“If you have a reason, you don’t have a result.” – T. Harv Eker
I heard this recently and it has stuck with me. In other words, if I’ve got reasons or excuses around something, I haven’t accomplished what I want to accomplish. Reason or result: you can’t have both. Of course I immediately applied this to my writing. How many reasons (read: excuses) have I come up with not to work on the novel I profess to love and care about? What is up with that?
Reasons Keep Me From Results
It seems like my recurring theme is trying to figure out my fears and doubts around some of my projects. I was taking a walk with my beautiful and wise friend, Karen McChesney (In the Writer’s Web) and she prompted me with a question about my novel and what came out of my mouth was: “I don’t want it to fall into oblivion.”
Whoa. “What do you mean by that?” she asked. I realized at that very moment that I had a fear about it having a similar fate as some of my books that haven’t earned out their advances yet. But as we walked and talked I began to realize it was more than just sales. It was about wanting it to have an impact on readers because it was having such a big impact on me.
I was glad I had this insight, but I could feel the tug of fear around it; if I never completed the book, I’d never have to face the oblivion factor. But I wouldn’t know if the book would ever connect with readers either.
Keeping an Eye on Results
The most important result right now is to finish the book. It’s been a fascinating journey, watching as this book continues to transform. And when I think of writing scenes, developing character, rewriting the climax the way I see it now, I get so excited–and that’s where I want to stay.
