On Writing: the chosen one [ Avatar l Supernatural l Harry Potter l The Hunger Games ]

hey Severus ah the chosen one alongside magical swords did parents and terrible movie adaptions this is one of fantasy and sci-fi favorite storytelling sharps which also means that people have strong feelings about whether or not you should use it I mean it's not uncommon to hear hey I was thinking of writing a chosen one you are dead to me but there is a world of difference between a trope that negatively impacts writing by its mere existence and one that just feels overused still feels unimaginative so today we'll be talking about what makes them work and what makes them not work but in particular I want to talk about some less common things that writers might think about will be breaking this down into four parts supporting characters destiny quests character development and narrative structure also I'm really happy to say that today's video is sponsored by Verve so Verve is a place with 12 amazing channels with the best anime animation gaming comedy fantasy and technology shows including and this is the cool thing a number of the stories I've actually referenced before in the on writing series like Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood which you need to watch and it's all in one environment more on them later but if you want to support our own true chosen one destined to save all of existence Adam and cuddles supreme leader Mishka then go to this link down in the description below for a 30-day ed free trial so chosen ones and supporting characters one of the underestimated effects of having a chosen one in your story is its effect on the place of your supporting characters chosen ones naturally create a central point of tension in the narrative that they're the only ones who can defeat the Dark Lord we're the MacGuffin of power or inherit the throne deciding where the story is headed and who gets in the way but that point of tension is usually focused around one character otherwise known as the chosen one and that's all well and good but it can leave the supporting characters with what feels like a minimal role or one that's just reduced to them being the main characters backup dancers if the chosen one is the only person in the world who can resolve the central point of tension in the story then the supporting characters can feel isolated from the climax to the reader it can feel like they have no agency that it doesn't matter whether they're there or not because ultimately if they aren't the chosen one then they can't play a consequential role this is largely because the dramatic thread of the story has been built around the chosen ones destiny whatever it may be so how do you involve supporting characters in the tension of a chosen ones story one of the best ways is to give each supporting character their own dramatic threat that builds a side.the chosen once in the narrative my favorite example of this is guess what Avatar The Last Airbender the godsend of storytelling so the avatar is the chosen one the only person who can defeat the Fire Lord but the climax doesn't just revolve around that battle the supporting characters in the story Zuko Katara Toph and Sokka each have their own battles to fight completely separate from any force of destiny that guides the battle between the avatar in the Fire Lord brother-sister tensions are built to a climax when Katara and Zuko take on Azula and soccers leadership is tested when they take on the battle fleet more importantly the story spent way more time emphasizing the tension between Zuko and Azula than it ever did the tension between the avatar and the Fire Lord meaning was actually that battle completely unrelated to the chosen one that felt more tense for the viewers at the climax by building complex around supporting characters earlier in the narrative that don't arise from the chosen this element not only does this give supporting characters integral roles to play in the climax but it supports the agency of all characters these threads can relate to the chosen one but shouldn't be dependent on it with this the reader is left feeling that the story couldn't have been concluded without them this is because even if the chosen one fulfills their destiny a large part of the tension that has been built throughout the story hasn't been satisfactorily resolved now one way that authors put a twist on this is not to have one chosen character but many chosen characters heroes of olympus by rick riordan is one example of this where each of the main characters play a role in the prophecy you could even go full old testament and do the whole chosen people or daar that up even higher again and have a chosen one within their chosen people secondly destiny quests when used well the forces of fate and destiny can create interesting challenges for characters but the difficult thing is well doing that right so the trend of chosen ones stories has been that whatever the chosen one has to do it must be a good thing because destiny and who could possibly have a problem with destiny right and even if their destiny isn't entirely predictable or maybe it has a prophecy that says someone will die the characters still tend to agree that fulfilling that prophecy is a good thing except for the bad guys because it you know usually ends up and then dying now this set up isn't inherently thing but it's often criticized because it doesn't necessarily add anything to the narrative instead it can undermine dramatic tension by making it so that when the heroes do succeed the reader doesn't feel it's entirely because the characters fought for it but because chosen one or it can have the unintended effect of making the story morally simple that one outcome must be good and the other outcome must be bad just because they're the chosen one the CNF can come across as stale and predictable to readers so let's talk about two interesting ways to distinguish the chosen ones story from this common setup one way is to have them chosen for something that they actively want to stop and this trope goes way back like to the Greek story of Oedipus and Beyond but my favorite example of this is supernatural or as I like to call it love conquers all but I swear were not gay we're the two main characters Dean and Sam turn out to be the chosen ones distant to help bring the apocalypse which neither of them want for the obvious reason that they sort of have a thing for being alive in existing on top of that one of them is destined to be the villain during it and the other the hero sort of and in the lead-up to all of this they actively talked about how they were struggling with the idea that if destiny was a thing then nothing they'd ever decided really mattered it was a heartbreaking but beautiful moment when they managed to stop half of it coming true having the chosen ones actively opposed their chosen Ness complicates that central point of tension it can add layers to the narrative facilitating an interesting thematic exploration of free will beyond that instead of weakening the dramatic tension it adds to it by forcing them to fight against something that feels unstoppable destiny either heightening that sense of achievement if they manage to avoid it or making the emotional impact heavier if they follow it on a side note this sometimes manifests in the whole you can avoid destiny storyline which riders commonly handled by having the destiny come true just not in the way that the characters or the readers expect this is usually to do with a prophecy chosen one and while it does add a mystery thread to the narrative it can yet feel stale because it often a still makes the story morally simple and be still under my instrument attention by making the protagonists achievements feel less their own if you really want to set your story apart from this comment setup it may be more interesting to ask other questions what's the fallout from avoiding destiny what are the consequences maybe the prophecy will change in response or it'll pick a new chosen one or fate will turn against the good guys entirely and in the very rare case the whole you can avoid Destiny's story can appear in the antagonist selfs being the chosen one which makes it absolute hell for the main characters to defeat them because who can control destiny this is what happened in Spyro dawn of the Dragon where metaphor was the chosen purple dragon destined to destroy the world and he actually succeeded for a little bit a second way to make the destiny threat more interesting is to have a destiny that isn't inherently good or bad this allows the author to give characters different perspectives on the chosen one to draw tension not from merely asking whether they can succeed and stopping or fulfilling their destiny but asking whether their destiny should be fulfilled whether there are more pressing concerns or whether the methods required to follow their destiny are even justified no I don't think I've ever seen this idea fully explored before but the closest that I could find to it is George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in that story there are a bunch of chosen ones all chosen for different things and not only does Cersei think that there are more pressing concerns for her to think about but tensions rise between Davos and Melisandre over whether the methods by which the prophecy can be fulfilled are justified or even moral and Rhaegar may have thought that in order to fulfill it he had to cheat on his wife marry or kidnap a particular girl and plunge the entire continent into civil war the story isn't predictable in the tensions never lost for the reader because the question of whether the chosen one will fulfill their destiny is just one of many dramatic threads around the whole concept likewise the Matrix subverts the whole chosen one idea in a really interesting way there turns out that there have been many chosen ones in the past before neo but while fulfilling each of their destinies might save lives it probably means sacrificing the last free city of humans not only did other characters within the story disagree on the value of fulfilling it but the chosen ones themselves disagreed giving a chosen one a morally ambiguous fate removes that central point of tension from asking simply whether the Harris will succeed in stopping all fulfilling it which the reader knows that the heroes generally will rather the central point of tension arises from the philosophical in character conflicts around the idea of the destiny itself this alone can make for a fascinating character driven chosen one's story and it allows the narrative to avoid binary depictions of morality like good versus evil thirdly character development and narrative structure and I'm going to talk about these two things together because they're sort of intrinsically linked because conversely having a chosen one means that writers can run the risk of undermining character motivation and the ability of the reader to empathize with that character this is the cosmic was as a fate don't always care about what's going on in the world when picking the chosen one meaning it can come across as cheap of the only reason that this mysterious farm boy you were the 110% dead parents is the only one who has the ability to stop the Dark Lord is because chosen one all that the only reason that main character begins the quest is because chosen one the problem with this narrative Lee is that it reduces your protagonists to a placeholder character the reader can feel that the characters actions have nothing to do with who they are as an individual and this is likewise if the relationships they have with the antagonist and supporting characters have little to do with who they are as people and everything to do with their chosen Ness it makes them unrelatable to the reader because people don't just do things the reader can't empathize with their journey if it isn't motivated in a way that they can understand I mean none of us are chosen once or maybe you are don't let me tell the cosmic space words it's who to pick I said cuz of this it's important to give the chosen one character arcs and motivation outside their chosen this sometimes this can be as simple as defending their loved ones but it can also be far more complex than that a great example of this is in teary precious the color of magic where the main character rincewind doesn't run away to prevent one of the most powerful spells on the universe from falling into the hands of the Rocky Horror Picture Show but because he was a coward and a really bad wizard who could never hold his own anyway in the way that his relationship with to flower the supporting character develops also has nothing to do with his chosen Asst another example is Katniss in The Hunger Games who is sort of a chosen one to lead the rebellion but she doesn't do what she does just because chosen one but because she wants to escape it all because she wants revenge on President Snow and she doesn't really grow into the role she pretends to be someone she's not for the sake of the rebellion multiple elements of motivation make the chosen one more realistic and allow the writer to create interesting struggles with a chosen one's personal motivation conflicts with their motivation to do their duty but when considering character development even more so with chosen ones it's important to consider narrative structure the first act of a story is where the author indicates to the radar the most important desires relationships and points of development for a character meaning this is where the setup is most crucial this is why character conflicts and unplanned sequels often feel jarring because the author never indicated this struggle was of any importance in the first act chosen when stories can feel like any character motivation or choices are being weakened by or at worst being substituted for arbitrary decisions of the universe this makes them less relatable it's important to establish the character as a person apart from their chosen Asst and this needs to be within the first act why is the character doing what they do and why do they have certain kinds of relationships with other characters treat them as people first and chosen one second in the same way it can be hard for a reader to empathize with their whole character development if it's entirely centered around the cosmic forces of destiny instead it's far more interesting when the narrative sets up struggles and character acts for the chosen one that aren't dependent on their chosen Asst a particularly common way is for the story to treat the destiny thread as a subplot often emphasizing the struggles that come from being the chosen one while trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life one example of this is from jake long american dragon where most of the drama in the series came from him trying to be a normal kid facing school drama pursuing his love interest and making his mom happy despite being the chosen one his character development is largely about maturing and becoming less impulsive and arrogant giving the chosen ones struggles that don't rely on their chosen this human eyeses them to the reader but as before this relatable point of conflict needs to be set up in the first act not only does this give the arc more time to develop but it immediately sets up a more relatable dramatic thread that the reader can't know if they'll be able to overcome but we need to talk about special powers because how chosen are you really if you don't have flashy powers to show for it it's important to note that it comes across as a weak writing if the only reason that the chosen one develops such powerful abilities isn't because they worked for it but because the cosmic space was a student said chosen one and this applies the same if they just get it dramatically easier than everyone else even if they don't get it with a click of their fingers an absolutely fantastic subversion of this actually comes from a game the Elder Scrolls 3 morrowind where you think that you're the chosen one and people certainly tell you that you are but the trials that you had to go through to master the abilities you hold could have been done by well anyone they were just incredibly difficult and you happened to be the first person to do it successfully by the end of the story you realize that there isn't any meaningful distinction between you being special and you working for it even if they're the chosen one it's important to make sure the reader feels they've worked for their powers only then can it feel like an achievement when they muster the ability whatever it is but none of this means that they shouldn't have any character acts or struggles related to their chosen Asst the most common story thread around chosen Monza's for them to doubt that they can accomplish what their destined to do this is one of the reasons that Eragon from the Lord of the Rings movie was far more interesting than the one from the books they played up his self-doubt around whether he was ready to ascend to the throne and wield the sword and rule but this particular storyline is so common that it really falls into that overused and unimaginative group so if you really want to distinguish your chosen ones story you might want to find a different character struggle to focus on maybe the chosen one believes it's entirely fictional like in The Chronicles of Thomas covenant where the main character goes out of his way to pretend the world he's mean to say doesn't even exist an interesting subversion of the usual chosen one paradigm is in Lois Lowry's The Giver where being the chosen one doesn't make others look up to or in Maya Jonas he actually finds it difficult because it results in his friends distancing themselves from him and he begins to wonder if it's even worth being the chosen one taking this even a step further others can't become jealous of the characters chosen this because they don't feel that that character earned the respect position or powers they got in tokens the Lord of the Rings Boromir turns on Frodo thinking he's more worthy and responsible that he's the only one who can wield the Rings power appropriately to save the world and well we know how that turned out in some cases especially where a character is chosen by a weapon or an object being the chosen one requires certain character qualities in The Dresden Files the sword of faith only responds to those who are guess what faithful but it also requires the wielder to never break a promise while they're using it creating a continuing struggle for the chosen one character tests are a useful way to frame the personal development of the chosen one as a character has to grow to meet the character requirements or even further they struggled to remain the way that the chosen one is required to be there are any number of personal conflicts that can arise from being the chosen one and whichever you choose is really just up to how you want to write your story but fundamentally the main thing that every writer needs to ask themselves about having a chosen one is what does it add to the story for all the reasons that we've discussed while chosen one's stories can be played in interesting ways there are a few more pitfalls to the stroke than most if the themes are no less nuanced if a character is made more interesting if overcoming their struggles feel more like an achievement and their motivation is more sincere with them not being a chosen one then chances are the story would work better without it there are a lot of chosen ones stories a lot of good ones and a lot of not so good ones I've been lucky to have Verve sponsor this video and if you want to watch a chosen one series that avoids the pitfalls we've talked about in this video then i recommend ruby you can watch it by clicking this link down in the description below for a 30-day free trial completely ad free while i won't spoil the story Ruby Rose is a lineage chosen one meaning she comes from a long line of chosen ones before her but the story works because it gives it supporting characters their own dramatic threads and it ensures that Ruby's motivation her character arcs and relationships are each established apart from her role as the chosen one and it's all within the first act it doesn't feel like the cosmic space was as it just saying chosen one so Verve is this cool streaming service that combines crunchyroll roosterteeth Funimation and a bunch of other great channels dozens of shows subtend of 1080p like a tech on titan and bravest warrior oh and they now have offline viewing available for premium members on ios and android which means that you can sync your shows and watch them without an internet connection i should press that this offer is only available for a limited time so go click this link in the description to check all this out a 30-day free trial with Verve premium for access to all of this remember Ruby and Full Metal Alchemist so what have we discussed about chosen ones today firstly giving supporting characters each their own dramatic threads that aren't reliant on the destiny thread makes for a multi dimensional climax and ensures they each independently feel crucial to the resolution of the tension secondly making the destiny thread either an antagonistic force or morally ambiguous can heighten the dramatic tension as well as the thematic and emotional weight around how it unfolds thirdly giving chosen one's character arcs motivation relationships and struggles outside of their chosen as' and not only makes them more relatable but the tension arising from those isn't undermined by their chosen as' however the chosen one should still have arcs related to being the chosen one fourthly in structuring a chosen ones story these elements should be established within the first act and developed alongside any dystiny threads but that's all from me my longest on writing video yet if you want help decide what kind of on writing topics I do in the future then you can come support as supreme and glorious leader Mischka who is in fact the chosen one at patreon there's a link in the description i hope this touched on some things that people don't tend to think about as much when writing chosen ones but what are your thoughts let me know down in the comments below likewise question of the day would you go to the fantasy world of your choice if you could never return stay nerdy sub furies and I will see you in the future

Channel: Hello Future Me

Views: 316,182

Rating: 4.9600239 out of 5

Keywords: HFM, how to train your dragon, httyd, avatar, legend of korra, legend of aang, the last airbender, atla, toothless, harry potter, supernatural, dean, sam, lucifer, carry on my wayward son, hermione, ron weasley, the hunger games, catching fire, mockingjay, katniss everdeen, how to write, writing advice, how to, storytelling, aang, chosen one, prophecy, percy jackson, rincewind, the colour of magic, terry pratchett, lord of the rings, boromir, frodo

Id: _VPX5AafADM

Length: 17min 36sec (1056 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 14 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Kzulon]

Though beware, there are quite a few spoilers for the shows they discuss in the video. So if you're keen to stay away from them, maybe not :)