For novelists, before or mid-draft
Story Bible Template for Your Novel
Your cast, places, world rules and open questions, each fact tied to its chapter, in a story bible short enough to check mid-scene.
How it works
What is a story bible for a novel?
A story bible is a reference document for one novel that records your cast, your places, the rules of your world and the questions you haven't settled. It helps you keep names, faces and facts consistent from the first chapter to the last. Editor and book coach Lewis Jorstad calls story bibles "quick one to two page cheat sheets"1 to look through before you make a change. This template stays close to that size: a header and four sections.
Write each fact down when it reaches the page, with its chapter, so the bible matches the book, not your memory. Give each rule its limits and the chapter that first shows it, so you can see it's set up before the plot uses it. Fantasy novelist Brandon Sanderson warns against using magic to solve problems2 before you've explained how it works, and writes that rule-based magic is about consistency, not rationality3. Keep undecided points as questions, so a guess never passes for a fact. When chapters disagree, log both lines, then fix one.
Tell River about your story in the box at the top, then click Edit with AI. The bible opens in River with a first pass for you to change, beside the filled example. Leave the box empty to start from a blank bible. Already drafting? Drop in your chapters once it opens: River records each name, place and rule with its chapter and a short quote, and flags facts that disagree. Go deeper on people with a character bible, or across books with a series bible.
How it works
From first idea to a bible you'll use
Download it or open it in River
Get two Word files free, the blank bible and a filled example, or click Edit with AI to open them in River.
Tell River about your story
Optional: describe it in the box first, or drop in chapters once it opens. Over about 85,000 words? A PDF lets River read it all.
Check the first pass
River fills the cast, places, rules and open questions for you to change. Facts from chapters keep their chapter and a short quote.
Keep it current
Log new names, places and rules as you write, and tick off settled questions. On a finished draft, run the plot hole finder.
Cast
- Ines Varga, 34Ferry pilot. Wants the last ferry to keep running.
- Commissioner Hale, 60Relocation officer. Wants the town empty by October 1.
Places
- Low HarborHalf underwater. The drowned church's bell rings at high tide. Diesel and kelp on the wind.
- The Relay StationOn the ridge. Letters sorted by lamplight beside the only working phone.
What you'll get
Cast, places, rules and open questions for one book
- Your cast in brief, with what each one wants
- Places and rules, each tied to the chapter that shows it
- Open questions, plus facts that disagree between chapters
Before and after
Your chapter in. A working bible out.
Ines Varga had been on the Low Harbor run for nine winters, and she had never seen the water this high. Below the ferry steps, the drowned church's bell was ringing with no one at the rope. A notice on the harbor wall gave the rate in council type: three meters a month, no exceptions.
Cast: Ines Varga. Ferry pilot, "on the Low Harbor run for nine winters" (Ch. 1). Low Harbor: the drowned church's bell, "ringing with no one at the rope" (Ch. 1). Rules: The tide line moves inland "three meters a month, no exceptions" (Ch. 1). Open questions: Who posted the notice? How long until the water reaches the ferry steps?
Each fact keeps its chapter and the chapter's own words. Facts that disagree between chapters go under Continuity flags.
What lands in your doc
What's in the story bible template
- The book at a glance
Title, the book in one line, genre and readers, point of view and tense, time span and target length. - Cast
One row per person: name, role, key facts, what they want and the chapter where they first appear. - Places
Three sensory details for each place, who is there, what happens there and the chapter that first shows it. - Rules
What readers will hold you to, from magic or law to genre promises, each with its limits and chapter. - Open questions and continuity flags
A checklist of what you haven't decided, and a table for facts that disagree between chapters. - Example Story Bible: Low Harbor
A filled bible for an invented novel, with chapter quotes, a settled question and two continuity flags.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is a story bible, and how is it different from an outline?
A story bible records what is true in your book; an outline plans what happens. The bible holds who people are, what places look like and how the world works, while the outline maps the plot chapter by chapter. Book coach Lewis Jorstad keeps his own bible short1 and leaves everything else to his outline. Plan the plot with the novel outline template.
What should a story bible template include?
At minimum, a story bible template has four parts: your cast with key facts and wants, your places, the rules readers will hold you to, and your open questions. Count genre promises as rules: Romance Writers of America says every romance needs an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending4. Add extras such as maps or timelines only if you'll keep them current.
How is a story bible different from a character bible or series bible?
They differ in scope. A story bible covers one book's cast, places, rules and open questions, kept short enough to use while you draft. A character bible goes deep on people: fixed facts, how each one changes and how they talk. A series bible spans several books, tracking what book one sets up and later books pay off.
When should I start a story bible?
Start one as soon as you catch yourself scrolling back to check a fact, and before you revise at the latest. Book coach Lewis Jorstad strongly recommends one1 to anyone preparing to edit a novel. Carol Saller, who has copyedited for decades, notes that copyeditors check consistency and continuity5, so give your copyeditor a copy.
Is this story bible template free?
Yes. Download the blank story bible and the filled Low Harbor example as two Word documents, with no account needed. Edit with AI opens both in River, which is free to start: fill in the bible, share it or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
What does Edit with AI do?
It opens the story bible in a free River workspace, beside the filled example. If you describe your story in the box on this page first, River writes a first pass for you to change. If not, it offers to fill the bible in with you. You can also drop in chapters, and it records each fact with its chapter and a short quote.
Is this a children's story Bible?
No, though it's an easy mix-up. A children's story Bible retells Bible stories for young readers, which is a different book entirely. This page is for novelists keeping track of the people, places and rules in a book they're writing. If you came for the other kind, try the children's religion shelf at a bookshop or library.
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