Chosen One Stories: Is Your Hero Worthy of the Journey?
The “chosen one” premise is the focus of many books. They're the only person who can save the town, world, or galaxy. But writing a "chosen one" story is harder than it seems. For it to work, the story has to be unique, and the hero has to be particularly qualified for their specific quest.
Is your hero worthy of the journey?
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How do you make your hero worthy?
First, you need to establish early on why your main character is the chosen one. Ask your character, “What’s so special about you?” The character may not understand right away—often they don’t know until the end why exactly they were the one for the journey—but it needs to be clear that the task is for your hero alone, that none of the secondary characters could jump into their place.
Next, the what needs to be specific. What is the chosen one chosen for? What mission are they being sent on? What is their purpose? This, too, needs to be original, or an original twist on a known story (think Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief). Then the what and the why dovetail: Why must this hero go on this specific journey?
Chosen ones typically have greatness thrust upon them. And they’re chosen because whoever selects them thinks they’ll be able to handle the responsibility. At the very least, the hero needs to have some moral code, be somewhat likeable, willing to learn, try new things, listen to the people around them who offer guidance. They have to be willing to solve their own problems.
Unworthy characters might constantly complain, be put out by challenges, or constantly feel sorry for themselves that they have to follow through on the task at hand.
Chosen One stories that work
Let’s look at some chosen one story examples. For picture books, I like The Polar Express. Now, the title indicates the story is about a train, possibly a train that goes to the North Pole. On the surface, this is a Christmas story that plays on kids’ dreams and adults’ nostalgia, but at heart it’s a chosen one story in disguise. Readers are so taken by the imagery, the train, the idea of meeting Santa on Christmas Eve that the theme of a character chosen to go on a journey to help overcome his crisis of faith doesn’t beat them over the head.
Which gets to my next point: for the chosen one stories to work, there need to be multiple elements at play. In Star Wars, for example, it isn’t immediately clear that Luke is the chosen one—not until he meets Obi Wan Kenobi. But the mission is clear—the plans need to reach the resistance so they can take down the Death Star. It’s only as the story unfolds, and then Obi Wan dies, that it becomes clear Luke will serve a higher purpose as the last of the Jedi.
What characteristics do worthy chosen ones have?
The hero also needs to be someone we care about. Harry Potter is weak and lacks confidence when we meet him in The Sorcerer’s Stone, but we sympathize with his living in the cupboard under the stairs. Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief is a regular kid who gets bullied but tries to make the best of things, not wanting to worry his single mom.
So ask yourself—what is happening in my story that makes it unique? How is it unlike every other chosen one goes on a journey/ is transported to a different world/ must save a people they’ve only just met by overcoming an obstacle and accomplishing a task?
Try to think of the story from a lens other than the character’s. Who chooses your chosen one? Why? As a character-building exercise, consider who chooses your hero. What are they looking for? What makes one character worthier than another? What unique characteristics do they have that everyone else lacks?
Think of Harry Potter again. What makes Harry worthier of the quest than Ron or Hermione? He’s linked to Voldemort, and he’s told his mother jumped in front of the curse to protect him. Does that make him more loved than other children? Or does he have a greater responsibility because someone died for him?
Why is your chosen one unique?
You need to know what sets your hero apart. What makes them different from the other characters? Now let’s jump back to The Polar Express. Why does Santa choose this particular boy to receive the first gift of Christmas? Is it because he’s the narrator, and narrators tend to be the heroes of their own stories? No. It’s because his character has grown and changed. He started off uncertain whether Santa existed, wondering if any of the magic children see in Christmas was real. By the time he reaches the celebration at the North Pole the boy wants to believe. His desire for it all to be real overwhelms his doubts that it isn’t, and then Santa comes to life and rewards him with the first gift of Christmas. Because he overcame his doubts he’s worthier than the other children who believed all along.
For a chosen one to stand out and appeal to readers, the story itself needs to be as unique as the hero. Show us why this is what they’re destined for. And the better you understand why your hero is the only person who can fulfill the prophecy, why this journey is their sole destiny, why they will succeed where others have failed, the likelier you are to have a hero we want to join on their journey.
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