Who's ready for the third edition of The Cliche Flip? This one is a doozy.
So let's dig right in.
![The Cliche Flip: the chosen one edition [post title image]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTduNbrf_ok1vM-gYpcXysyb9_F5E0muu3CFusq4sfwKOqQIhG1LFnEt_rff1yhQwBG5SzLXXx8lKLceHJTzBS9NJrvRV4dhPZRNnqPO4dole2vhOq_PJswp3v9A1goNS85sOgfaEMHtk/s1600/the+cliche+flip+chosen+one+edition.PNG)
The Cliche Flip would not be a very good series if I didn't cover one of the biggest speculative-fiction-genre cliches of all time - a cliche that has been done very well by multiple authors, but has become a whole lot less popular. And I think you all know which one it is.
the chosen one.
Cliche 1: The Chosen Main Character
Why does the main character always have to be the chosen one? Yes, it makes sense it most cases - the chosen one has the most interesting journey, so we probably want to follow him/her around - but why can't someone else be the chosen one for a change? Seriously, I think there's a lot of untapped potential here ...
Cliche FLIP: The Chosen Main Character
What if your main character has been training for years, expecting that they would become the chosen one when they come of age - and then it turns out not to be them? What if the main character's mom/sibling/etc. ends up being the chosen one? Maybe the chosen one isn't even human, and your main character has to learn to cope with the fact that their world is in the hands of an alien? Yeah, I definitely think there are a ton of cool ways to break out of this cliche.
Cliche 2: Young
Pretty much every character that could slide into the "chosen one" trope is young - whether they be a child like Harry Potter or a teenager. Which makes for a whole lot of stupid decisions on the chosen one's part, and often a lot of teen angst. And while these sometimes make for great books, so long as the author handles it well, I think that having all the chosen one be around the same age range is becoming a cliche.
Cliche FLIP: Young
I think the flip for this cliche is pretty obvious. Who says we can't have the chosen one be an older character? I think it would be some much fun to have an elderly, grandmother or grandfather type character get told that they're the chosen one, and then we get to follow them and their unique (if sometimes grumble-y) outlook on life. So much whapping-things-with-canes and snapping at the "young whippersnappers who think they know everything" would ensue. Seriously, it would be epic. Gracious, now I want to take advantage of this one! xD
Cliche 3: Right On Time
Guess what I've noticed as I read the 137+ books that use the chosen one trope? The chosen one is always found right when he/she is needed. Never too late, never too early. Since when is anyone in the world right on time? (*cough* not me *cough*) There are definitely a lot of fun ways to put a spin on this Chosen One cliche.
Cliche FLIP: Right On Time
What if the pair of guardians assigned to "stalk" the chosen one until it is time to tell him that he's the one accidentally lose him on the day they were supposed to reveal themselves to him? Or maybe the chosen one shows up AFTER the big war she was prophesied to deliver them from. I think it would be easy to cause all kinds of trouble for your characters by not having their Chosen One show up right on time. Think of all the havoc we could wreak! xD
I hope those got your wheels turning! The Chosen One trope is great fun to play with, and great to read if you're careful with it ;). Remember to put your own Cliche Flips down in the comments! (and I might have to put some of yours in this post if any really stellar ones are thought of!)
And now, if your muse starts feeding you ideas for some pretty strange Chosen Ones ... don't blame me xD.
~ Savannah Grace
who's your favorite Chosen One literary character?
what do you think of the Chosen One trope in general?
The Chosen One . . . is an introvert who's pretty much terrified of being around other people. Forget leading the charge into battle, they're in their tent trying to recover from All. The. Interaction. :D
ReplyDeleteWhy is the Chosen One usually extroverted, anyway? Now I'm so curious.
Brianna
Oh my good gracious I WANT THAT. I want an introverted "chosen one" so bad! Somebody had better do that, because I would snap that book up faster than you can say "introvert" xD.
DeleteTHAT SECOND PROMPT. SAVANNAH, WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME????? WHY??????????????!!!!!!!!!! I have enough ideas! I can't get new ones!
ReplyDelete*goes to scribble new plot bunny down in the file where I keep those*
BECAUSE SOMETIMES I AM MEAN AND MUST GIVE YOU PLOT BUNNIES (I already had too many they need a new home xD). Good luck keeping them contained. They feed on notebook paper and ink xD.
DeleteI love all of these prompts and cliche flips. MARVELOUS JOB, MY DEAR! I immediately want to go write a Chosen One story with NO cliches, all redone. XD
ReplyDelete*sweeping bow* Thank ye, my friend! And once you write it I WILL DEVOUR IT and then love the book forever and always xD.
DeleteChosen one... they are fun and interesting characters...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite chosen one is probably Frodo Baggins.
astoryspinner.blogspot.com
Frodo is absolutely one of the best out there! And no one can go wrong with Lord Of The Rings ;D.
DeleteI don't know if I've ever written a book with a "Chosen One" before...and honestly, I can only think of Anakin in Star Wars that I've watched/read.
ReplyDeleteBut now I feel like writing a book with a Chosen One in it, just for the fun of flipping this cliché!
You should totally do that! I'd LOVE to read a book that's written to knock out all of the Chosen One cliches.
DeleteOOOOOOH MY WORD. SAVANNAH. YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN. I just got like...37 story ideas over the course of reading this post!!! I'M SCREAMING.
ReplyDeleteI am so in love with ALL of this! I actually kinda LIKE the chosen one trope, but it does get reeeally silly sometimes. All of these are such fantastic ways to put a fresh, BRILLIANT spin on the trope!
I think I have actually thought about how it'd be fun to NOT have the main character as the chosen one. That'd be so interesting! I've also totally laughed about the fact that the chosen one is always a hormonal teenager. Like...why??? It seems badly planned. XD But having a MOM as the chosen? THAT'D BE THE BESSST!!! Or a cranky man! Like make the mentor the chosen one? I LOVE THIS.
And the right on time thing. :O That's the one that hit me the most. YOU'RE RIGHT. They are always on time. Right to the dot. But but but...what if they came along way later after the world was nearly destroyed because they weren't there to save it? ACK. I LOVE THIS SO VERY MUUUCH!
Your prompts are GOLDEN also. Especially the villain one. O_O UGH. SAVANNAH. I have enough plot bunnies plaguing me. THANKS! :P
(But seriously. THANK YOU! This post was the best thing EVER! <333)
AH, THANK YOU SO MUCH, LAURI. (also WRITE DOWN ALL OF THOSE IDEAS, GIRL. All of the beautiful plot bunnies must be kept alive until you can write them! xD)
DeleteYeah, same - but have you ever read The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen? GRACIOUS, I've never seen a book do so well with the Chosen One trope! IT'S JUST INCREDIBLE.
Yes, I desperately want to see a mom or grandma/grandpa as the Chosen One! Wouldn't it be epic? The dialogue would be gold ;D.
THANK YOU, CHRISTINE! And you are absolutely welcome for the plot bunnies you can take them all I don't need them anymore. The biggest one's name is Fred and he will eat up all your notebooks. You have been warned. xD
YOU'RE SO WELCOME - I'm glad you enjoyed the post, my friend! <3
Oh man, this is SUCH a fun post!! Those writing prompts at the end... XD I love the one about the villain, and now I NEED to write that story!! I agree, the Chosen One is a WAY overused trope, and usually it's a cliche. One thing that really bothers me is that the Chosen One is usually an ordinary guy (or girl), and usually they have the "Why me?" attitude. Not that I'm not guilty... I've never actually called my MC the Chosen One, but he's an ordinary, orphaned teenager (why are they always orphans, anyway?) who has no special powers whatsoever until an old, bearded, cryptic dude gives him a magical object and tells him he's special, at which point my MC is like, "Why me????" Seriously. I'm pretty sure I just summarized every fantasy book ever. Oh and prophecies are another thing. There's always a prophecy. And the Chosen One almost never knows about it.
ReplyDeleteHere is my favorite non-cliche I've written: There is no Chosen One. *GASP!!* There's a character who THINKS he's the Chosen One (and he is NOT the main character), but he just has a big ego, and he gets upset when the other characters set off to save the day without him. I had fun writing it. :D
Thanks for the post! I'm loving this series!
Thank ye muchly, Talia! YES, WRITE THE STORY - and then publish it so that I can read the beautiful thing! :D And haha, yeah ... that pretty much IS the Chosen One trope! Ooh, yes, I forgot about the prophesy bit. It would be hilarious to flip that cliche around and have the Chosen One be the one spouting all the prophesies, and he has to try and figure out exactly which one if for him! xD
DeleteOH MY GRACIOUS. I'm am dying to read that book. Can I read that book?? xD Seriously, it sounds INCREDIBLE. I love that idea so much, and your character sounds great!
You're welcome, and I"m so glad you're enjoying it! <3
// when the chosen one is kidnapped by the villain when he is a baby and becomes an evil henchman and heir to the villain
ReplyDelete// when the chosen one point blank refuses bc his country men have become helpless and weak from waiting for him
// when they make a mistake and choose the wrong chosen one
// when the chosen one becomes a villain when he abuses his power
// when the chosen one is disabled
// when the chosen one dies too early
// the chosen one who is actually excited and too eager about it and ruins things when he does not listen to advice
// when the chosen one is actually the pompous arrongant stuck up jerk, not the humble and lowly peasant
// when there is a chosen one imposter
// when the book is from the chosen one's big brother's pov and the big bro is pretty much protecting and sacrificing himself over and over while the chosen one thinks he is a traitor
// when the book is from the chosen one's best neglected seems-a-bit-too-vain sidekick friend's pov
// when the chosen one is a criminal
// when the chosen one is not a human
// when the chosen one is a a human in enchanted form
// when the villain found the chosen one first and got a witch to enchant him to ... be something strange or do so or do something strange
*flails* OH MY GRACIOUS these are so epic! Like, the second one? And the fifth one? And basically ALL THE ONES? So much goodness <3. Mind if I steal a few of these and stick them in the post? (with credit to you, of course!)
DeleteBE MY GUEST lol I was inspired and just brain dumped here *cough*
DeleteAAHHHHAHA THIS IS SERIOUSLY THE BEST. XD I love all those ideas?? They're so cool. And those prompts. o-o
ReplyDeleteI actually have a Chosen One in my Flip-All-The-Cliches WIP (PRINCE) but IT'S KIND OF A PLOT TWIST SO I'M NOT SAYING ANYTHING. XD Except that it seems like a perfectly normal "ughh /another/ chosen one book" until *dramatic music*
Without giving anything away, it is a HEAP of fun to play with this cliche though.
I do kind of like the Chosen One cliche, but it can be done really badly sometimes and is so booooring like that. But I've read a couple that are absolutely brilliant and I rather love them. :D
Once again, wonderful post, Savvy!! Seriously, this was so cool. *thumbs up*
I AM SO BETA-READING PRINCE, I AM. It sounds like such an epic book (and also PRILL'S WRITING. You have the most epic sense of humor and your plots are always awesome xD).
DeleteOh, absolutely! My favorite is probably Sage from The False Prince. That book is GOLDEN, have you read it?
Thank ya so much, Jane! I've got a lot more of these planned, so I'm glad y'all are enjoying them! ;)
Aww you're too sweet. ^-^
DeleteI really want to read that book but I can't find it anywhere. *cries* And I don't want to buy it because money. XD
These are all extremely entertaining! Also, I want to write a grumbly-elderly chosen one now... hahahaha! So fun.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love the idea of someone believing they would be the chosen one, and then it's NOT THEM! That would be very interesting to see how that story turns out.
I don't know that I've done a "Chosen One" ... well... kind of, I guess... My chosen one is totally annoyed by the fact that he's the chosen one, and spends a lot of the story just doing what he does and ignoring/scoffing at the prophecy that keeps haunting him. He totally runs away for a very long period of time, trying to hide and NOT be the chosen one.
How about a chosen one who dies before they can fulfill their destiny? Like, what are the heroes going to do about that as the end of the world slowly approaches?!??!
Thanks, Jenelle! And GRACIOUS, I would LOVE to see you write a grumbly-elderly chosen one - you would do so good, and it would be GOLDEN xD.
DeleteYeah, I think there's HUGE potential for character arcs in that one.
Okay, that sounds SUPER neat. Now I need to get my hands on your books even more than before! I'll have to request them at my library so that everyone can read your epicness ;).
*gasps* That is the BEST idea ever! A heartbreaker for sure, but still THE BEST. I can't wait to see someone try that someday. Thanks for commenting, Jenelle!
Agh, the Chosen One! You have SUCH great thoughts here!
ReplyDeleteThere's just a little bit of one of these cliche flips in Nieo and Star. . . There's no technical "chosen one", but one of the characters has some typical chosen one characteristics, and it's not the main character. =)
Thanks, Hanna! And really?? That's so epic, I can't wait to see more of Nieo and Star! That story just sounds so, so epic <3.
DeleteAw, I love you. Gives me warm fuzzies that SAVANNAH STINKIN' GRACE is interested in my stories. =P
DeleteTHIS IS SO GREAT AGH. I really dislike the chosen one cliché, and this post makes me really want to use it now!! Bookmarking this for future use! :D
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU SO MUCH, MADELINE. I'm glad you like this post! <3 <3
DeleteLove this! When I think of a certain Changeling royal *cough* I want to make sure he isn't the exact same cliche as everyone else's...just have to decide when he know's ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I know exactly which Changeling royal ;D. And he definitely is breaking some cliches! I'm excited to see what you do with him in the end <3.
DeleteOH MY GOSH ALL OF THESE FLIPS. Every, single, one of these. The two guardians losing him that day? And the cat? Hilarious! And Prompt #8: WOW. That sounds like such a cool story. Now I want to make a story with a Chosen One character. :D
ReplyDeleteMy favourite literary Chosen One... I honestly don’t know. I did like Henry York/Westmore, from the 100 Cupboards series. Maybe Frodo Baggins.
I remember in the Mentor Cliché Flip, you had this: “your mentor was once told that that he/she was the ‘chosen one’. Now, at fifty, they have given up on that being true. But as they start teaching your novel’s hero, [they] begin to realize that maybe they were wrong.” Dual-flip!
For my own flips...
What if the character, upon finding out that he’s the Chosen One, wants to get started on training to get him ready for his destiny RIGHT AWAY? I mean, they’re always like ‘WHY ME?’, or they just loaf around instead of preparing to save the world. Why not have a Chosen One who’s enthusiastic about it?
What if it’s not the Chosen ONE? It could be more than one. (I remember one Jem Jones had an idea of a mentor mentoring like a dozen kids, on the first Cliché Flip, which sounded hilarious). But it could be... say, the Chosen Three. Or the Chosen Two. You can take your pick.
LOVING this series!!! :D (As is evident from my monster comment :P )
Ahhhhh yes!! Honestly sometimes, with the difference of a few "special" traits particular to the particular book, protagonists of books almost feel interchangeable. I Love this series, because you have SO many good ideas!!
ReplyDelete