Cine Novelist

Guide

How to write a story bible

Want the fill-in template? Use our free story bible template. This page explains how to write one that stays useful.

A story bible is the reference book for a story's world: its characters, rules, history, places and tone. Writers use it to stay consistent across drafts. Showrunners use it to keep a room aligned. Producers use it to understand what they're buying.

Most bibles fail in the same way. They grow into a mix of what the script actually establishes and everything the writer has ever imagined, with no way to tell the two apart. Six months later, nobody knows which "facts" are canon.

The one rule: law and hypothesis

Cine Novelist's Bible is built on a single distinction:

  • Law: what the pages establish. If it's on the page, it's law.
  • Hypothesis: what you believe, intend or are exploring, but haven't put on the page.

Label every entry as one or the other. When a hypothesis makes it into a draft, promote it to law and note the page.

What goes in a story bible

1. Logline and premise. One sentence, then one paragraph. 2. Tone and genre. Comparable titles, and what this story is not. 3. The ending you won't betray. The image or choice the whole story is built towards. Write it down early, because it protects the story from helpful notes. 4. Characters. For each: want, need, wound, contradiction, and voice. Mark each trait as law (page ref) or hypothesis. 5. World rules. How things work: technology, magic, institutions, money. Mark each as law or hypothesis. 6. History and backstory. Usually mostly hypothesis. That's fine, as long as it's labelled. 7. Places. Key locations and what they mean. 8. Open questions. What you haven't decided yet.

An example entry (fictional)

CHARACTER: Mara Kell
Want:          To leave the town without being seen to leave.  [LAW, p.3]
Wound:         Her brother's drowning.                         [HYPOTHESIS]
Contradiction: Keeps every light on; hates being watched.      [LAW, pp.12, 44]
Voice:         Short sentences; never asks direct questions.   [LAW]
Ending:        She does not go back inside.                    [LAW, p.98]

Common mistakes

  • Writing backstory as if it were canon.
  • Letting the bible drift from the current draft.
  • No "open questions" section, so undecided things harden by default.
  • A bible so long nobody reads it. Put the essentials first.

Building it on the desk

Bring a world, a premise or a draft. Bible produces a working book with law and hypothesis kept apart. Use Brainstorm to think out loud with another brain. The talk stays talk, and nothing said in a brainstorm counts as page evidence until you pick a beat, send it to the Bible and confirm. Each Send is a confirmed Ask and spends normal credits.

Questions

What is a story bible?

A reference document for a story's world: characters, rules, history, places and tone, used to keep drafts and teams consistent.

What is the difference between law and hypothesis in a bible?

Law is what the pages establish. Hypothesis is what you intend or are exploring. Cine Novelist's Bible keeps them apart.

How long should a story bible be?

Long enough to be useful, and short enough to be read. Put the essentials first.

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