Trope Tuesday: The chosen one

Welcome to the trope writing series, where I’ll be sharing different tropes present in fiction books on Tuesdays! We’ll cover what these tropes are, how to write them effectively yourself, and some examples of books that include them. We’ll be looking at all kinds of tropes from a variety of genres, from romance and thrillers to fantasy.

There will be at least one – possibly two – Trope Tuesdays per month. If there are any tropes you’re keen for me to cover, let me know by leaving a comment!

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The chosen one trope

The chosen one trope involves a protagonist who is “chosen” or prophesied to carry out a grand story mission (usually saving the world or defeating a villain). The protagonist typically cannot choose to do otherwise, because the hands of destiny and fate are guiding them. They cannot escape their fate.

The chosen-one protagonist often has a unique skill or ability, or a certain lineage, that makes them uniquely capable of fulfilling this task.

This trope is age-old – we find it in myths and legends, such as the story of King Arthur and Excalibur, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the prophetic tale of Perseus in Greek mythology.

The concept (I hesitate to call it a “trope” in this particular use case) is also present in many sacred religious texts, which explains why it has made its way into fantasy stories by famous Christians, such as C.S. Lewis, and into the works of other writers of faith.

The traditional chosen one trope was hugely popular in science fiction and fantasy books of the eighties and the nineties – these are the genres where we find the trope in full force. It’s rare to find it outside of these spheres, since the idea of a predestined fate lends itself so well to speculative fiction.

And since it slots in nicely with fantasy/sci-fi, it usually coexists alongside a “hero’s journey” story structure. This involves a protagonist being called to go on a heroic quest or adventure.

We do still see lots of examples of the trope today – however, many modern authors are now subverting the chosen one trope to keep things fresh and interesting for their readers.

Books featuring the chosen one trope

How to write the chosen one trope into your fiction

You need a few crucial things to write a successful “chosen one” trope:

A protagonist chosen for a mission/quest: Without a “chosen” protagonist, you can’t have a chosen one trope! And without a mission or quest, there would be no story. Think about what your protagonist will be called to do. As I mentioned, these are usually things like saving the world or defeating a villain but could also be bringing down a corrupt government and forming a better society. In the Harry Potter series, Harry is prophesied to be the one destined to defeat Lord Voldemort. Likewise, in the Wheel of Time series, Rand is the Dragon who is either destined to save the world or to destroy it. Think about what your protagonist is destined to do, and what will happen on their quest. What is their destiny?
A reason for this protagonist to be chosen: Even if you don’t make it clear to readers right away, there needs to be a reason for this person to be chosen. It could be a strong reason related to destiny (they’re the last of a certain bloodline, they possess a power that can match the villain’s). If you’re playing around with the trope and want to do the unexpected, it could even be a mix-up at birth that forced them into this position even though they feel completely incapable.
Destiny/fate: Think about how destiny and fate will factor into your chosen-one story. Was the character selected by a god, or multiple gods/goddesses? Are these forces pulling the strings? It doesn’t have to be a god/goddess, either – maybe a magical artefact selected the chosen one. Maybe their fate was written down in a centuries-old textbook. You can get creative and have fun with this idea!
A fatal flaw: All characters need flaws. Your chosen one will need one, too! A fatal flaw is something that’s going to prevent your chosen one from fulfilling their destiny. It should be tied to their character in some way. For example, were they bullied as a child, and so find it difficult to engage in conflict, which could impact their defeat of the villain? Do they struggle with using their magical abilities properly?

The hero's journey, the chosen one trope

Maybe you want to subvert the chosen one trope instead!

Many modern authors are doing this – the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson is a good example. One of the things I loved about this series was how it turned the trope on its head and questioned what would happen after the chosen one carried out their task but failed to do so properly.

To subvert the trope, think outside the box:

Twists: How can you twist what might be expected of the chosen one trope? Is the chosen one not the true hero? Could they fail, and someone else has to try again? Was the wrong person selected for the task due to some cosmic mistake?
Questions: By this I mean that your characters should be the ones questioning everything. Maybe they’ve caught a whiff that something isn’t quite right and that the gods could be wrong, the prophecy unreliable – or even untrue.
Multiple chosen ones: Some books take the angle of introducing multiple chosen ones or competing candidates. Harry Potter does this very lightly. The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth takes it to an even larger scale, across more characters. This can be a great way of subverting the trope and playing around with expectations.
Perspective/point of view: Perhaps you’ll tell the story from the perspective of someone who isn’t the chosen one. Did someone else suffer because of what the chosen one did? Is this their story?

For subversion to work, there still needs to be recognisable aspects of the chosen one trope present in the story. But the key is that you play around with these recognisable aspects and give them a unique spin.

I hope this post helped you understand the chosen one trope and gave you some ideas for writing it yourself! The next Trope Tuesday will be in October.

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