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. It should be noted that details involving characters working in specific occupations can vary from country to country. Our research is based in North America with a heavy emphasis toward the U.S., so if you live elsewhere, those details may be different than what you’re accustomed to.
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.
Police Officer and Confidential Informant
Description: An informant is someone who is part of or has infiltrated an organization where criminal activity is occurring. They work with a policy agency, providing inside information that those on the outside wouldn’t be able to access. In exchange, they may receive immunity for their own offenses, a commuted sentence, or monetary reimbursement.
Relationship Dynamics:
Each relationship is different, depending on the people involved, their history together, their individual personalities, and a host of factors. Below are a wide range of dynamics that can accompany this relationship. Use the ideas that suit your story and work best for your characters to bring about and/or resolve the necessary conflict.
Recognizing what each person brings to the table
Respecting the agreement or arrangement (maintaining an informant’s confidentiality, not shopping around one’s information to other agencies, etc.)
Approaching the relationship as equals rather than one person having unlimited power over the other
The relationship becoming too cozy or friendly
The informant acting as if the police work for him
Clashing Personality Trait Combinations:
Withdrawn and needy, pushy and timid, controlling and stubborn, responsible and flaky, judgmental and oversensitive, nosy and private, honorable and sleazy
Negative Outcomes of Friction
The informant being “outed” and endangered
The officer losing his inside informant and his case being jeopardized
The officer arresting the informant for criminal behavior so he’ll be more compliant or submissive
Ways This Relationship May Lead to Positive Change
Being able to glean the evidence that will result in a case being prosecuted with positive results for people in the community
The case revealing problems in the process or system that can now be examined and addressed
Themes and Symbols That Can Be Explored through This Relationship
A Fall from Grace, Alienation, Betrayal, Crossroads, Danger, Deception, Endings, Enslavement, Freedom, Greed, Journeys, Obstacles, Perseverance, Sacrifice, Stagnation, Suffering, Teamwork, Violence
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.
My suggestion for the Relationship Thesaurus Entry would probably be Police Officer and Defense Attorney.
Since I was thinking of writing a romantic relationship between a female police officer and a male defense attorney, and was thinking of some personality traits that might clash into each other.
The attorney would be playful, while the officer would be serious in her police work.
Thanks for the suggestion, Jacob!