How to Build a Series Bible That Actually Prevents Continuity Errors

•Urdr Team

If you write more than a short story, you eventually meet the same enemy:

Continuity drift.

Names change. Dates don’t line up. A character’s eye color flips between chapters. A magic rule that was “absolute” in Book 1 quietly disappears in Book 2.

A series bible is the antidote — but only if you run it like a system, not a document you “plan to update later”.

What a Series Bible Is (and Isn’t)

A series bible is a single source of truth for the facts that must stay consistent across:

  • Chapters
  • Books
  • POV changes
  • Subplots
  • Adaptations (audiobook/script/game)

It is not:

  • a “worldbuilding scrapbook” with infinite lore you never use
  • a second novel you maintain in parallel

The Minimum Bible That Works

If you want results fast, start with these buckets:

1) Characters (Actors)

Track:

  • canonical name + nicknames
  • physical traits that matter (scars, eye color, disability, tattoos)
  • relationships (who knows who, trust level)
  • motivations and fears
  • key possessions (what they carry matters)

2) Factions & Families (Groups)

Track:

  • purpose + ideology
  • resources and constraints (money, magic access, political power)
  • internal conflict (who disagrees, why)

3) Places (Locations)

Track:

  • travel times (this is where many novels break)
  • environmental constraints (weather, seasons, tides)
  • local rules (laws, taboos, taxes)

4) Rules (Systems)

Track:

  • magic/tech rules as testable statements ("teleportation requires line of sight")
  • costs and limits (what prevents easy solutions)
  • exceptions (if you allow exceptions, you must write them down)

5) Timeline (Events)

Track:

  • dates with cause/effect (not just a list)
  • ages of key characters at key moments
  • durations (journeys, recoveries, training arcs)

The One Habit That Makes or Breaks Your Bible

Update it at the end of every writing session.

Not “this weekend.” Not “after the draft.” Not “when I’m done with the chapter.”

Continuity doesn’t fail because you lack a template. It fails because updates are delayed until you forget what you changed.

A simple rule:

  • If it changes a fact, it goes into the bible the same day.

A Better Way to Think About It: Facts, Not Pages

Most writers store lore as pages in a wiki or a long doc. That’s fine early.

But when your canon grows, you need structured facts:

  • entities (character, place, faction)
  • attributes (eye color, birthplace, allegiance)
  • relationships (mentor-of, enemy-of, located-in)

This is the difference between:

  • searching text (slow, error-prone)
  • querying facts (fast, consistent)

Urdr is built around this idea: a world bible as structured data (the “Unified 7” entity model), so you can organize canon like a database.

How to Catch Errors Before Readers Do

A practical workflow you can run weekly:

  1. Pick 10 new facts added this week
  2. Ask: do any of these conflict with prior rules/timeline/relationships?
  3. Fix conflicts immediately (don’t “leave it for revision”)
  4. Add a short note explaining the resolution (what became canon?)

Urdr is also shipping a Consistency Engine to automate parts of this: retrieve relevant prior facts and highlight potential conflicts while you expand your world.

Next Step

If you want a series bible that stays coherent as it grows, start by structuring your canon into entities and facts.