“He who invents a tailless dog does not need to cut off its tail.”Anton Cehov · Scrisori · 1900 · scrisoare către Al. Semionov, 1889
Chekhov is addressing writers, but the rule travels further: do not complain about a problem you yourself placed on the page. A character born miserable cannot be patched up by outside intervention; the inner logic of the creation already decides what it can become. A novel about a doomed family is not saved by a happy ending bolted on out of pity, because readers can smell the eraser.
Why it matters Useful for anyone who writes, designs, or manages: before fixing a flaw, ask whether you built it into the plan yourself.