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.
Never Being Happy
Notes
A character who is afraid they will never be happy may feel unworthy of happiness. It’s also possible they’ve grown weary of life’s many disappointments and don’t want to get their hopes up any more. This fear creates a dichotomy of emotions, with the character either spending all their time chasing happiness or running from it.
What It Looks Like
Searching for the one thing that will light the fire within them
Trying many different hobbies and pastimes
Researching philosophies, religions, and other ideologies…
Common Internal Struggles
The character being unable to enjoy happy moments because they’re worrying about what could go wrong
Feeling numb even when something wonderful has happened
Focusing on past hurts, even when things have gotten better…
Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Having a difficult time making friends
The character not going after what they want in life
Foregoing promising opportunities; settling for the status quo…
Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Being victimized
Losing something that makes it seemingly impossible for the character to follow their passion (a musician going deaf, an athlete losing a limb, etc.)
The character being laid off from their perfect job…
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.
