• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About WHW
    • Press Kit
    • Resident Writing Coaches
    • Contact Us
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Master Storytelling Newsletter
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Charities & Support
  • Bookstore
    • Bookstore
    • Foreign Editions
    • Book Reviews
    • Free Thesaurus Sampler
  • Blog
  • Software
  • Workshops
  • Resources
    • List of Resources
    • Recommended Writing Books
    • WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
    • Free Tools & Worksheets
    • Grab A Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Labeled

March 4, 2023 by BECCA PUGLISI Leave a Comment

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.

Fear of Being Labeled

Notes
The world is a confusing and uncertain place that’s easier to navigate when things make sense. This is one reason it’s natural for human beings to label the people around them. But no one wants to be labeled—told that they are a certain way or have to fit into a mold. This can be especially painful when the character doesn’t believe the label fits (whether it does or not). When this happens enough, it can create frustration, insecurity, and a fear that could go a number of directions: the character may hide the aspects of their identity that fit the label, act out against the accusation, or surround themselves with people like themselves to avoid anyone who might put them in a certain box.

What It Looks Like
The character mimicking their peers so they won’t appear to be different
Being extremely private
Giving vague answers when asked about themselves
Embracing hobbies or activities that don’t fit the stereotype
Changing personality traits or values that would put the character in that box
The character becoming what they’re accused of being (self-fulfilling prophecy)
Advocating for inclusion and against typecasting
Working very hard to disprove the stereotype
The character surrounding themselves with others who are just like them
Avoiding people who have attempted to label the character in the past
Avoiding situations where the label would be obvious—e.g., a student with a learning disability skipping or dropping out of school
Rejecting any medical or psychological testing that could result in a diagnosis 
Rebelling when someone tells the character they can’t or shouldn’t do something
Become defensive when someone suggests the character may be a certain way
Being aggressive or confrontational with someone who suggests the character might be a certain way
Being overly sensitive to even constructive or well-intentioned criticism

Common Internal Struggles
Keeping a learning disability, an illness, etc. secret despite knowing help is needed
Struggling with shame or guilt over the label
The character struggling to accept who they are
The character wanting to be true to themselves but feeling the need to change so they’ll fit in with others
Resenting what makes the character different, then feeling guilty about it
Feeling targeted 
Feeling misunderstood (if the character believes the label is unwarranted)
Suspecting the label is true but refusing to accept it
The character feeling isolated, as if they have no one they can be themselves with or talk to

Flaws That May Emerge
Abrasive, Childish, Confrontational, Defensive, Dishonest, Disrespectful, Evasive, Hostile, Hypocritical, Insecure, Jealous, Judgmental, Prejudiced, Reckless, Stubborn, Timid, Weak-Willed

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Living with shame because of who or what they are
Changing to live up to others’ expectations 
The character living well below their full potential
Becoming prejudiced against the people who putting labels on the character
Living in denial about an accurate label and being unable to manage it or cope with it in a healthy way
Struggling in silence because the character is hiding certain aspects of who they are
Personal growth being stymied because of defensiveness and an inability to receive feedback
Living a double-life because certain aspects have to be kept private (practice a religion, pursue a relationship, etc.)

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
A secret they’ve been hiding (about their gender identity, personal beliefs, mental health, etc.) being revealed
A tragedy occurring that could result in a new label for the character (losing a limb, developing a chronic illness, etc.)
Experiencing discrimination
The character’s child being labeled
A safe place or group of people being infiltrated by someone who would label the character
Seeing someone who shares a label with the character being misjudged, mistreated, or limited

Other Fear Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (16 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, and then give our Free Trial a spin.

BECCA PUGLISI
BECCA PUGLISI

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.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar


Welcome!

Writing is hard. Angela & Becca make it easier. Get ready to level up your fiction with game-changing tools, resources, and advice.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to the Blog

Check your inbox to confirm! If gremlins tried to eat it, you might have to check your spam folder.

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2023 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

Cookies are delicious and ours help make your experience here better. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with our cookie use. Cookie settingsGOT IT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. More on our Privacy Policy here.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...