Direct answer
Include recurring characters, aliases, relationship history, timeline anchors, world rules, locations, objects, unresolved promises, and book-by-book canon decisions. Tie important entries back to the chapter or book where they appeared.
Why it matters
A focused series bible reduces continuity errors without turning maintenance into a second manuscript.
A simple way to handle it
- Separate structural canon from decorative lore.
- Record source chapters for facts that affect future books.
- Update entries after the release draft, not only during planning.
Store what creates obligations
The most important entries are facts that can create contradictions later. A character's age, injury, oath, secret knowledge, inherited object, or magical limit matters because later scenes may depend on it.
Decorative lore can still be stored, but it should not crowd out the entries that protect the series from drift.
Keep book-level history visible
For each major entry, note which book established it and whether the fact changed later. That helps when a character's public role, private allegiance, or relationship status evolves across installments.
A good series bible shows the shape of change, not only the final state.
- Canon fact
- Source book and chapter
- Current status
- Future dependency