It's no secret that I have a memory like a sieve. It's just that I have so much on my mind, I can't keep track of every single detail of my life. Especially my books. That's why I've created a Bible for each of my series. (That's what they call such a document in "the trade.") Okay, I'm behind on the Jeff Resnick Bible. Just haven't gotten around to it. Besides, I know Jeff, Richard, and Brenda better than I know myself.
My Booktown Bible has come in really handy when I need to remember what color eyes Mr. Everett has or the name of Tricia's attorney (who hasn't shown up since the first book--but needed to be mentioned in the fourth book).
I'm currently working on my Victoria Square Bible. It consists of a list of characters, their traits and a description (however brief) of what they look like, a list of businesses, facts about the little town of Jones Mill (which may or may not be changed by the final draft--I'm leaning toward changing it. One caveat: it's got to have "Mill" as the second word -- but I'm open to ANY suggestion), etc.
Besides being a vital aid to writing the subsequent books, creating this bible is a great way to actually keep from writing.
What are you doing to keep from working on your work-in-progress?
I think it was the second novel that I realized I needed to keep a detailed notebook. Especially so when I started the cat series. Now, the murder series is a lot easier to keep up with because I keep a notebook, or Bible, as you've described. Won't write without one, now.
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