Story Bible
A story bible is an author-facing reference for the world, characters, rules, and continuity decisions of a narrative.
Arc treats the story bible as part of a wider canon system, not as a static document that magically stays correct.
Traditional story bible
A traditional story bible may contain:
- character profiles;
- location descriptions;
- timeline notes;
- faction details;
- world rules;
- terminology;
- unresolved questions.
This is useful, but it can drift away from the manuscript if it is not maintained.
Arc’s approach
Arc connects story-bible material to structured canon and source evidence.
That means a character note should ideally relate to:
- the entity it describes;
- aliases and relationships;
- relevant source excerpts;
- author decisions;
- review items that are still unresolved.
Story bible vs canon
The story bible is a readable author tool. Canon is the structured memory layer underneath it.
They overlap, but they are not identical:
- the story bible explains;
- canon structures;
- evidence supports;
- review state warns;
- the author decides.
Practical use
Use the story bible to understand the project. Use evidence and review state when a decision matters.
If the story bible says one thing and the manuscript says another, do not let Arc silently choose. Treat the conflict as a review item.