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…
Knows Where a Body is Buried
ABOUT THIS SECRET: The stakes are high with this kind of secret whether the character discovered the site by accident, was directly involved in the burial, or was entrusted with the knowledge by someone else. Fear of legal consequences, retaliation from dangerous people, or trying to protect someone involved in the death can keep them silent.
SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Being Attacked, Being Unsafe, Being Watched, Betrayal, Conflict, Death, Letting Others Down, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Not Being Believed
HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Having to engage in further crimes to protect the secret
Becoming overly cautious and withdrawn due to fear, anxiety, or paranoia
The character experiencing flashbacks or emotional distress from what they saw
Relationship friction with a friend or family member who shares the secret and is pressuring the character to stay quiet
BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Destroying evidence at the site (covering tracks, changing the landscape, etc.)
Cleaning or destroying any tools and clothing used in the burial
Encouraging others to investigate the wrong places or people
ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Having an unexplained emotional reaction to a specific location
Expressing excessive interest in (or avoiding) crime-related news about missing persons
Holding onto something related to the deceased out of guilt, sentimentality, or fear of discovery
SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE
Personally knowing the person who was buried and their family
New forensic technology—e.g. ground-penetrating radar—making discovery easier
Discovering that the buried person wasn’t dead and was able to escape
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.
If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Leave a Reply