As many of you know, we recently released a new book – The Fear Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to What Holds Characters Back.
This volume takes you into the dark world of fear and how it steers your character’s actions, choices, and behavior, reshaping how they see the world, themselves, and what they’re willing to risk.
The Fear Thesaurus is also at One Stop for Writers, and we’ve now expanded it to span 94 unique fears!
Is One Stop for Writers’ Fear Database different than the Fear Writing Guide?
Yes! Let’s look at a side-by-side comparison.
| Key Areas | Fear Thesaurus Book | One Stop for Writers |
| Fears Included | 82 | 94 (with possible future expansions) |
| Entries | Insightful lists of description & story brainstorming | Insightful lists of description & story brainstorming + entry-to-entry links to other databases (negative traits, emotional wounds, character motivation & conflict) |
| Education | Unparalleled instruction on character fear and how to write it with authority | A fear tutorial |
| Addons | Appendix visuals (helpful charts & worksheets) | Greatest Fear template & tip sheets |
| Navigation | Table of Contents by Fear Type | Table of Contents + keyword searchability |
| Other | Companion Hub access (bonus resources & workshop) | Part of the Character Builder tool & the ability to add private notes to each fear entry |
At One Stop for Writers, the Fear Thesaurus is one of 19 topics that belong to an interactive, searchable description database. This means that for any given thesaurus entry, we can link to information found in other thesauruses that will help you brainstorm your characters and scenes.
For example, consider the Fear of Change. This entry has several linked sections:
| ONE STOP FOR WRITERS FEAR THESAURUS SECTION | LINKS TO |
| Emotional Wounds This Fear May Stem From | Specific types of trauma from the Emotional Wound Thesaurus that match a fear of change |
| Conflict Scenarios that Offer Growth Opportunities | Types of challenges from the Conflict Thesaurus that will test someone who fears change |
| Flaws that May Emerge | Likely Negative Traits exhibited by someone with this fear |
| Goals Made More Difficult By This Fear | Specific goals from our Character Motivation Thesaurus that will require a person to embrace change |
Craft Deep Characters & Immersive Worlds
As you can see, because the database at One Stop for Writers is interactive, you can move from topic to topic quickly, add notes to any entry, and see how things are connected in your story in a very visual way. We do this for every topic in the Thesaurus Database.
TIP: One Stop for Writers comes with a 2-week free trial, so if you’d like to test it out, you can. Or, if you’re interested in what topics we cover in this database, each thesaurus has several unlocked entries open to view. Some of our favorites:
| Escaping a Killer (Character Motivation Thesaurus) | Humiliation (Emotion Thesaurus) |
| Antihero (Character Types & Tropes Thesaurus) | Evil (Negative Trait Thesaurus) |
| A Romantic Competitor (Conflict Thesaurus) | Confident (Positive Trait Thesaurus) |
| Accidentially Killing Someone (Emotional Wound Thesaurus) | Graveyard (Setting Thesaurus) |
| Rivals (Relationship Thesaurus) | Accidentally Killing Someone (Emotional Wound Thesaurus) |
Save 25% on all One Stop Plans
One Stop for Writers also has plot, character, and worldbuilding tools, plus a Storyteller’s Roadmap, but rather than explain these resources, we thought we’d invite you to try them out for yourself. Start a free trial, or use the code below to save 25% on any plan:
FINISHMYBOOK
To redeem this 25% discount:
- Sign up or Sign in
- Go to Account >> My Subscription and choose a plan
- Enter your payment details
- Add & activate the FINISHMYBOOK code in the box provided. (You’ll see this one-time discount apply onscreen.)
- Click the terms box, & hit subscribe!
Already a subscriber? Just add/activate this code in the space provided on the My Subscription page, and it will apply to your next invoice.
This code will be active until May 20th, 2026.
QUESTION:
Now that the Fear Thesaurus is finished, what topic should we cover next? Let us know what will help you the most, and happy writing!
