Writer's Workshop: For the Bible Tells Me So · 4:43am Jan 7th, 2017
No, this isn't a post about the use of Biblical allegories (though I definitely need to do that some time). This is more about a story planning tool to help you keep track of all of the information in your story. I'm sure there are tons of different terms for it, but the one I've latched onto is the "story bible." Basically, a story bible is a compendium of all of the important facts about your story. Let's go over a few of the things you should have in it:
1. Plot timeline. If the characters in your story are running out of time, this should be an actual timeline, with all of the major events in the story written out in order and approximately timestamped. At the very least, you should know which things happen before and after other things. This is to help you avoid continuity errors, like a character being in the wrong location or knowing something they haven't learned yet. If your characters are running out of Choices, then... actually, you should still use a timeline, but you particularly want to mark off when choices are being marked off. For example, in Aladdin, you could make a "choiceline" for each time Aladdin expends one of his wishes. That way, you know after wish 2 that Aladdin is down to his last wish and is torn between whether he should keep his promise to free the genie or use his last wish selfishly.
This is particularly helpful if you have multiple stories going on at once. That way, you can track what's happening at the same time for each of your stories. You want to make sure everything lines up correctly, or you'll get more continuity errors. Timelines are also critical if you're writing a story involving time travel, or one where the story isn't told in chronological order. Your timeline will help you keep track of what really happened and help you manage any reveals you have planned.
2. Character descriptions. You should have every detail you've mentioned about your characters in here, as well as everything you intend to do beginning-to-end with them. First, put down their name and any pseudonyms or nicknames they have. This may sound stupid, but considering I kept forgetting whether I'd changed Twilight's name to "Black Nova" or "Dark Nova" in The Queen Beckons, this step shouldn't be underestimated. After that, physical descriptions. You don't necessarily need to have every detail mapped out ahead of time, but if you mention their eyes are green in one scene, put it in the bible so you don't forget and say they're blue later. From here, you might also want to write down some of their key personality traits, important things they know/don't know, how they feel about other characters, that sort of thing. Most of this you should have planned ahead of time, but sometimes new ideas pop up mid-draft. Not a problem, just remember to put it in the bible!
Critically, for each character that will change significantly, write in your bible how they change, and when in the story. That way, you have your arc all planned out and in easy access before you start writing. And if your characters remain static or end up holding steadfast, it will still behoove you to write down the struggles they do experience and how their moral character wavers, even up to the point where they stand true. One thing I would caution against is long paragraphs of backstory or other minor details. You want your bible to be easy to come back to so you can find specific data points. Brief, organized bullet points will make this much easier to follow. Write what's important!
3. Thematic Summary. Simply put, take all the thematic questions you're trying to explore and abbreviate them to something you can refer to at a moment's glance. Write something like "holding onto the past vs. living in the moment" or "blindly following others leads to regret." There's a good chance you have multiple conflicts and themes floating around, so write them all down and their relationships to each other. This way, as you write a scene, you can check it and remember what you're trying to achieve. Like I said in "How to Have a Point," every moment in your story should be infused with the thematic questions you're trying to answer.
Notice how I used abstract terms for my themes. "The past" and "the moment," "following others" and "regret." That's because these will show up in many different ways. For example, in The Queen Beckons again, I managed to slip in multiple examples of blind following leading to regret. Twilight blindly follows Selene, yes, but Lyra also obeys Celestia without much thought, and that leads to a regretful situation as well. Basically, if you keep it abstract, you've got more options to work with.
...Hmm. I'm running out of stuff to talk about. Oh, I know! How about I show you some of my old story bibles? (I'm never gonna finish these stories anyway, so... enjoy.) I made these like three or four years ago, so there's stuff I need to update on it. (I also called them "design sheets;" basically, they're rough-draft bibles.) For example, in the Mother and Child one here, I named a character "Sunset" before Sunset Shimmer was a thing. I had a plan to rename her to Sunfall, but... anyway. That's that one. Here's one for The Alice War, which features a "choiceline" of the deaths of each of the fighters in turn. Lastly, my very rough design sheet for A Call to Vespers, which at the very least explains the twist at the end. Honestly, I didn't have nearly enough prepared for this one, hence why the story never really coalesced. But hey, it did have axolotls in it modeled after the Bene Gesserit from Dune, so... there you go. Hopefully, you can start to see the inklings of what a story bible looks like. Or anyway, you can see how I used to organize my stories. Answer: not nearly well enough. 
Hm. I think Bookplayer posted a story bible for one story that just freaked me out. Sooo many lines. It would be somewhere in here I would think.
4372450
Hmm. I couldn't find it. Whatever the case, a story bible needs to be both of these things:
1. Simple enough that you can find something quickly.
2. Have all of the pertinent information about your plot, setting, characters, and themes.
Those two are kind of at odds with each other, but as long as you keep it brief, nothing should go too far. (Here we get back to "The Neverending (Back)Story.")
I tend to develop a 'postcard' bible that has all of the main character's names, quick descriptions of eye/mane/coat colors and relationships (wife/son/daughter) in a ten or fifteen line section that gets pushed down the page while I write. It's messy, but it beats writing 'She looked deep into his (color) eyes...' which I tend to do without the ability to do a quick peek. (And I still do things like spelling a name 'Pumpernickle' if I'm not watching) As an example in what I'm writing right now (because there's no way I'd spell these right through the whole document without a cheat sheet):
Syrette - name of batpony nurse
Caractère - old stallion at the paint store, means ‘character’ as in air of a place
Gratuité = Free (wife, passed away)
Sympathique - Nice, likable (granddaughter)
Powderpuff and Lemon Drops ‘Speedy Cargo’ shipping