Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health condition, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life.
In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.
This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc. Please note that this isn’t a self-diagnosis tool. Fears are common in the real world, and while we may at times share similar tendencies as characters, the entry below is for fiction writing purposes only.
Humiliation
Notes
Humiliation is similar to embarrassment, but it tends to have a public angle, occurring in front of a group of people or friends. The resulting unpleasant emotion is one your character will naturally want to avoid; experiencing it enough could create a fear for the character that causes them to go to great lengths to avoid potentially humiliating situations. Closely related to this is a fear of public speaking, which will be added to our thesaurus soon.
What It Looks Like
Being easily embarrassed
The character overcompensating to prove their worth
Disassociating from persons who have caused humiliation in the past…
Common Internal Struggles
Having trust issues
The character feeling paranoid that someone is out to get them
Struggling with perfectionism…
Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Missing out on good opportunities because they include an element of risk or a possibility of public embarrassment
The character lashing out at perceived humiliation where none was intended, causing problems in relationships
Lingering anger over past humiliations causing the character to be stuck—unable to move past the event…
Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Being set up on a blind date
Having to walk in front of a group of people or down a flight of stairs to make an entrance
The character having to work with a person who once humiliated them…
Other Fear Thesaurus entries can be found here.
Fear is a Crucial Piece of Your Character’s Arc
Because fear plays such a pivotal role in storytelling and character growth, we’ve expanded this collection and published it as a book that you can easily use as you write. The Fear Thesaurus helps authors understand the psychology behind 80 common fears and use them to create believable struggles, meaningful conflict, and powerful arcs.
For more information on this book and where it can be found, please visit our bookstore. You can also view the book at Goodreads to see what other authors are saying about it.
