Too Many Stories with a 'Chosen One'?
The market is saturated in Chosen One stories.
This was the common opinion of the twenty-five or so agents who rejected my novel.
I get that. I totally do. With the popularity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter, the surge in this trope continues.
But, is this a bad thing?
Let’s acknowledge there’s a reason Chosen One stories are so popular. It’s not just a fad that suddenly appeared on the entertainment market. It’s been around for—well, forever. It’s been repackaged and sold over and over in different forms.
There’s a reason this story works. From Lord of the Rings, to Harry Potter, to Hunger Games. All different forms of the Chosen One story. We love Chosen One stories because we all want to be the Chosen One in our own story. We all want to be the one who overcomes and solves the mystery in our own life.
I’ll confess right now. I actually look for this type of story and jump when another one comes across my path.
In a sense, every story is a Chosen One story. Every story has a protagonist who is central to the plot, who has a barrier they must overcome. They must fight the battle. Slay the monster. Restore the peace. They are not always called the Chosen One, but they’re a stand-in none-the-less.
In a traditional Chosen One story, there’s usually a reluctant protagonist who is given a task. It’s typically associated with some sort of object (ring, wand, sword). Often there are special powers given only to the One.
But that’s just the framework. What happens before, after, and in-between can be different for every story. And there are many spinoffs. The Avatar is a reincarnation of previous Avatars. He has special gifts but no special object. Peter Parker gets bit by a spider—chosen by unfortunate circumstances, but the story is the same. Jane Eyre takes a job no one wants. Cinderella loses a slipper. Hamlet finds out his father was murdered.
Chosen One could be another way to say leading lady or leading man.
Not quite. But almost.
So saying the market is saturated in this sort of story is absolutely true.
And I can’t wait to read another one.
Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash