Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive and supportive, pushing the protagonist to positive growth and helping them achieve their goals. Other relationships do exactly the opposite, derailing your character’s confidence and self-worth or they cause friction and conflict that leads to fallout and disruption. Many relationships hover somewhere in the middle. A balanced story will require a mix of these dynamics.
The purpose of this thesaurus is to encourage you to explore the kinds of relationships that might be good for your story and figure out what each might look like. Think about what a character needs (good and bad), and build a network of connections for him or her that will challenge them, showcase their innermost qualities, and bind readers to their relationship trials and triumphs.
The following is just a sample of the content available for this relationship. To see it in its entirety (along with 45+ additional relationship entries), check out our Description Thesaurus Collection at One Stop For Writers.
Teacher and Student
Description: A staple in kid lit, this relationship is one that most people have experienced firsthand. But it can be current for an adult in this profession or as a backstory event for someone with the school years firmly in their rearview mirror. Some factors that could influence the dynamics of this relationship include the age of the student, individual personalities, school funding, student limitations (learning disabilities, problems at home, lack of parental involvement, etc.), and extraneous pressures on the teacher at the time (facing a chronic illness, the death of a parent, financial difficulties, etc.).
Clashing Personality Trait Combinations: Apathetic and Enthusiastic, Cruel and Timid, Disrespectful and Just, Playful and Humorless, Impulsive and Impatient, Rebellious and Controlling
Negative Outcomes of Friction
A student losing trust or respect for people in authority
A student who was punished unfairly or wasn’t believed deciding that standing up to the people in charge is a waste of time and effort
The student withdrawing emotionally and not getting the help they need
Ways This Relationship May Lead to Positive Growth
A teacher reaching a struggling student and gaining confidence in his or her own abilities
Success with a difficult student revitalizing a teacher’s belief in their profession
A teacher seeing the problems in her school or district and taking steps to make things better
Themes and Symbols That Can Be Explored through This Relationship
A Quest for Knowledge, Coming of Age, Crossroads, Inflexibility, Innocence, Journeys, Knowledge, Obstacles, Perseverance, Rebellion, Refuge, Rite of Passage
Other Relationship Thesaurus entries can be found here.
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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.