Fear Thesaurus Entry: Becoming a Parent

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health condition, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc. Please note that this isn’t a self-diagnosis tool. Fears are common in the real world, and while we may at times share similar tendencies as characters, the entry below is for fiction writing purposes only.

Flaws That May Emerge
Childish, Defensive, Insecure, Judgmental, Nervous, Obsessive, Resentful, Stubborn, Timid, Withdrawn, Workaholic

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Frequently changing romantic partners before things get too serious
Ongoing strife with a spouse or partner who wants to have children
Friends and loved ones not understanding the character’s choice to not have kids
Sex being paired with anxiety or fear
Being expected to work holidays, weekends, and extra shifts because the character doesn’t have a family to take care of

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
An unexpected pregnancy
Falling in love with someone who wants to have children
Being asked about when the character is going to start a family
Being expected to produce an heir to continue the family name or business
Not having access to birth control
A close friend dying or becoming seriously ill during childbirth
Being sexually assaulted or abused
Having to parent a friend’s child due to unforeseen or tragic circumstances
Experiencing symptoms of pregnancy

Other Fear Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (16 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

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