What is a SERIES Bible? Overview, Examples, and Why it’s Important for ALL Writers
You’re writing a script. You’re six months in, but you’ve forgotten if your protagonist is scared of heights in a key scene. Going back to your notes, you find an absolute mess! There’s conflicting scribbles, notes, and musings on whether they might be scared of heights, and you don’t have time to re-read everything you’ve written so far to find the definitive answer! A series bible (or story bible) is more than a pitching tool, it’s a way for all writers to organise their writing, no matter the length of a finished script.
What is a ‘Series Bible?’
To those in the know, a bible (a bible, not the Bible) is a document of ambiguous origins that can be used either as a pitching or as a reference document. Confused? Well, let me make it worse. You might not even know it as a bible. This document has many faces and many names:
The Book
TV Bible
Series Bible
Show Bible
Extended Treatment
To those that are thinking “oh, it’s a pitch deck!” You’d be wrong. It’s similar, but a bible is far more comprehensive. As Nuno Bernardo says in his book, ‘The Producer’s Guide to Transmedia’, “the bible will literally set down the rules and parameters of the entire universe that your story exists in.” It’s a document both for producers to read while reaching for their wallets, and for writers to worship when brought onto a project later in the process.
Types of Bible
Series / show bibles are broken into two major types:
Development
Live
A development bible is predominantly used as for pitching. It’s especially useful for closed stories, as it will chart the story from beginning to absolute end point.
A live bible is, as the name suggests, more fluid. As a series / franchise expands, the bible will grow to accommodate all the new material. It will also be used as a reference point to ensure theme, tone, and continuity remain intact. Think of it as a professionally maintained wiki, like Wookieepedia.
Upon initial completion, bibles should fall at around 5-10 pages. When a producer reads the bible for the first time, you want them to give you lots of money. Don’t overwhelm them.
But that’s enough about what a bible can do to a producer’s bank account, what can it do for you, a writer with brain fog and no direction (narratively)?
Why all Writers Should Make a Bible
The first, most appealing reason for any writer to make a bible is that it’s easier than writing the actual script. Why bother slogging through 120 pages of foggy muck when you can streamline it into 10 pages packed with pictures, prose, and tone?
The second reason is the fact it’s a pitching document. Life for early career writers is busy. You don’t have time to sit and focus on a script for months at a time. You might have a day-job, family commitments, or experience any other life changes that can pull you away for weeks or months at a time. A good bible will sell the story to you when you return, as well as get you back up to speed on where the project is. “It’s an opportunity to captivate and entertain, making the reader like a script more!” (A Professional Approach for Screenwriters & Writer-Directors)
Writer’s Can’t Overlook How Important a Bible is
Story is changing, but the fundamentals remain the same. Series bibles were once a document used in… well… series. These days, long-form storytelling isn’t limited to your telly-box, or even a single franchise. Mission: Impossible is on its EIGHTH instalment, and the MCU is, at this point, an immeasurable behemoth.
Commercial storytelling, at least, is venturing towards transmedia franchising at lightning pace. As a result, audiences seem to know more about stories than the writers themselves. A good bible, no matter the scale of your project, will keep you ahead for the entire lifespan of your story. Not just you, though, but any writer, director, producer, or whoever you collaborate with.
You might be thinking, “well, I’m only making a trilogy of feature films based on a series of beloved books.” Well, Peter Jackson, some major changes to the original lore were made to suit the movie trilogy and subsequent prequels, so expansion is going to have to be a careful undertaking. Cut characters can’t simply be reintroduced in expanded material.
Don’t get caught out wishing you’d been better prepared.
What’s in a Bible?
(All referenced bibles can be seen at the end of the walkthrough)
The Pitch
Usually a one-page breakdown of the medium, vibe, and type of story you’ll be telling. Some story points can be included, but this is more of a ‘title sequence’ teasing what’s to come. The first page of the New Girl bible actually goes into what the show isn’t to highlight what the series will be.
Write a Synopsis that Shines FAST
Writing full synopses is a vital element of your pitch bible. You are, after all, telling a story. If you want somebody to buy the story, you need to tell them what’s in it.
In her (frankly astonishing) book, A Professional Approach for Screenwriters & Writer-Directors, Farah Abushwesha says that “if you are still struggling then perhaps you need to ask yourself how well you know the story you are trying to tell.” (p160) The synopsis chapter is essentially your opportunity to brag about your story. Keep it short and sweet but leave nothing out. Use what the series will be to inform how you communicate these synopses. Look at the synopses of the episodes of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. They’re BURSTING with the character and charm that the series will be synonymous with.
How ‘Adventure Time’ Creates Compelling Character Profiles
I mean, just look at the character pages in Adventure Time’s bible. They’re astonishing. They rack up the page count, but every single element has been carefully curated to tell us who the characters are, their strengths and weaknesses, and furthers the usage of the art style. Your character bios don’t need to be that outlandish, but they do need to be as comprehensive. Think of each character profile like their audition piece. Why should a casting director bother looking for an actor to play this role? Keep the profiles limited to approximately the top five characters or less. Protagonist, antagonist, a couple of archetypal roles, and that’s it. Save the full whack of profiles for your own records.
Setting is About More than Just Space
Setting is about more than just where to plonk the camera. Every street, every home, and every era of time has its own governing rules. As a storyteller, you’re picking and choosing which rules apply and which don’t to further your narrative truth.
So, when I say ‘setting’, I mean laying out everything your reader “will need to gain an accurate sense of the limits of what can be done and achieved in your story-world.” (p23) This line from a Producers Guide to Transmedia perfectly surmises what the setting chapter will include. Yes, it’s place. It’s also the rules of that place, the kind of people that occupy it, and the atmosphere it evokes.
Just look at the Stranger Things bible. Setting is woven not just as a chapter, but as the spine running through the whole document.
As a Writer, NEVER Exclude Research
One of the main differences between an amateur writer that tells stories as a hobby and a professional writer is research. If your story is set in a certain place and time, you need to showcase that you know enough about it to be trusted to write the scripts and, ultimately, get paid.
The Battlestar Galactica bible has chapters and chapters of deep lore, each written with the clear confidence of a writing room that knows what they’re on about. Your story may be a lovely romp through the cosmos, but if people are breathing in space with no justification, it makes you look like an amateur.
This research will also keep you and other writers in good stead when expanding the story. If your version of a mythic creature is based on certain folklore, including that research will keep everyone singing from the same cultish hymn sheet.
Adding a Personal Touch
You’ve probably seen throughout that every series bible is completely unique. Some are blocked out with pages of information, while others are a whimsical romp through the vibes the finished story hopes to achieve. Outside the basics of story, character, and setting, though, some dive into more ethereal or specific territories.
Take Dirk Gently, for example, and his charming guide through the themes the series will hope to follow. Your bible can include whatever you think is important for a reader to know before picking up a script.
Stranger Things’ bible resembles an aged horror book found in a charity shop, designed to immediately evoke the nostalgia of the stories of the early 1980’s. They then support this by peppering screenshots from iconic moments and movies throughout. The design of your bible is as important as the content. You’re probably not a graphic designer, but you are writing for a visual medium, so showcasing that you have some idea what this might look like will certainly help.
Help Yourself With a Full Outline
You won’t find this in most pitch bibles, but I always include a full, comprehensive, detailed outline later on in my bibles. I may never read them, but being able to write your full outlines in prose (without dialogue) is a great way to prepare for writing the actual script. Reading them back will give you your first indication of whether pacing, character, and story are working or if you need to go back through the bible and iron a few things out before it’s too late.
Looking Ahead
Even when your bible is finished, there’s one more thing to do. On the whole, bibles are used as pitching documents for long-form stories with the potential to be franchised. It makes sense, then, that you’d put down a few teases / potential ideas for next steps after this story is done.
If you’ve designed the story to be complete and enclosed, feel free to put that here. The Duffer brothers did when they made the Stranger Things bible and still went on to make more, so you just never know.
Screenshots of Series Bibles Used
Bibles Used
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Do You Get it Now?
Hopefully, you’ll now see how important a story bible is to the success of your project(s), and hopefully the examples provided have gone some way to show you how it can be done.
Now that we’ve covered the WHY, it’s time to look at the HOW. Over the course of the next few weeks (this page will include live updates), I’ll be walking you through how to create each component of a story bible, with examples. At the end of the road, there’ll be a FREE template to make your own story bible, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
If you’re looking for comprehensive, concise, and constructive feedback on your script, check out my Fiverr profile to see how I can help, or contact me! It’s cheap as chips and may just get you that Oscar!
