One of the side projects I have been planning involves compiling an Author Bible. I figure part of this will include assorted information about my world, races, and timeline. I also plan to put together dossiers for each of my characters, detailing characteristics and such at different points in time (namely at the start of each book).
A lot of this information I have written down, and a lot of it, I know. But when things like stories go through multiple iterations, it is easy to forget what exactly is in a given draft. It seems like creating one place to hold all the ideas (and updates) should help with regard to keeping things straight, like which characters are choosing which careers, for instance. It should also help with mapping out the trajectory of the character and story arcs throughout the series.
That last part will be useful to keep the series progressing as it should. I currently have a rough idea for the trajectory of the series (loosely split by book), though some of the details are proving a little difficult to pin down. Admittedly, several of those details involve characters who don’t follow the standard path most people do, but that is part of what makes them rather interesting.
So, current author bible plan:
- Character dossiers
- Updated map of world
- Current standings (pre-book 1) of each of the races and realms (politically, culturally, etc)
- Outline/timeline of the series as a whole
- Outlines/timelines of the individual books
- Historic information (events prior to the start of the series)
- (Other topics?)
The above is subject to changes, and not necessarily in the above order, but it seems like it should at least be a start.
What is your take on Author bibles? How do you organize your information? What kinds of information do you like to have at your fingertips? I look forward to hearing from you!
~ Theresa
You may unsubscribe at any time.
Great post 😁
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂