Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Knowing About a Cover-Up

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

For instance, let’s see what it might look like if your character…

Knows About a Cover-Up

ABOUT THIS SECRET: There are plenty of legitimate reasons for a character to hide their knowledge of a big cover-up. Fear of repercussions from powerful players or the law can make silence feel like the safest choice, even if it means ignoring their own moral compass or turning a blind eye to the fallout for others. Despite misgivings, their belief that revealing the cover-up will cause more harm than good can motivate them to keep this secret until circumstances dictate otherwise.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: A Loved One Dying, Being Attacked, Being Labeled, Being Separated from Loved Ones, Being Taken Advantage of, Being Unsafe, Being Watched, Conflict, Death, Government, Letting Others Down, Losing Autonomy, Losing One’s Mind, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Not Being Believed, One’s Instincts Being Unreliable, Rejection, Trusting Others

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Experiencing strained relationships with partners or family members who notice their evasive behavior and secrecy
Being plagued with self-doubt (Did I really see that? Am I reading too much into things?), causing them to questions their instincts
Paranoia making them distrust everyone

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Distancing themselves from anyone or anything associated with the cover-up
Compartmentalizing their feelings about the cover-up to protect their mental health and avoid slip-ups
Destroying evidence of their involvement in or knowledge of the situation

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Becoming paranoid about being followed, erasing digital footprints, or avoiding certain people or places
Drastically changing habits, relationships, or career paths to distance themselves from the incident
Avoiding people, businesses, or organizations they used to embrace

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Being directly questioned by someone investigating the cover-up
Being scapegoated by an involved party or former ally
Realizing the disastrous extent of the fallout if the situation isn’t brought to light

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

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While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

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