Young Writers Society

I keep hearing lately of a "book bible", where people note down every bit of information from their book/book series into a document to ensure they don't make any errors.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first book in a planned 4 book series, and have not yet started one of these "bibles". I'm unsure whether to start one or not, I know I would have to invest a lot of time in it, however, the series is quite complex and a proper reference rather than just a scattering of documents would be useful.

So, it would be especially useful if you have written one of these, but either way, what do you think? Is it worth it or just unnecessary?

Thanks!

If you're writing a complex fantasy, then having some sort of notes is rather important to keep everything straight.

However, I don't believe a "bible" with absolutely everything is really critical.

My focus has always been on only what I need to get the story done. So my only notes that have any sort of detail include the political systems, lots of magic information, the overriding social attitude along with the shifts in social attitudes from province to province, and the main sources of trade inside the country. I also have more "minor" things like character birthdays (somewhere...) and other details that are hard to keep track of.

All of this is about 10, maybe 15 thousand words. I probably have more buried somewhere in memory, but if I were to sit down and put everything in my head on paper, I'd get so bored and sick of the story I'd probably stop writing it for awhile, lol Hence only focusing on what is critical.

Figure out how much information you want to keep track of and write down. Don't, by any means, feel you have to write down absolutely everything or else you're not keeping track of it. Sometimes, it's fun to let details evolve.

Eh, don't mix characters up. Names and personalities. Sometimes characters blur into each other and its a pain for the reader, so its best if you keep 'em straight. Have a good idea of the story arch and don't be a pain like George RR martin and kill all the good ones off.

Hope that helps!

YATTA!

A big note on GRRM:

He's not afraid to get messy. If a character has to die for plot, they have to die for plot, and authors shouldn't be afraid of doing that. People you don't want to die do so in real life all the time, and forcing characters to live because you like them is a surefire way to stunt the story.