The past is always with us. It lives inside us and it drives our stories. Without our pasts we might be happier, but we couldn’t write.

Our characters, like us, behave who they are. They create their destinies as we create ours.

I’ve heard it said that ‘in opera, tragedy is the collision of two virtues.’

If you want to write a memorable story, have your character make a mistake with the best of intentions, and from that, fashion redemption.

The one place we can have control is in the stories we tell – when we use that control wisely, our past and the destiny we create will make great stories.

Writing creatively can also help us to feel better.

Prompt: Write a 200 word story in which a character creates their destiny. Begin with: I’m not doing that again.