So You Wanna Write A Chosen One?
Do you really? I mean I’m not gonna stop you, but sighhh.....I’m kidding, but only a little bit. I don’t dislike this trope actually I kind of enjoy it, but I definitely feel like the trope is over done and normally not well-written, If you really want to write it, then we’re gonna write it well! Chosen ones are really hard to write imo because they always feel a tiny bit, ugh, I don’t know problematic. What I mean by that is that the idea that only one person in the entirety of the world and all civilization can defeat the big bag evil and everyone else is unworthy and beneath them never really sat right with me. That’s why Chosen ones have to be extremely nuanced in order for me to like them, and some authors have chosen some incredibly interesting takes and nuances on chosen ones, so here are a few tips for writing chosen one characters!
Their Choices Change Everything
If your character is the Chosen One and the only one who can kill the big bad, then inevitably all the choices they make will have even more of an impact on the story. If Luke Skywalker decides to just chill on Tatootine instead of going to save Leia and thus beginning his predestined quest to return balance to the force, that changes the whole plot of the story. The story actually doesn’t happen because in that scenario Darth Vader offs Leila before anyone can come rescue her. In any story, the choices your character makes matter, but when your character is basically the Savior, the choices they make matter even more. Show them struggling with that. Maybe, they don’t want to do any of this. Maybe they would rather chill at home with their family, but in doing that, they would be dooming hundreds or even thousands of people to death. Showing them actually struggling with having the fates of pretty much the whole world in the palm of their hand adds some nuance to their character, especially if they’re already a reluctant hero.
Make Them Work For It
A lot of people seem to think that just by being the chosen one a character becomes the all powerful, all knowing, omnipotent SuperHero who is basically undefeatable. I’m not gonna gripe with my problems about that whole trope today, but if you do have an all powerful, indestructible character you need to show them actually training and learning how to wield all this power, and preferably not over the course of one measly training chapter á la training montage. They should loose and be beaten. Take Harry Potter for example. I think we can all agree that Harry is not a very good wizard, and just because he’s the chosen one he never actually becomes the best wizard. Being the Chosen One and being the best wizard are not mutually exclusive. At the beginning of the series, he’s a mediocre wizard, and at the end of the series he’s a less mediocre wizard, but he still isn’t that good. What talent and skill he does have though, he works for. He doesn’t just expect to win every battle because he’s the chosen one, he studies and he trains. Your chosen one character doesn’t have to be all powerful, in fact it sometimes makes for a better story when they aren’t. If they are though, remember to make them work for it!
Give Them A Weakness
This feels like an obvious thing, but there are so many books where the character will just have no weaknesses, and it makes any conflict in the book feel cheap and stilted. If we know that the character is going to win because they’ve been prophesied to kill the villain, then it’s a lot harder to get through the book because any of the conflict is just like eh. To stop that from happening, give them a legitimate, dangerous weakness. Something that if they’re not careful, will kill them. Something that the antagonist can use to exploit them and kill them. Kind of like how in ATLA, the Avatar State is super powerful and helpful and awesome, but if the Avatar dies in that state, then the whole Avatar reincarnation process stops. It’s a really big reward, but a huge risk to enter that state, and we as the viewers know and recognize that. Giving your character a big weakness adds conflict back into the story, especially if the antagonist knows about the weakness and the hero doesn’t, or vice versa. Knowing that the antagonist has a feasible and not absolutely contrived way to kill the chosen one raises the stakes for the story and keeps the reader interested!
Let Them Question Their Journey
Honestly, I’m a very spiritual and religious person, but I still don’t know if I would just instantly believe if an angel came to me and said, “Elle, you’re the Savior of the world.” I feel like even the most spiritual people would have moments of doubt and questioning. So many characters just instantly believe that they’re the chosen one and never question their destiny even after suffering a devastating loss. Especially after a devastating loss or the death of a teammate, I believe even the most confident and self-assured chosen one would start to doubt themselves and wonder if they were really meant to be the Savior of the world. Letting them have doubt that shows that they’re human even with this grand destiny. But, it can be a very interesting character choice, when written correctly, if your character never questions their destiny even after a really bad loss. Maybe they’ve always been extremely arrogant or have had an inflated sense of self way before their chosen one destiny was even revealed to them. Showing that internal dialogue of them believing wholeheartedly in themselves even if deep, deep down they know they’re wrong, especially if other characters have told them that they are wrong can be so damn interesting to read.
Make Them The Chosen One For a Reason
One of my biggest gripes with the Star Wars series is that they establish that Anakin is supposed to bring balance to the force, but then get super duper fuzzy on how that’s supposed to happen. Now, I am of the belief, that Anakin’s destiny was to father Luke and become Darth Vader thus, indirectly bringing balance to the force, but who knows. The point is, if you have a chosen one, they need to have a very clear role to play in the story. Why are they specifically the chosen one? How do their powers or destiny influence their choices and behavior? Having a chosen one in your story, a trope that people generally tend to hate, needs to be for a very specific reason. Going back to my ATLA references, by the end of the series, we understand exactly why Aang was chosen to be the Avatar. He’s finally grown to master all the elements and because of the way people treat him, and the way he treats them in return, we understand why anyone else wouldn’t have been able to be the Avatar in that situation. Aang was cautious, balanced, and had a very compassionate perspective. All of those things made him the perfect character to handle the challenges of being the Avatar.
