Lore & LilacStory bible
A story bible that points back to the page
Every detail can carry its source: the exact sentence where you established it. When that sentence changes, the detail says so — before your readers notice.
Works without AI Building the bible by hand never uses AI. Suggested entries from a story scan appear only after you allow AI for that book, and each one arrives with its source passage for you to accept or decline.
Mara Holloway
Character · also “Mrs. H”, “the orchard girl”
- Grey eyes, a scar across the left palm Canon
- Sold the north field to pay her father's debts Rumour
- Believes Elias died in the fire Belief · Mara
Ch. 3 · The oath Source changed — review
“Her eyes, grey as the river in March, gave nothing away.”
What you get
Story bible, in detail
- Entries for characters, places, objects, rules and groups
- Aliases, so “Mrs. H” and “Mara” are recognised as one person
- Names noticed in the manuscript, including a distinctive part of a character's name — “Ashworth” for Mara Ashworth — while common words and titles are left alone
- When a word could mean more than one entry, it's marked differently and the card lets you pick, instead of guessing. Turn off part-name matching for any character
- Cite selection: highlight text in the manuscript and attach it to a detail
- “Source changed — review” when a cited passage is edited; citations follow passages that move
- Truth scopes on each detail: canon, planned, narrator, a character's belief, rumour or inference
- Merge duplicates with a preview of what will combine
- Suggested entries from the story scan, each with its passage, waiting for your review
- Profiles with images, relationships, family trees and maps — see world-building
How it works
In practice
Select and cite
Highlight “her eyes, grey as the river in March” and choose Cite selection. The detail joins Mara's entry with the passage attached.
Say how true it is
Mark it canon, or a rumour, or something only one character believes. A rumour that contradicts canon isn't a mistake — it's a rumour.
Write on
Type @Mara in any scene to link the mention, or just write her name. Hover it and her entry is there, with sources.
Notice changes
Rewrite the cited sentence and the detail is flagged for review. Confirm it, update it, or cite the new wording.
Where we draw the line
What it never does
- Invent a fact your manuscript doesn't state
- Add a suggested entry to canon without your say-so
- Treat a belief or rumour as a contradiction of canon
- Delete a detail without an undo
These follow from our commitments. The studio never writes, suggests or rewrites your prose, anywhere.
Before you start
Questions writers ask
Do I have to fill it in by hand?
You can, and many writers prefer to. If you allow AI for a book, the story scan also proposes entries — each with the passage it came from — for you to accept, edit or ignore.
What's a truth scope?
A label for how true a detail is in your story: canon, planned (your intention, not yet on the page), narrator, a character's belief, rumour or inference. It keeps an unreliable narrator from being reported as an error.
What if two characters share a surname?
Then the surname alone could mean either of them, so the studio doesn't guess. The word gets a different underline, and its card lists both entries for you to open the right one. Full names and aliases still match exactly. If a character's first or last name is also an everyday word, tick “exact name only” on their card.
Can I use it for a series?
Yes. In a series workspace, books share one story bible and you can search across all of them.
Try story bible on your own draft
Import your draft from Word, Scrivener, RTF, EPUB or Markdown, or start on a blank page. The 14-day trial needs no card, and your book is exportable from the first word.