Introducing…the Character Secret Thesaurus

Every character has secrets they don’t want other people to know. Some are benign (something they like that others don’t, what they really think about a co-worker, that box of Thin Mints they polished off last night). They’re interesting, but whether these secrets come to light or not, they won’t impact their life.

But all secrets aren’t created equal. Some are powerful enough to threaten what the character holds dear: their reputation, closest relationships, the ability to achieve their dreams, and even their values and identity. Whether the threat is real or only perceived, the character will go to great lengths to keep the secret hidden—sometimes causing more harm trying to bury it than if it was discovered. In many cases, the secret will need to come out, or the character will at least have to see it with clarity and deal with it on a personal level to find peace.

It’s these formative, emotionally charged, and potentially costly secrets that can wreak havoc in a character’s life, changing who they are and determining the course of their story. They should figure, on some level, into every story, which is why Angela and I decided to create The Character Secret Thesaurus.

Whatever your character is hiding, there are certain things you’ll need to know as the author so you can write it convincingly. Here’s a breakdown of what we’ll cover for each secret in this thesaurus.

A Variety of Brainstorming Options. There are sooo many secrets a character could have. We’ve narrowed the list for you and focused on the ones we think could be most helpful from a variety of categories, including family and relationship secrets, past criminal acts, health issues, hidden identity, dark secrets, and more.

Fears Driving the Secret. We hide things because we’re afraid—afraid of being punished, people thinking badly of us, losing control or autonomy, and a host of other things. But while the secret may generate problems for your character, it’s only a symptom of a deeper root cause. Figure out what they fear the most, and you’ll know what’s driving their behavior in the story.

How the Secret Limits Them. Every secret will require deception to keep others from discerning the truth—even when it’s being kept for a good reason. Characters will be dishonest with their words and their actions. They’ll lie to themselves to keep from seeing the whole picture about their secret or the harm it’s causing. These are the consequences of keeping the truth hidden, and when readers see them unfolding, they’ll empathize with the character, wanting better for them. If the character will have to eventually disclose their secret to achieve fulfillment, recognizing these limitations will also help them get there.

Behaviors That Will Help Hide the Secret. How will your character keep the truth under wraps? What behaviors will they practice? What habits will they develop? How will they alter their own way of thinking so it’s easier to keep their secret? Some of this will be deliberate, and some of it will occur on the subconscious level. All of it is necessary for you to know so you can show (not tell) the character’s drive to protect the secret and why it’s so important to them.

Tendencies That Will Raise Suspicions. The longer a secret goes on, the more deception a character must engage in, and the harder it will be to uphold the facade. Despite their best efforts, glimpses of the truth will be revealed through things they say, looks they give, and activities or people they shy away from. These moments can establish the progression toward an inevitable reveal. At the very least, they’ll up the stakes and generate conflict that will make the character’s job more difficult.

Situations That Will Make the Secret Harder to Keep. If the story requires the secret to be revealed, you’ll need to create opportunities for that to happen. These scenarios can also help the character realize, bit by bit, that a secret isn’t worth keeping and needs to be let go.

Results of the Secret Going Public. If the character desperately needs to keep something private, what happens if they fail? High stakes are important for readers because they reveal why the character is working so hard to hide the truth. But the revelation of a secret can have positive results, too, becoming a blessing in disguise. We’ll explore the good and the bad so you’ll know all the options for the secret your character is keeping.

Bottom line: secrets are universal. A character who has an important, high-stakes secret will become more authentic to readers, building empathy and relatability. Their attempts to hide the truth will play into both character arc and story development, making this an important storytelling element. Our hope for this thesaurus is that it will provide insight and guidance for incorporating secrets into your story on many levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I buy this book?

Unfortunately, the Character Secret Thesaurus isn’t a book yet. When we introduce a new thesaurus on the blog, it means we’ve only started writing it. Our process is to “test” each new thesaurus here at Writers Helping Writers by posting a new entry each Saturday. If, over time, we receive feedback that writers find the thesaurus helpful and would like to see it become a book, we mark it as a possible book project for the future

Can I do something to ensure
this thesaurus becomes a book?

Yes! Take a minute to leave a comment on any of our Character Secret posts saying this topic will help you so we know! Another huge way to muster support for this thesaurus is to share links to it on social media or in writers’ groups so others know help is available in this area. The resulting boost in traffic here tells us the thesaurus is a popular one. (Thank you for doing this–we appreciate word of mouth!)

Will the book version be the same as the blog version?

What you see here on the blog is only a fraction of what you’d see in a book, for a few reasons:

1. We only explore some secrets here, whereas the book will have many, many more
2. We’re a huge target of AI scraping, which forces us to limit the content we share freely here.
3. Each book also includes an expansive ‘how-to’ section that explores how to use the thesaurus topic in a story more effectively. Our biggest mission is to help writers grow their craft, because great stories get noticed!

How can I stay in the loop when you release a new book?

We have an email list you can sign up for. We’ll send a note when a release date is coming, and then again when the book is available. (Thank you for asking!)

Is this Thesaurus at One Stop for Writers?

Not just yet. We always wait until we have many thesaurus entries written before we add them to our show-don’t-tell database there. In the meantime, the One Stop THESAURUS is worth checking out since it contains all the thesauruses we’ve created to date (18) vs. how many exist in book form (10).

Is there a question I didn’t answer? Just leave it in the comments!