Definition
A world bible is your private encyclopedia for your story's universe. It's where you record every decision you've made about your world: how the magic works, who rules what, what happened in the great war, what people eat, how the economy functions, and anything else that might come up during drafting. The term comes from television, where 'series bibles' keep writing rooms consistent across seasons and multiple writers. For novelists, it serves the same purpose: a single source of truth you can check instead of rereading your manuscript every time you forget a detail.
Why It Matters
The longer your story gets, the more details you'll need to keep straight. By chapter thirty, you won't remember the name of the tavern from chapter three, or whether your character's eyes are blue or green, or which direction the river flows. A world bible catches those inconsistencies before they reach the page. It also saves time; instead of searching through three hundred pages of manuscript for a detail, you look it up in one document.
Types of World Bible
Famous Examples
Jordan maintained thousands of pages of notes on his world. When Brandon Sanderson finished the series after Jordan's death, those notes were essential for maintaining consistency.
The Star Trek series bible is one of the most famous in television, establishing the rules, tone, and universe that hundreds of writers had to follow across decades of episodes.
Sanderson maintains detailed world documents for the Cosmere universe, tracking cross-series connections and magic system rules across multiple book series.
Common Mistakes
The world bible is a tool, not the product. Set a time limit for initial worldbuilding, then start drafting. Update the bible as you write.
Organize by category (characters, locations, magic, history) with a searchable structure. If you can't find a detail in under a minute, your system needs simplifying.
When you change a character's name or retcon a plot detail during drafting, update the world bible immediately. An outdated bible is worse than no bible because it gives you false confidence.
Try It Yourself
Start a world bible for your current project in 15 minutes. Create four sections: Characters (name, role, one key detail for each), Locations (name, one-sentence description), Rules (magic system, technology, or social rules), and Timeline (five key events in chronological order). Keep each entry to one or two lines. You can expand later.
Keep every detail of your world in one searchable, organized reference that grows alongside your manuscript.
Your world, organized and searchable
Novelium's Story Bible keeps all your worldbuilding in one place: characters, locations, rules, history, and connections. Update it as you write, search it when you need a detail, and never lose track of your world again.