You know that feeling when you're juggling too many story elements at once? You've got plot threads dangling, character arcs bending in weird directions, and you're pretty sure your protagonist's eye color changed somewhere around chapter twelve. The planning phase should help with this, but somehow it just makes things worse—more spreadsheets, more notes, more systems that promise organization but deliver chaos.

Here's the thing: most story planning tools focus on what happens (plot beats, turning points, midpoints) without giving you a solid framework for who it happens to. And most character development techniques give you rich, complex people... who then get lost in the shuffle of your 50,000-word draft.

What if you combined two simple tools—The Three Dimensions Character Framework and a Story Bible—into one integrated system? I call this the Dimensional Story Bible Method, and it's specifically designed to prevent the planning overwhelm that comes from tracking too many disconnected elements.

The Problem With Separate Systems

Most writers use multiple tools that don't talk to each other. You've got your character questionnaire in one document, your plot outline in another, your worldbuilding notes scattered across a dozen files, and your continuity tracker in a spreadsheet you haven't opened since Act One.

When you're actually writing, you need to remember that Sarah is physiologically afraid of water because she nearly drowned as a child, that she's sociologically from an upper-class family that expects perfection, and that she's psychologically driven by the need to prove herself. But where is all that information? Three different documents, if you can remember which ones.

The result? You either write without checking (hello, inconsistencies) or you spend half your writing time hunting through files (hello, frustration).

Enter Lajos Egri's Three Dimensions

Playwright Lajos Egri gave us a brilliantly simple framework in his book The Art of Dramatic Writing: every well-rounded character needs three dimensions:

- Physiological: The body—age, appearance, health, physical abilities and limitations
- Sociological: The environment—family background, education, social class, relationships, culture
- Psychological: The mind—fears, desires, values, attitudes, complexes, temperament

These aren't just character traits to know—they're the foundation for consistent behavior throughout your story. Sarah doesn't randomly overcome her water phobia because the plot needs her on a boat. Her three dimensions create boundaries and possibilities.

The Story Bible: Your Single Source of Truth

A Story Bible is simply a living document where you track everything important about your story. Not a collection of documents—one document (or one clearly organized system) where everything lives together.

The standard Story Bible includes sections for characters, settings, plot timeline, and key story rules. It's meant to be your reference guide, the place you check when you can't remember if the magic system allows telepathy or whether Jake drives a Honda or a Toyota.

The Dimensional Story Bible Method: Putting Them Together

Here's how to combine these tools into one streamlined system that prevents planning overwhelm:

Step 1: Set Up Your Story Bible Structure

Create one document (digital or physical—whatever you'll actually use) with these main sections:
- Character Dimension Profiles
- Scene-by-Scene Dimension Tracker
- Story World Facts
- Timeline

Step 2: Build Character Dimension Profiles

For each major character, create a profile divided into Egri's three dimensions. But here's the crucial part: under each dimension, list only the 3-5 most story-relevant facts. Not every detail of their childhood—just what matters for this story.

For example, a Character Dimension Profile might look like:

Marcus Chen - Dimension Profile

Physiological:
- 52 years old, graying hair
- Chronic back pain from old injury (limits physical confrontations)
- Needs reading glasses (refuses to wear them)

Sociological:
- Immigrant family, first-generation college graduate
- Divorced, estranged adult daughter
- Senior detective, respected but isolated

Psychological:
- Values justice over rules
- Fears losing control/appearing weak
- Prideful, especially about his judgment

Step 3: Create Your Scene-by-Scene Dimension Tracker

This is where the magic happens. For each major scene, make a quick note about which dimensions are being expressed or challenged. This keeps you from accidentally having Marcus act against his dimensions without story justification.

Your tracker might look like:

Scene 12: Marcus confronts suspect in parking garage
- PHYSIO: Back pain worsens, can't pursue on foot—must outsmart instead
- PSYCHO: Pride won't let him call for backup
- SOCIO: Uses detective authority, but suspect mocks his age

Scene 18: Forced therapy session (department mandate)
- PSYCHO: Fear of appearing weak makes him defensive
- SOCIO: Daughter's abandonment surfaces
- PHYSIO: Hasn't slept in days, making him more volatile

Step 4: Flag Dimension Shifts

When a character changes along any dimension, mark it clearly in your Story Bible. These are your actual character arc moments. If Marcus finally puts on those reading glasses to examine a crucial piece of evidence, that's a small physiological act with psychological implications (accepting vulnerability). Note it, date it in your timeline, and reference it in future scenes.

Why This Solves Planning Overwhelm

The Dimensional Story Bible Method works because it:

Reduces decision fatigue: You're not reinventing your character every scene. Check their dimensions, write accordingly.

Prevents continuity errors: Everything's in one place, organized by how it matters (the three dimensions), not random categories.

Streamlines revision: You can quickly see if a character is being expressed consistently across all their dimensions or if you're only writing them physiologically.

Makes planning actionable: Instead of vague "develop characters more," you can see exactly which dimension needs development.

Making It Work For You

You don't need fancy software. A Google Doc works fine. A notebook works fine. The key is the integration—Egri's dimensions give your Story Bible a framework so you're not just collecting random facts.

Start small. Profile your protagonist using the three dimensions. Track them through your next three scenes. Notice how much easier it is to write consistently when you're not guessing who this person is.

The planning phase should make writing easier, not harder. When your character development system talks directly to your consistency tracking system, you're not managing separate tools—you're building one integrated map of your story. And that's exactly what you need when you're trying to hold an entire narrative world in your head while actually getting words on the page.