The Fear Thesaurus Is Coming: A New Writing Guide for What Holds Characters Back

Fear is more than an emotion; it is an underlying force that runs through every story element, including character development, plot, arc, conflict, and theme. It’s what draws readers in, holds their attention, and makes your story feel human and true.

This book grew out of a realization we kept coming back to: fear isn’t just one part of storytelling—it’s the force shaping emotion, behavior, conflict, and change. So, to say Becca and I are excited about this release (in April!) would be a massive understatement.

Here’s the cover!

Becca and I finally stopped the color wheel on pink, and with good reason.

When you think about fear, you might imagine shadows, danger, or maybe a monster lurking under the bed. But the truth is that fear isn’t always obvious or what you might expect. It’s personal and often invisible.

Fears that hold characters back are powerful–they grip and squeeze, making even the strongest hero feel vulnerable. And confronting a fear isn’t easy. It takes grit. A book about fear deserves a statement color, and for us, that’s pink. We hope you love it as much as we do!

Fear is the heavy hand on your character’s shoulder

Fear is a character’s early warning system, but it can also be their prison, making threats seem larger than life. Fear can push them toward poor decisions, damage relationships, and cause them to abandon what they want most because the emotional risk is too great. It can hold them back, sabotaging their happiness and sense of worth.

Inside The Fear Thesaurus, you’ll learn to:

• Master the psychology of fear so you can show how it distorts perception, hijacks reason, spawns lies, and drives the character’s choices and behavior
• Write authentic character struggles using over 80 in-depth fear profiles that explore possible disruptions to a person’s life, specific triggers, reactions, and internal conflicts
• Use universal fear categories—Survival, Stability & Control, Relationship, Identity, and Moral & Existential—to plot challenging situations, personal battles, and opportunities for growth
• Pinpoint your character’s greatest fear by exploring their emotional wounds, secrets, unmet needs, and other related factors
• Learn about the role your character’s fatal flaw plays in their fight with fear and the story’s resolution
• Strengthen story structure by weaving fear into the main turning points

And more!

The truth is, bad things happen.

And when they do, characters fear they will happen again. The Fear Thesaurus brings all the arc pieces together to help you show your character’s vulnerability and how they can grow past their scars!

Questions you may have… Is there a pre-order?

No, but we are releasing this book a full month early at our Writers Helping Writers Bookstore. Mid-April, you’ll be able to grab a copy, print or digital, before it hits other bookstores (like Amazon).

What type of fears are in the book?

The list of things a character might fear is infinite, including phobias. While we do talk about different types of fears and their uses in a story, the thesaurus portion of the book looks at deep fears, the ones that cause characters to feel stuck and unfulfilled. Betrayal, Heartbreak, Death, Failure…if you’re curious, you can find the full list of 80 fears at our store.

Will there be Arcs?

Yes! Once the manuscript is prettied up a bit, we’ll have Arcs available. As always, we’ll run a draw for some, but with limited copies, and the importance of reviews, we prioritize the kind folks who know our series and have left reviews before.

How do I stay in the loop?

You lovely person, you! We always recommend subscribing to the blog (you’ll see how to do so in the right toolbar), and that way, as we share more about the book, hand out a few freebies, and announce free workshops (yes, free!), you will always be the first to know.

If you would like to be notified as soon as the release date hits, we have a simple email list for that too. Just add your email, and we’ll be in touch closer to the big day.

Will this book be helpful to you? Hit me with your questions, or tell me what you think!

The post The Fear Thesaurus Is Coming: A New Writing Guide for What Holds Characters Back appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

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/2026/01/the-fear-thesaurus-is-coming-a-new-writing-guide-for-what-holds-characters-back/