How Parenting is Like Writing

Basically, you say no to your characters just like you say no to your kids.
I want to be special.
No.
I want to have magic.
No.
I want to be important/famous/popular.
No, no, no.
I want to have friends.
No.
I want Mr./Ms. Hot to fall in love with me.
No.
I want life to be easy.
No.
I want people to do what I tell them to do/what I want.
No.
I want my ending to be what I expect.
No.
Now, of course, your characters aren’t really your children. If you tortured your real children the way that you tortured your characters, you’d probably get put in jail.
However, do consider the delights as a parent of watching your children make mistakes, especially if you already told them not to. You can totally use this for your next book. I give you permission.