Your character is forced to face a shameful moment. Either to themselves or to someone else.
Create a list of such shameful moments for one or more of your characters.
Pick one from the list and explore how do they deal with it. Do they break down? Do they shut down? Do they refuse to acknowledge it? How do other characters react? Who is supportive and who is antagonistic?
Now write a scene
- where there are one more characters present.
- The shameful thing is either explicitly discussed or completely avoided to be mentioned. Perhaps they refer to it as “it” or “that thing.”
- Does this advance plot or character?
- Is this a cliff-hanger moment?
- Is the narrator reliable?
- Find opportunities to create sub-text in the dialogue.