Revision
How to Find Plot Holes in Your Book
The five kinds of plot hole readers notice most, how to find each one, and how to fix them without a rewrite.
Story memory
How to Make a Story Bible
Answer in brief
A story bible is one place for every fact about your story: characters, places, objects, rules and timeline. Start small with the facts readers will notice, note the chapter each fact comes from, and update it after every chapter. Software can build and update it from your chapters for you.
AxiomStory publishes this reference. The pick reflects the criteria on this page. It is not a measured ranking of every tool.
What a story bible is
A story bible is your book's memory. TV writers use them so a team of writers keeps a show consistent across seasons. Novelists use them for the same reason: once a book passes a few dozen chapters, or grows into a series, no one can hold every detail in their head.
It is not a place to plan the plot. It records what is true in your story so far, so you can check new chapters against it.
What to put in it
Characters
- Full name, nicknames and how others address them
- Age or birth date, so the timeline holds
- What readers notice: eyes, hair, height, scars, a limp, a way of speaking
- Family, friends and enemies
- What they know, and from which chapter they know it
- Where they are at the end of each chapter
Places
- Name, where it is, how long it takes to travel there
- What it looks, sounds and smells like
- Who lives or works there
Objects and rules
- Important objects and who has them now
- How magic, technology or politics work, and what they can't do
Timeline
- The date or day of each chapter
- Key past events and when they happened
Try a character page
Try it
Make a character page
Note where each fact comes from
The most useful habit is writing the chapter next to every fact: "green eyes (ch 2)". When a later chapter disagrees, you can find the original line in seconds and decide which one is right. Without it, you end up searching the whole book.
Keep it up to date
A story bible that's ten chapters behind is worse than none, because it gives you false confidence. Update it right after you finish each chapter, while the details are fresh. Five minutes per chapter is easier than a weekend of catching up.
Ways to build one
A document or spreadsheet
Free and flexible. One heading or tab per character and place. It works well for a small cast, but every update is by hand.
Notes inside a writing app
Scrivener has a binder for notes next to your chapters. Novelcrafter has a codex that links character entries to mentions in your text. You still fill in the entries yourself.
Built from your chapters
AxiomStory reads your chapters and writes the pages for you: a page for every character, place and rule, with each fact linked to the chapter it came from. When a new chapter disagrees with an earlier one, it flags the two lines so you can choose.
Compared
| Tool | Best for | AI | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| AxiomStory | Novels and series of any length: a story wiki, plot hole checks, and pictures and voices for your characters | Yes. Reads your chapters, checks continuity, and suggests edits you approve. Never writes your book unless you ask | Free to start, no card. Plans from $20 a month |
| Novelcrafter | A codex of notes plus AI with your own key | Bring your own key, from $8 a month | $4 to $20 a month |
| Scrivener | Offline drafting and research | No | One time purchase |
| Google Docs | Free drafting and sharing with readers | Some | Free |
Questions and answers
What is the difference between a story bible and an outline?
An outline plans what will happen. A story bible records what is already true in the story, so you can keep later chapters consistent with it.
Do I need a story bible for a short book?
Not always. For a short book with a small cast, a single page of notes is often enough. It matters more as the book or series gets longer.
Can I make a story bible from a book I've already written?
Yes. Read through and note facts chapter by chapter, or import the chapters into a tool such as AxiomStory, which builds the pages from the text.
Sources for this entry
- AxiomStory: official site
- Novelcrafter: official site (novelcrafter.com)
- Scrivener: official site (literatureandlatte.com)
Practical guides and checklists are original editorial guidance. Official descriptions don't show how tools compare in use. Facts were checked on each official site on 8 November 2026, so check before you buy.
Keep reading
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Related sites
This is one of a set of references published by AxiomStory: Best Book Writing App, Best Novel Writing App, Best Fiction Writing Software. They share the same publisher and are not independent reviews.
Cite this entry
Best Book Writing Software. "How to Make a Story Bible." Reviewed 8 November 2026. https://bestbookwritingsoftware.com/story-bible/