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…
Has an Addiction
ABOUT THIS SECRET: When the subject of addiction is broached, substance abuse springs immediately to mind. But many addictions are just extreme forms of habits that are acceptable in moderation, such as shopping, gaming, eating, working, and exercising. Your character might start innocently as a social drinker, for example, until a life event propels that behavior out of control. Because there is shame associated with addictions, a character may go to great lengths to hide the truth of their condition from others.
SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Abandonment, Being Capable of Harm, Becoming What One Hates, Being Judged, Being Labeled, Being Separated from Loved Ones, Conditional Love, Criticism, Humiliation, Isolation, Letting Others Down, Losing Autonomy, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Not Being in Control, One’s Body Becoming a Prison, Rejection
HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Functioning sub-optimally at work
Being a less-than-competent parent
Struggling financially because of the addiction
Living below their potential
BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Using cash or secret credit cards to fund their addiction
Masking odors with perfumes, soaps, or mouthwash
Making light of the addiction as nothing serious, just “harmless fun”
Lying frequently (about where they’ve been, what they’ve been doing, etc.)
ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Drifting away from old friends and hanging out with new ones who frequently engage in the addictive behavior
Being cagey or vague when answering questions about what they’re up to
The character becoming irritable and/or having wild mood swings
Receiving odd phone calls or calls at odd hours
Work habits or standards becoming sloppy
SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE
Failing a drug test at work
Realizing that they’re becoming a danger to themselves and/or others
Owing money to unforgiving people
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.
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