Let's talk about the Chosen One and on prophecy.

Vicent

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You know him. You're acquaintaced with her. You've seen them a ton of times.

Plot, oracles, and everything in between have spoken with them. They are the ones to save the kingdom, kill the big bad and be elected president of [insert setting]land. They are there to get the girl, the mojo, the glory and most likely lose their fathers/tutors in the process.

How do YOU tackle the concept of the chosen one? Main focus? Deconstruction or reconstruction of the concept? Maybe have them be the hero of another story? With a ten foot pole?
 

Kerosene

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I think it's a misunderstood and can be insanely interesting trope.

I'm currently writing a subversion of the The Chosen One with the love interest of my MC thinking they were meant to do a great task. But this was told to dozens of people in circles of power for them to start thinking they have to do greatness, so they themselves become the prophecy told to them. Similar to what Rowling did with Harry and Voldemort where prophesy was made by hearing of it.

Currently I'm reading through The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (book 8 atm), where its entire focus is on The Chosen One (or three). I've got some dislike for certain parts, but I do really like how he reigns in coincidence problems with The Chosen One with Ta'veren who are people who twist fate or fate twists around them. So in cases where the Rand is flooded with women, it's partly because he's handsome and partly because he changes the lives of women who he meets. Rand also isn't entirely special (so far) where his magical strength isn't immense or he's not a genius--much of what gives him the edge is either luck, good thinking, or a ton of prior experience handed down to him.
 

Aggy B.

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My Chosen Ones are usually either not in on the secret or they are the only one who knows they are supposedly destined for greatness and they are in denial.

I do like the juxtaposition between what folks are destined to do and what any one person has a responsibility to do given the opportunity, so that's usually a theme I explore with stories that have a Chosen One. Also the idea of expanding knowledge of a situation and therefore expanding responsibility. At what point can the heroine no longer walk away from what is happening? And I prefer outsiders to those on the inside. If they have training or education it's because they have sought it out, not because society has tried to equip them for the coming whatever.
 

Twick

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I do find the prophecies, etc., often are simply a lazy way for writers to work in some foreshadowing and kickstart the plot. But they have their place, and have existed almost since the start of storytelling.

If you're going to go classic, Greek myth style prophecies, you can play around with questions of whether you can cheat fate (Greeks say no) or if there is free choice for the heroes. If you have the skill of J.K. Rowling, you can do some tricky misdirection - "You thought the prophecy meant X? Nope, meant Y, and it was right under everyone's nose." There's lots of room for play with the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy, or the false prophecy, or the prophecy that really meant something else.

I never intended to have a Chosen One in my story, but a plot point, to my horror, looked like I was driving towards it, so I had to quickly make clear the difference between a Chosen One and a (possibly) Protected One:

“You have been given a gift by your mother. Take care of it.”

“You mean my life? I’ll try.”

She gives a sound of disgust. “Naedre expects you to do more than try. She has marked you as one under Her protection. Few are given that honour. Make use of it.”

“Make use of it how? For good or for evil?”

“Naedre leaves that to you. Search your heart. You will know what you want to do.”

Hopefully, that leaves the reader with the idea that even if the MC has a certain link to the Snake Goddess Naedre, he's not been given a particular mission. He hasn't even been "chosen" beyond the fact that his mother asked for the Goddess's protection for him as a child. And yet there's a hint that Naedre (if you believe she exists) has already a good idea of what his future will be.
 

Kjbartolotta

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While I have a reflexive aversion to this trope, I think we can all pick out the examples that are done well from the examples that are done badly. Harry Potter being the most well-known example of 'done well' in my opinion.

Always a big fan of Dune, which spawned a whole series about the perils of being a chosen one and the narrowness and confinement that results from prophecy and presentience. Also love Dune's younger half-sibling Book of the New Sun, which features a weird and not particularly bright hero stumbling towards messiahdom in the weirdest way possibly, usually without a clue, and thanks in large part to a hidden figure you never see (or maybe you do, but it's unclear) working behind the scenes to make it come to pass.
 

Stephen Palmer

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Also love Dune's younger half-sibling Book of the New Sun, which features a weird and not particularly bright hero stumbling towards messiahdom in the weirdest way possibly, usually without a clue, and thanks in large part to a hidden figure you never see (or maybe you do, but it's unclear) working behind the scenes to make it come to pass.

A brilliant twist on the blandness of standard prophecy tropes!
 

Adirahalcyon

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I'm not that much of a fan of the "chosen one", but if it's written well it can become really interesting. I'd like to see a different version of it though. Like for example, the chosen one dying and his/her twin having to pretend they're them? Just anything that could change it a bit.
 

Testome

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I'm not much a fan of prophecies in which is the premise of a novel and it is fulfilled to the exact details and there are no consequences. IN HPs case, I was already well invested by the time it came along, but it wasn't what you expect anyways. I would have a spot for prophecy story where the antagonist is the mc and the prophecy states he or she will become the greatest evil the world has ever known and the entire book is the mc is attempting to avoid such fate. But in the end has good character development for the prophecy to be fulfilled. (I can't think of any books that fit the bill right now. I'm sure they exist though.) Or I also like prophecies where I as the reader misinterpreted the prophecy and its all turned on its head in the end.

But the straight up here is a chosen one and a prophecy and that is the exact plot of the novel(I hate those). The author would need a completely new setting and some awesome and unique magic system for me to care about it.
 

themindstream

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The important thing to me is that if you must do a Chosen One tale and play it straight, the hero should succeed or fail on their own merits. Otherwise it's hard to argue they are actually a hero.
 

MonsterTamer

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I like the idea of not exactly a chosen one, but the one who was chosen. I guess that's kind of HP's situation.

No matter who the protagonist is, they should suffer. Horribly. Whether they are an over-powered, prophecy fulfilling, straight up chosen one or just some fool who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was chosen.
 

Torill

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I recently re-watched the brilliant Netflix drama-series The Crown, about the early years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Of course it's not fantasy, it's historical drama - but it's very much about the burden of being the chosen one. Elizabeth was not born and raised to be queen, it was only because her uncle abdicated that the fate of the Crown fell upon her father and subsequently on her. The drama is all about the terrible weight of the Crown that she cannot escape, how it crushes her relationships, to her husband, her sister, herself. Her choices are no longer hers, she is now controlled by the people, the parliament, the church, and, as she believes, by her holy oath before God. Often, she must choose what goes against her own instincts, her own sense of right and wrong – and all too often, the only choice is to abstain, to do nothing. The central, driving conflict of the series is between Elizabeth Mountbatten, the woman, and Elizabeth Regina, the Queen. (Or in other words: the protagonist is Mrs Mountbatten, and the chief antagonist is the Queen.)

I think this take on being the 'chosen one' will be very interesting in any setting, high or low fantasy or whatever - the burden of no longer being your own person, but bound by the constrictions of your role ascribed to you from outside forces - a prophecy, a legacy or whatnot. (Can't think of any good examples right now, but I'm sure they exist out there.)
 
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Aggy B.

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The MC in my Epic Not Fantasy is one who struggles with the weight of being "chosen". Her father told her she was going to save humanity and had her trained from a very young age with that thought in mind, but then he died when she was quite young. She constantly wonders if what he saw was true, if she can change her path (she's been told she can save humanity but it will kill her), and even if she can save humanity and herself.

There's also an element of her choices (and the choices of those around her) changing what might happen. So what her father saw might have been true then, but might no longer be true.
 

Kjbartolotta

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UnLundun by China Mieville is a rather good subversion of this trope, the unLondon obviously requiring an UnChosen One.
 

Vicent

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While I have a reflexive aversion to this trope, I think we can all pick out the examples that are done well from the examples that are done badly. Harry Potter being the most well-known example of 'done well' in my opinion.

Always a big fan of Dune, which spawned a whole series about the perils of being a chosen one and the narrowness and confinement that results from prophecy and presentience. Also love Dune's younger half-sibling Book of the New Sun, which features a weird and not particularly bright hero stumbling towards messiahdom in the weirdest way possibly, usually without a clue, and thanks in large part to a hidden figure you never see (or maybe you do, but it's unclear) working behind the scenes to make it come to pass.

...That looks awfully close to what I am writting. Damn it Frank Herbert, stop having the same ideas I have decades before my time!

No, really. Back then the background for my series was basically the Life of Leto Atreides II LOL
 
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yumpty-tum

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While I have a reflexive aversion to this trope, I think we can all pick out the examples that are done well from the examples that are done badly. Harry Potter being the most well-known example of 'done well' in my opinion.

Always a big fan of Dune, which spawned a whole series about the perils of being a chosen one and the narrowness and confinement that results from prophecy and presentience. Also love Dune's younger half-sibling Book of the New Sun, which features a weird and not particularly bright hero stumbling towards messiahdom in the weirdest way possibly, usually without a clue, and thanks in large part to a hidden figure you never see (or maybe you do, but it's unclear) working behind the scenes to make it come to pass.

Agree about Dune but HP as an example of the Chosen One done well?! Really? I'm going to have to strongly disagree there. There's nothing original in the way it was handled, HP is far too saintly, there's nothing about his chosen-ness that wouldn't apply to pretty much any other major character (or even minor, a heck of a lot of people died saving loved ones but none of their kids were Chosen) and don't get me started on the self-fulfilling prophecy shtick (bad guys have created their nemeses from as far back as Pharaoh making Moses in the Bible). To me, HP is literally everything wrong with the Chosen One trope.
 

sunandshadow

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I mainly only like prophecy when at least one major faction is clearly misinterpreting the prophecy, because the dramatic irony there can be fun. Like, it's prophesied that a girl will end the reign of a villain, so they expect her to kill him, but instead she marries him and he retires.
 

rwhegwood

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Stories of the chosen one, who must in some way fulfill a prophecy. must be written to a much higher standard than the one chosen because he is willing and available and there are no better options. More Frodo and less the Dragon Reborn. I like the Frodoesque heroes much better than the Rand alThor types.
 

Kjbartolotta

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As far as cliche chosen ones go, I tend to think of HP as a fairly good example. I tended to think his average-ness and the undue pressure he's under all the time is what was compelling. But HP has his die-hard defenders, I am not one of them. :tongue
 

Harlequin

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I've written a Chosen One MS (technically two, since twins). One is chosen to die, the other to rule, in a theocratic society run by oracles. I'm not a sure a single beta has noticed that it's a chosen one story until I pointed it out (and I've had loads of them).

HP is more Mary Sue than average.
 

Harlequin

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Heroes can only be accidental, or chosen. There are no real alternatives, and both can be bad. A book in which everythign is a series of coincidences soon feels like an exercise in authorial fiat; a book in which the characters are constrained by convenient strictures of Fate also feels like an exercise in authorial fiat.

When people complain of Chosen One tropes, they don't (ime) actually mean all chosen one stories, but rather a very specific variation of that plot.
 
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rwhegwood

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I would agree. Too much coincidence can undermine a story. Perhaps it's useful to get the ball rolling but at some point choices have to be made and character has to start driving the action.
 

LLTisdel

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It can be done well. Generally, I enjoy "The Chosen One" trope, but it really comes down to either A)enjoying The Chosen One as a character (or) B) if I find The Chosen One boring, the story/world-building/supporting characters better overcome the pitfalls of a dull and predictable hero.

Sometimes you need the character to be The Chosen One or the story just doesn't have the same weight. Imagine Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter without the Chosen One preambles. Everything in the pacing, plot, and conflicts of the stories come back to the Chosen One dilemma.

Example A:
Buffy the Vampire is a unique Chosen One and tackles decisions and situations in way I found exciting and new back in Ye Olde 90's.
Jon Snow/Danaerys are Chosen Ones (with a slow reveal) that helps the reader or viewer get to know their characters. I loved seeing where these characters came from and how they got to where they are now. They are heroes I personally enjoy rooting for and like to follow.
Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender- This hero came with some familiar traits, but some surprising ones as well. As a more emotional and "hippy"-ish vegetarian boy, Aang brought something new to the trope.
Frodo is fantastic. I liked how becomes a "Chosen One" by accident and I enjoy the growth of this character.



Example B:
Matthias (Redwall) is a your typical "Chosen One", but the writing and world-building are spectacular.
Garion (from The Belgariad) is another generic Chosen One. But the books are awesome and the supporting characters are fun.
Luke Skywalker (when analyzed) isn't that special or different compared to other Chosen Ones. He's another naive farmboy with just enough morals and just enough whining. However, his universe, movie, friends, and adventures hold a special place in my heart.
Harry Potter, while I like the guy, is not my favorite character in the series. As a Chosen One character, he isn't that unique, special, or different. But damn, are those books a good time!
Many-a-Squaresoft RPG. The Chosen One tended to swing to the boring/dull/predictable side, but the supporting characters and/or world-building kept me invested in the game.


I won't name bad examples, but there are certain Tolkien-inspired works across the spectrum of media that produce dull Chosen Ones AND plots. When both fall flat, this emphasizes the predictability and trite nature of the Chosen One trope.
 
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yumpty-tum

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I've written a Chosen One MS (technically two, since twins). One is chosen to die, the other to rule, in a theocratic society run by oracles. I'm not a sure a single beta has noticed that it's a chosen one story until I pointed it out (and I've had loads of them).

I really like that idea!
 

Paramite Pie

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This is my concern with my own work.

My main character is destined to destroy the world(s) and rule over the apocalyptic remains in a reign of tyranny. His main allies are an Ex-Demon and a Time Traveller who travelled back to kill him before he goes all 'Apocalypse Now'. The Forces of Good in the world are the Antagonists (divided amongst themselves over the morality of killing an innocent being before his corruption) and the Demons are of course the Villains, Fallen Angels who simply want their Father's love - and aim to do so by destroying humanity in the hopes that God will remember his first creations. (it may not be monotheistic - a more abstract god of Creation may be involved instead).

When I was younger, and quite religious - I realised I was gay and thought there was something wrong with me. I thought I was evil (yes, honestly!). I think this mental anguish found it's way into my work as this story formed in my teens and has developed into my adulthood. It's very much become a story based around rebellion against religious dogma, a sort of Bastille Day against the Heavens. It's very personal to me so I feel I can write this story very well.

I'm worried because Chosen-ones are very cliche but I'm not well read on this topic beyond TV tropes -- attempts to remove the prophecy from the story has caused some problematic plot holes.. I also wish to make my MC less passive/reactive in the early stages of the plot. Reading this thread has made me realise that Chosen-Ones as a whole are not a turn-off, it's the whole instant-hero-just-add-wateryness of it all.

I would have a spot for prophecy story where the antagonist is the mc and the prophecy states he or she will become the greatest evil the world has ever known and the entire book is the mc is attempting to avoid such fate.

This is what I'm wondering. Are there many stories like this?