Secret Thesaurus: Withholding Help from Someone in Need

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…

Withheld Help When it Was Needed

ABOUT THIS SECRET: A complex web of emotions can develop if a character saw someone in need and chose not to help. While this could be a dark secret stemming from refusing to be a good Samaritan or a desire to see a rival fail, your character might also withhold help for fear of being taken advantage of or enabling destructive behavior (if the other party is battling an addiction, for instance). Whether their motivations were selfish or good-natured, guilt will muddy the waters, creating inner conflict and self-doubt over their choice.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Being Responsible for Others, Being Taken Advantage of, Failure, Hope, Humiliation, Infidelity, Isolation, Leading, Leaving No Legacy, Letting Others Down, One’s Instincts Being Unreliable, Putting Oneself out There, Rejection

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Feeling immense regret and guilt that they didn’t act when they should have
Worrying about how friends and loved ones would react if they knew the truth
Their relationship with the person in question being strained
Their refusal to act immobilizing them in other areas of life
Doubting their instincts

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Claiming they didn’t know that aid was needed
Acting surprised when they’re told the other party needed assistance
Avoiding the person who needed help
Overcompensating by going above and beyond to help others
Getting out of the spotlight by blaming someone else for not helping

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Expressing doubt about whether the person really needed assistance
Protesting too much about their ability to help
Reverting to a superficial relationship with the person so they won’t have to discuss their needs or how they’re doing
Asking too many questions about the person (out of guilt)
Behaving recklessly to assuage their guilt—drinking, driving dangerously, etc.

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
An official investigation into the situation being started
The incident going viral on social media
The other party getting angry and being vocal about the situation

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.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

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The Bookshelf Muse is a hub for writers, educators and anyone with a love for the written word. Featuring Thesaurus Collections that encourage stronger descriptive skills, this award-winning blog will help writers hone their craft and take their writing to the next level.

Source: https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/03/secret-thesaurus-withholding-help-from-someone-in-need/