Secrets are the engine that keep a story moving forward.
by Ruth Harris
Shhh!
Secrets.
Everyone has them.
Every book must have at least one because secrets are the jet-powered engine that propels fiction forward. Ever notice how many blurbs in the daily BookBub email include the word secret?
Secrets provide motivation, plot, character, even a setting (a haunted house, anyone?) From Madame Bovary to Carrie, from Rebecca to Big Little Lies, from thrillers to romance, from mystery to women’s fiction to sci-fi, every story revolves around a secret.
Secrets ripple outward and can produce unexpected consequences a writer can take advantage of. Secrets need to be protected, denied, defended, and excused. This means they will have predictable (and unforeseen) consequences. These consequences will affect the people who guard them, excuse them, or wilfully blind themselves to their existence.
People with secrets are good at keeping them—until they’re not—or else until some external event spills the beans.
For example: a nuclear leak from a secret underground testing site that becomes a global headline. The slip up—the “tell”—will then become a major turning point in a novel.
In fiction, secrets must be revealed, and the tension secrets create must be resolved. As you plot, plan or pants your book, you will find that a well-chosen secret will provide you with a focus.
That focus will energize your writing—and your book.
1. Secrets With A Silver Lining
Silver lining secrets can work well in romance or cozy mysteries.
What if someone finds out that the Famous TV Chef thinks the local greasy spoon makes better french fries? Yes, better than than the ones FTC makes in her fancy, custom-designed, multimillion-dollar kitchen.
While that might be embarrassing, it won’t kill anyone unless someone adds poison. (That could work in a thriller or a mystery). Of course, that might not even necessarily end the FTC’s career. With shrewd PR, the Greasy Spoon Affair could make that chef even more famous. As long as the FTC doesn’t serve Greasy Spoon fries for $35 a pop in her pricey restaurant and pass them off as his/her own. Then someone might call fraud and costly lawsuits might ensue.
And a cute, sexy lawyer might appear to make all the bad stuff disappear and provide a HEA for our beleaguered heroine. 😉
2. State Secrets
State Secrets are the meat and bones of thrillers from Eric Ambler and John Buchan to Charles McCarry, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré. The plots of spy novels revolve around characters adept at uncovering secrets, keeping secrets, stealing secrets and, in The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon, secretly transformed by brainwashing into a deadly weapon—a sleeper assassin, programmed to kill without question or mercy.
The cast of characters holding state secrets also include—
- The spy who can’t be trusted: the treacherous double agent.
- The scientist—mad or otherwise—who has created—by accident or on purpose—the formula for a new, population-decimating chemical weapon.
- A powerful world leader—a paragon of enlightened leadership or a Stalin-esque dictator—suffering from a fatal disease or destructive neurological condition that must be concealed—or else!
- An secret international conspiracy—ever hear of a well-publicized conspiracy?—whose goal is world domination.
- A top-secret assassination plot the hero must uncover and stop.
- A fatherly-looking but secretly demented, power-crazed lunatic who threatens the stability of international financial markets and, thus, world peace itself.
3. Secret Baby
A classic trope, the secret baby often—but not always—occurs as a romance subgenre. To mention only a few, there are SEAL’s Secret Babies, Vampire Secret Babies, and Billionaire’s Secret Babies. You will find lists of secret baby romance novels at FictionDB, at GoodReads and at SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.
In my novel, Love And Money, (Get it free with the link below…Anne) , the mistress and the wife of a wealthy man deliver babies at almost the same time. The half-sisters, who do not know of each other’s existence, grow up in different worlds, one a beautiful, indulged heiress, the other a wrong-side-of-the-tracks neglected child, a dramatic disparity that allowed me to write about class, envy, privilege, resentment and ambition.
4. Family Secrets
Family secrets take a starring role in sagas and women’s fiction—and in memoirs.
- An upstanding citizen who is in reality a deadbeat dad who might—or might not—reconcile with his children.
- A PTA shining star but secretly neglectful mom who might—or might not—see the error of her ways.
- The sibling who stealthily cheats his brother/sister out of his/her inheritance
- The rich/powerful/vindictive/
creepy relative no one wants to cross. - A family fortune created through hard work and persistence—or was it?
- The alcoholic/mentally ill relative whose erratic, unpredictable behavior affects several generations.
- An accidental death that wasn’t so “accidental”
- The blurb for Alan Cumming’s #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Not My Father’s Son, refers to “deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career.”
5. Dark Secrets
These are the secrets that form the spine of mysteries.
- Who-dun-it?
- Why’d-they-do-it?
- How’d they do it?
- How can the MC track down the bad guy or gal?
When someone shoots aging bad-girl rocker Morgan Le Fay and threatens to finish the job in Anne’s The Lady of the Lakewood Diner, people assume the perp’s a fan of Morgan’s legendary dead rock-god husband. However, the real reason for the attack may be a secret buried in Morgan’s hometown where her childhood best friend may be the only person who knows the dark secret that can save Morgan’s life.
Anne uses that one secret to propel the plot forward throughout the book.
6. Open Secrets
Open secrets are the emperor-has-no-clothes, Harvey Weinstein, Jerry Sandusky, women’s gymnastics’ category of secrets. These are the secrets that can be used to ensnare numerous connected characters who might or might not be related.
Open secrets create a Potemkin Village faux reality in which characters who need to protect themselves from exposure—and consequences—pretend not to know what they actually do know. Lost in a web of confusion, deceit, evasion and denial, these characters are forced by circumstances over which they have no control to become liars, hypocrites, and classic unreliable narrators.
“Everyone knows” but no one says anything—until someone does—at which point your plot attains jet speed velocity.
Open secrets can be played for drama—or even for humor.
- The Big Boss is a predatory sexual abuser so people who must work with or for him keep their distance, whisper warnings to others, know better than to share an elevator or after-work drink with him, go to great lengths to make sure they are never trapped alone in his office/hotel room with him.
- No one admits that Uncle Jim is an incompetent screw-up who can’t keep a job. However, when he wears a suit and tie, he looks like he belongs in a boardroom—until he insults a powerful CEO. At which point, the company’s stock takes off and everyone gets rich by mistake and Uncle Jim is forced to straighten up and fly right.
- Aunt Susie has a shoplifting problem but the family pays off stores to keep her out of jail and her “problem” is never mentioned—until she lifts a hundred-thousand dollar diamond ring and, this time, the family can’t afford to pay and all hell breaks loose.
- Cousin Bill, captain of the football team, has tried suicide several times, but the family refuses to admit/confront his mental health issues—until he is photographed pointing a gun to his head on the sidelines at the Big Game.
- Niece Eileen is about to marry her long-time girlfriend but none of the family will help her pick out her dress or plan her wedding because “everyone knows no one in our family is gay.” Drama, tears, laughter, and hugs ensue.
7. Secrets We Keep from Ourselves
These are the character-driven secrets. In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver unveils a bleak reality as the MC reveals feelings about motherhood, marriage, and family kept secret until her young son murders classmates and she is forced to confront her own possible responsibility.
Other examples:
Your MC is an addiction expert who doesn’t realize his/her own kid is an addict. S/he misses the signs: the switch to long sleeve shirts or blouses, the constant need for money, the requests for “loans” that don’t get repaid, the frequent questions about “when will you be home?” so your MC never sees his/her kid high.
The wife who doesn’t see tip-offs to her husband’s affair although the clues are in plain sight.
In my NYT bestseller, Decades, Evelyn Bain sees signs of her husband’s affair all around her. The unexplained late nights at the office. The way he disappears for weekends for “business.” His provocative banter with his friends about their extra-marital sexual exploits. But she denies their meaning to herself. Until the secret is dramatically revealed and Evelyn’s life is turned upside down.
8. Secret Dreams
Secret dreams provide the skeleton of Cinderella stories. They often lie at the heart of romance in which the couple need to unlock each others’ secrets in order to achieve their HEA.
- The girl (or guy) jilted/left at the altar who has vowed never to fall in love again—until s/he meets Ms. or Mr. Right. But they must resolve the injury of the past.
- The couple who break up but meet again and must work through the secret anger/misunderstanding that has kept them apart.
- The gorgeous guy who has women falling all over him, but who secretly yearns to find The One.
- The beautiful, successful entrepreneur who doesn’t have time for romance—but secretly longs to be swept off her feet.
9. Secret Super Power?
Fabulous, fantastic, incredible, killer first drafts.
Ha!
Not happening, not to me, anyway, but thanks for the question. 😉
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Thanks, Ruth.
A secret baby goes hand-in-hand with a secret lover.
And what about a person who tries to hide an illness when applying for insurance?
Kathy—You can’t have a secret baby without a secret lover? Or can you? What about the mother who conceals the birth from her secret—or not so secret lover—for some reason? See how secrets generate all kind of plot ideas? 🙂
Hiding an illness from an insurer gets into fraud. A definite no-no—except to fiction writers who are known to stop at nothing in search of a great plot! 😉
I haven’t used secrets very often, although I have used something close to superpowers a couple times. Let’s just call them secret abilities.
If someone can’t come away with some great ideas from this post, there is something wrong with him.
Alex—Great point, thanks! A secret ability doesn’t have to be a superpower. Abilities like persistence, determination, patience can unlock all kinds of possibilities. An “ordinary” character can be very relatable when endowed with “everyday” abilities employed effectively or in unexpected ways.
Yes! Wouldn’t you know, in my WIP, my MC has a HUGE secret that motivates her to solve the mystery, before anyone – particularly the police – find out her secret. In my fiction, the MC often has a secret that provides motivation for her to take risks that she otherwise wouldn’t do.
This was a clever post, Ruth! Thanks for it.
Melodie—Thanks. Great addition. The secret that motivates a character to take risks s/he otherwise wouldn’t is another kind of secret writers can use. Great comment! 🙂
Hi Anne & Ruth – Secrets are wondrous things in stories, and the word itself has that lovely susurration. Thanks for more grist for our collective writerly mill.
CS—back atcha with many thanks! 🙂
My paranormal romance/thriller (psi talents rather than vampires etc.), Saving Atlantis, has three secrets. The one known to the readers from the get-go but unknown to the characters, though suspected by some. Then there is the secret that is only hinted at until revealed at the end. Plus a third secret that is also barely hinted at until it is revealed. Only the first secret moves the plot. The other two are “bonus secrets” presented for the reader to think about so they can feel good about solving it when it is revealed.
I’m still searching for an agent or publisher; Anne, I contacted Fuse Literary after reading Laurie McLean’s article in your blog.
Duh! Actually, there are two other secrets that provide the major motivation for the main character. I forgot about those because…well, I had a senior moment.
Fred—the secrets just keep piling up—sounds like you’re on a roll!
Fred–Laurie McLean will fight fiercely for you if she takes you as a client. She also helps her clients self publish shorter books between releases.
Great post, Ruth. Without secrets, literature would be dull, indeed. You’ve give us some great food for thought… and plotting!
My MC, Skylark, has paranormal abilities (psi talents like Fred Weiss’ MC) she wants to keep secret, but they keep getting out. They don’t help her solve the problems, they get her into the problems! But there’s a deeply hidden secret about her past that is the subplot thread that runs through the series and keeps getting closer and closer to the surface with each volume.
What is is? I ain’t gonna tell… not until the last book in the series! LOL
But it all starts with that necklace…
Susan—writers got to keep those secrets so readers will keep reading. Sounds like you’re on to something! 😉
Ruth–I usually use your blogpost week as a time to take a vacation from the blog, but I have to comment. This post really got me thinking. If when an author is editing–or an editor is working magic–if they asked “What’s this character’s secret?” instead of “What’s the conflict here?” I think revisions would be a lot easier.
“He’s his own worst enemy” isn’t that helpful in creating conflict. But “What secrets is he keeping from himself?” could be a really useful question for driving a story forward and creating a powerful character/story arc.
Anne—Specific and concrete, this is brilliant! Will be a big help to writers who are stuck—even though they know perfectly well what the conflict is. Being able to frame the issue in a different way as you suggest can lead to all kinds of creative, character, and plot breakthroughs. Thank you!
Thanks for a great post, Ruth. I particularly like the secrets we keep from ourselves. As long as they’re not far-fetched to create an implausible twist at the end, they add depth to the MC and their quest. My MC, Selkie Moon, seems to have a cupboard full of secrets that started with her name, and now surprise both her and the author in each book in the series. 🙂
Virginia—Thanks for the excellent illustration of how a secret can power a book—and a series—forward. Sounds like you have come up with the kind of dynamic secret that leads to surprises as a series continues. 🙂
Susan, is your series about Skylark published? She may be a kindred spirit to my character Selkie. I’d like to check her out. 🙂
Just started writing my next novel the other day and yes, I’m beginning to hint at a secret. I never thought of this before but using a secret to create tension and interest really is important in a novel. Thank you for this post.
Patricia—Thanks for the kind words. Sounds like you’re on your way to creating secrets that will leads to great twists and turns!
Thanks, Anne. This post comes at a good time. I’m doing a rewrite of an earlier YA that stalled. I knew about one secret ( a big one) at the core of the story. But, reading this post, I realized there are more secrets sprinkled through the family. Now I’m quite excited about the possibilities.
Elizabeth—Ruth here saying thanks. 🙂 Glad the post helped you generate the needed excitement to get you going!
A terrific article and discussion. What an insight to consider a secret as the MCs point of motivation. Click, click, click. That felt so right.
Eve—Thanks for the kind words. Happy to hear the post resonated with you!
I’m working on an outline where the opponent (antagonist) has an unknown admirer. The unknown admirer’s secret is violence to those causing failure to the opponent. At the end when the opponent fails the protagonist and supporting characters are certain everything is resolved but the reader knows the real secret. My hope is to draw that out and make it work.
Bryan—Wow! Sounds like a great use of secrets!
If I can put it all together who knows. I have to be good enough to do it. That’s the challenge.
Bryan—Anne and I have been at this for a long time. We can both tell you that each book is a new (and different) challenge. Just hang in and apply the needed amount of determination and persistence. If it were easy, everyone would do it! 🙂
So true. Thank you.
Thanks — this is really helpful! I’m trying to edit my first manuscript, and the MC’s “secret” is that the daughter she is raising was the product of rape at a college party…but the MC is also prone to deception and embellishment, so the other secret (unknown to the reader, and even to me, at this point!) is that she may have rewritten the encounter in her own mind, to make a consensual encounter nonconsensual. Does it really need to be revealed, what actually happened? At this point, it remains unclear, part of the murky past.
Toby—Thanks! Sounds like your MC has a secret she’s keeping from herself. Having her confront it and clarify what happened to her would be a way of her moving forward from the traumatic experience. If she continues to deceive/embellish, that might point in an entirely different direction. Either negative or else positive, but with baggage. After all, broken/imperfect people move on with their lives in a constructive way. Does that help?
It does help — this MC seems to have moved on in a destructive way, becoming an isolated, untruthful person…but her daughter eventually becomes the one to go back and deal with the past. Thanks so much for your post!
Fred, you’ve provided us with another category of secrets: The ones the characters keep from the author, lol.
Tricia, LOL indeed! But I suspect in well-written fiction the characters do have secrets that the author only finds out later. I know as I develop the characters and their various situations,one of them will sometimes say or do something I didn’t expect.
A secret affair that leads to murder. That is one of the themes that features in my most recent work. But the killer isn’t who everyone thinks it is.
Tom—A secret affair? A murder? A killer no one suspects? Sounds good to me!
Hi, I find your blogs (Anne and Ruth) a great source of inspiration, thank you. I know there are secrets in the book I’m working on – it’s just that they are a secret to me at the moment! Hopefully today is the day I find them!
sareenmclay—Thanks for the kind words! Yes, those dratted characters do have secrets they like to keep from us. It’s what makes our job so interesting—and, at times, so maddening!