Hello everyone! It’s great to be back on Paranormal
Romantics. This is my first post as a member of the blog in a few years and I'm so happy to be back. For those who don't know me, I write sci-fi and paranormal romance, some MF, some ménage, and some LGBTQ+. My recent series include Alien Next Door, Galactic Defenders, and Shifter Towers. You can find me here on the seventh of each month.
Today, as I work on the first book in a new series, I wanted to talk about my "series bibles." Some may think of them as a series planner, but, to me, they're much more than that. I use them to keep track of my characters, settings, and add multiple odd notes that I need to remember for subsequent stories in the series. Sometimes the information is very important, and other times, it's simply for my own musing.
Depending on what platform an author uses to write their stories, these "series bibles" can be kept in many different places. I tried writing on the computer with Scrivener, and kept a "series bible" there. I have since gone back to writing in a notebook, and therefore, my "series bibles" are in their own separate notebook, as shown in the above picture.
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| Map of Saramto from my Shifter Towers "series bible" |
If you're a reader, would you be interested in seeing what's contained in an author's "series bible?"
If you're an author, do you use a "series bible," and what type of information do you include inside?
Check out my latest release...
Jet
Once upon a time there was a demon who was the best at convincing people to sell their souls. That was me. Is me. And now I have a new assignment, one Father told me would be difficult. I didn’t know what “difficult” meant until I met the young man, someone who has barely anything. Collecting his soul should be easy, right? There are so many things I can give him. Except, he doesn’t believe he deserves a better life. I have to find something he desires before the assignment is given to my brother. Because Crow uses the most villainous means to obtain souls. Lines I don’t cross. And I don’t want to see Toby hurt. There has to be another way.
Toby
I’m not like them. I can’t shift into a predator to defend myself, or even into a small rodent to run and hide. The wolf shifters know that every time they rough me up and steal my food. I always wish for a guardian angel to protect me from them. Then one day Jet appears, looking nothing like the angel I’d imagined. But I don’t know if I should trust him. He makes me feel things no other alpha ever has. Dangerous things. Not good when I have to stay focused on my grandmother. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have her around.
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9 comments:
Great post, Jess, and welcome back to PNR. I couldn't write without a series bible. My 1st published book (Switched) inadvertently became the 1st in a series. While writing the 2nd book, I discovered I needed to write down all those little details so I could find them easily. I use Word for my stories, so it was natural to use a Word doc for the details. Now each time I start a book, I start a file called (so originally) "Details." LOL Characters, their traits, etc., setting (the town, planet, whatever), and anything I might need to remember go into my details file--my series bible. Even my standalone books have a file.
Thanks, Diane! Yes, those are all important details for any book. It's so easy to forget something when in the middle of writing, but saves a lot of time and editing if you have the information recorded somewhere else besides the main document.
I struggle to find the best way to keep a series bible. My handwriting is terrible anymore so I can't read my notes so I've started to keep information on Google and have also used OneNote before. I'm trying to find out what works best.
Great post!
Hi Maureen! Yes, it's always good to find what works best for you. Thank you!
Series bibles are the best and I love how you've done yours!
Welcome back, Jessica! A series bible is a must for me! Since I write medieval/fantasy/paranormal stories (currently I have three series), I use leather journals. It helps me to get a "feel" for the period. I keep one master series bible journal and have individual journals for each of my stories. I've tried using computer programs, but they don't work for me. Your books sound intriguing. I've added them to my never ending reading list. :)
They are! Thanks so much, Abigail!
Thank you, Mary! Oh, leather journals sound perfect! I understand how they would help you get into your story better. Wonderful!
Series bibles are true sanity keepers. I started one for my Prophecy series, but it's incomplete. (bad author!) But what is there has helped me out more than once as the series expands.
Mary, I love the leather bound journal idea. What a perfect fit!
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