript states or clearly demonstrates the fact. “Inferred” means you currently believe it follows, but may need to verify the text. “Planned” means it belongs to an outline and has not happened in the accepted draft. Without this distinction, a clever future twist can accidentally leak into a character's present knowledge.

For Dev, “The south bridge closes at eight” may be established in chapter two. “The guard accepts bribes” could be only an inference from a suspicious exchange. “Dev bribes the guard in chapter nine” is a plan. Keep all three if useful, but do not treat them as equally binding. When a plan changes, its deletion should not rewrite the past by accident.

Track time with an anchor and a consequence

Choose one clear time anchor: the festival opening, a departure, or day one of the investigation. Record scenes relative to that anchor before worrying about decorative dates. For each scene, note the start, duration, travel needed, and any deadline it affects. You can discover a contradiction by asking whether Dev can cross town before eight, even if the reader never sees a precise clock time.

A simple entry might read: “Day two, 7:20 p.m.; leaves west post office; forty minutes to south bridge on foot; rain slows the stairs.” Now a twenty-minute conversation has a visible consequence. If you later shorten the route, inspect the scenes whose tension depended on the old distance. Timeline edits tend to have effects beyond the sentence you change.

Give knowledge and objects their own records

Event history does not automatically tell you what each character knows. Dev may deliver a sealed letter without reading it, while the recipient knows its contents. Record who learned a fact, when, and how. This prevents dialogue from quietly granting everyone access to information that only the narrator possesses.

Objects need similar care when they matter to the plot. Track the original, any copies, the current holder, and the last confirmed location. A lost letter and a copied letter create different problems. For a key, record what it opens rather than merely its color. You do not need to inventory every cup in a kitchen; focus on objects whose location or properties change a character's options.

Update after accepting the draft

Keep a small “changes to transfer” note while revising, then update the bible after deciding which version to keep. Otherwise your reference may end up describing a passage you deleted. Add a chapter or scene reference beside important facts. That reference lets you distinguish a genuine continuity error from an old note that simply needs correction.

If two entries conflict, return to the manuscript and choose which version serves the story. A story bible is not automatically more authoritative than the prose. It is a way to make deliberate decisions visible. After resolving a conflict, search for related terms and consequences: changing a bridge's closing hour may affect a missed meeting, a witness account, and the timing of the final delivery.

Copy the smallest useful template

The template below works in a document or spreadsheet. Start with a handful of entries and expand only when needed. Review the unresolved-questions section before a new chapter so that an open possibility does not become an accidental answer. Archive discarded ideas separately if you want to preserve them for later.

AIBookCraft's planner can suggest a cast and story beats, and its web workspace supports private manual writing and editing with a free account. Pro adds AI chapter drafting. This guide describes a manual reference method; it does not claim the product automatically maintains a comprehensive story bible or catches every continuity problem. Keep the reference somewhere you can inspect and update yourself.

PROJECT
Working title / viewpoint / tense:

FACT ENTRY
Category: character / timeline / place / rule / object / knowledge
Fact:
Status: established / inferred / planned
Chapter or scene evidence:
Who knows this, and how:
Consequences if changed:
Last checked:

TIMELINE
Anchor date:
Scene / start / duration / travel / deadline:

OPEN QUESTIONS
Question / options / decision needed by:

REVISION LOG
Old fact / new fact / affected scenes:

Sources: AIBookCraft official product facts