Were the people who wrote the different bits of the bible just trying to out do each other....?

...one guy says there was a talking snake in the garden of Eden, so next guy says I knew of a bloke who lived inside a whale for 3 days. Not to be outdone next madman says he saw someone walk on water then turn it into wine etc, next one writes about a man comes alive again after being nailed to a cross, someone else reckons he saw a man put 2 of every animal on a boat that took him 120yrs to build just before it rained to a depth of 30,000ft...... seems to me they were all just drunk seeing who could make up the best storyline.