Character Secret Thesaurus: Helping Someone Die with Dignity

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…

Helped Someone Die with Dignity

ABOUT THIS SECRET: This act of compassion, while well-intentioned, can place a heavy burden on the person carrying it out. They may struggle with the moral implications of their actions, be overwhelmed with guilt, and fear legal and social repercussions should others find out. The act can complicate relationships with loved ones, triggering questions about loyalty, ethics, and the sanctity of life itself.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Abandonment, Becoming What One Hates, Being Attacked, Being Capable of Harm, Being Judged, Being Labeled, Being Responsible for Others, Conditional Love, Conflict, Criticism, Isolation, Letting Others Down, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Not Being Believed, Rejection

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Unresolved guilt or shame causing greater mental health difficulties or relationship issues with others
Fearing for their soul (even if they stand by their actions) because they helped take a life
Pulling away from or abandoning other loved ones facing terminal or chronic illnesses because their situations are triggering for the character

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Lying, deflecting questions, or withholding details about the events surrounding their friend’s death
Creating alibis about where they were at the time of death to remove suspicion of their involvement
Avoiding people who might know or suspect the truth

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Appearing too calm or detached about the loss
Being overly attentive to the departed’s family, as if the character is seeking absolution
Having more than one close friend who was assisted by someone in ending their life prematurely

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Being exposed by an unexpected witness who knows what the character did
Witnessing a public debate or news story about assisted suicide or euthanasia, prompting feelings of guilt or outrage about opposing viewpoints
Being caught in a lie about the circumstances surrounding their friend’s death

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

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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