Character Secret Thesaurus: Hiding Wealth

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

For instance, let’s see what it might look like if your character…

Is Hiding Their Wealth

ABOUT THIS SECRET: Transparency is a vital part of healthy relationships. But not everyone is comfortable sharing their financial status, for a variety of reasons. Whether a character’s motivation is noble, self-serving, or coming from a place of fear and distrust, no one likes being lied to, and a secret this big is bound to come out eventually, laying the foundation for inter-relational conflict down the road.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Becoming What One Hates, Being Judged, Being Labeled, Being Responsible for Others, Being Taken Advantage of, Being Unsafe, Betrayal, Competition, Conditional Love, Criticism, Isolation, Leading, Losing the Respect of Others, Rejection, Relational Commitment, Trusting Others

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Having to live well below their means to maintain the façade
Always worrying that if people find out they’re rich, it will change the way they view the character
Money taking up too much space in the character’s mind and choices, making it too high a priority for them

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Living frugally
Helping friends or family surreptitiously through anonymous donations
Using a lawyer or steward to manage their wealth, or channeling it through a business
Claiming to be struggling financially

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Maintaining a modest middle-class lifestyle but placing children in expensive private schools or joining elite clubs
Purchasing new vehicles, the latest tech, or high-quality clothing
An audit of the character’s business showing finances that don’t match the character’s claims

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Encountering an unexpected personal, legal, or financial issue, such as a medical emergency or expensive repair, that requires large expenditures to handle
Being targeted by government institutions for audits or other financial scrutiny
Having to disclose financial documents as part of a lawsuit

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

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