Writer's Bible

What is a writer's bible? We hear the word bandied about, but what exactly does it mean? A writer's bible is a reference source that is created for each story, book, play or other writing project that a writer is involved in. It acts as a reference for keeping important threads together, for keeping track of time-lines, for keeping track of characters, plots and sub-plots. It can also be used for noting possible promotional blurbs, taglines and synopsis.

I created a bible for my 2010 NaNoWriMo project,and am very glad that I did. It allowed me to keep track of characters,the significant people in their lives, how they interacted, what defined them, and the sequence of events (past and present). It also allowed me to note how I had described things like cars,rooms, restaurants and such. As my characters moved in a very luxurious lifestyle, I needed to keep track of things like jewelry, designers,and the worlds of art and music.

A good bible can help prevent some very embarrassing mistakes, and is well worth putting the effort into.

(c) January 2011 Bonnie Cehovet