So many of our decisions and the actions we take are influenced by the lessons—both productive and harmful—we’ve learned in the past. How does one of the past experiences on your list—whether directly or indirectly, consciously or subconsciously—influence a major action or decision your character makes in the present world of your novel?

Identify the decision or action and write the scene of it.

Alternatively, if you’ve already written a scene that contains a major decision or action, go back to it now that you have more of your character’s backstory in place. How can you change what you’ve written to make it more significant or resonant? If this scene is working well as it is, find another place in the story where you could create foreshadowing, a contrast, or an echo of this moment—some place where you could establish a pattern of behavior that either leads to or departs from the behavior your character exhibits in this moment.