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A favorite topic of mine. For those who have followed the blog since the Legends of Windemere era, you knew it would have to be in there. A reminder that this is only part of the entry. Enjoy.
Should I Include Destiny?
Very few tropes are as common in fantasy as the destined heroes. This motivation has existed since the days of mythology and continues to be used today. Authors find twists and variations on the concept of destiny and fate, but it tends to boil down to the same thing. The hero is on a path that was chosen for them by a greater power, which brings up the question of if they are in control of any of their actions. Needless to say, readers and authors have railed against the concept. Does that mean it should be shunned and ignored? I’d be a hypocrite if I said yes since the God of Destiny is a major player in my stories. In fact, Legends of Windemere is all about destined heroes . . . Of course, there’s more to it than that, which I will get into after we go over ‘Fate vs Free Will’.
This has been a debate for years if not decades. It shouldn’t be surprising since the concept of destiny has been overused to the point of ultra-cliché. Audiences see the use of destiny or fate or being chosen by a higher power as a cop out by the author. Why does the hero go on this dangerous adventure? Well, they don’t have a choice. More importantly, it goes against our desire for freedom, which is shown through free will. Readers want to connect to the characters and destiny can be a glaring obstacle.
After all, if destiny exists in our world, then it’s not something we’re aware of or fully grasp its influence. This is different than in fantasy where it’s stated as a known force on the characters and plot. Either the heroes are told directly or the audience knows they are reading a story about fate. Even revealing this in the middle or near the finale of a story can have negative effects. This is because we don’t live in the times of older stories where destiny was accepted. It comes with a lot of baggage now.
The biggest problem with using destiny is that it removes the sense of control a character has on their own life. Readers will question every decision and action the hero makes because they aren’t seen as having freedom.
This is extremely true when they are successful or a convenience happens. Every victory is seen with the lens of there never being any other option. Failures are considered to be destiny forcing the hero to go in the right direction instead of a legitimate mistake. Once this factor is introduced and shown to be the major motivation of a character, it leads to many inferences that revolve around there being no threat of defeat. How can a destined hero lose before the finale? It’s hard to believe even if they routinely make mistakes. In fact, I would say that makes it worse because it shows that the heroes can fail upwards. If a loss doesn’t cause them to fall off their path, even a little bit, then it’s not seen as true. Readers will see it as an empty ploy meant to make them believe that destiny isn’t at play here.
While failures in a destiny-driven story are viewed with suspicion, there is a plot event audience’s rarely see coming. That would be the death of a character, especially the one who has been chosen. Authors may do this to shake things up and shock the readers, but it isn’t an action that can be taken so casually. People will see the destined hero as untouchable from the beginning. Every dangerous situation lacks the proper tension because they won’t believe death can occur. So, you have that issue right out of the gate. This is what can drive an author to drop a flaming bowling ball into their own story by killing off the destined hero.
See? Fate can be fickle and isn’t always written in stone! Now, you have to accept that . . . I can kill . . . Uh, where did my plot go? Yup, an author can derail the entire story by killing off a chosen hero and having no explanation as to how the adventure continues.
Legends of Windemere 