This post I thought I would try something new (I know I say this often). I recently read an interesting piece by Kristen Kieffer about creating mission statements. This particular post came from an article in The Creative Penn which I also had a look at, and where I was impressed by the latter part of this quote. Mission statements in the larger world act as a “guidepost for important decisions. When things get muddy, a good mission statement gives clarity to the company’s purpose. It’s like a cliff’s notes guide and a compass wrapped in one convenient package.”
I thought about this. Clarifying what it is I am doing could be useful and provide that sense of purpose that creative people often lose very easily. I know I do. For the most part creativity is at the mercy of a fickle muse. Corporations, small businesses, schools and in fact most places these days have a mission statement. It is a way of sharing the aims and values that these organisations prize with the clientele they deal with, and often it signifies their point of difference. For a writer, readers are the client and perhaps the reception would be better if the reader not only knew the stories we tell but the reasoning behind why we choose to tell them.
I often follow posts by Travis Bradberry whose work centres on emotional intelligence. Last post he discussed the way most of us seem to be chasing something in the belief “When (blank) happens, I’ll finally be happy.” The chasing doesn’t work. It is exhausting. Happy people slow down to appreciate little things, stay positive, have deep conversations and help others, and they do things in person with a growth mind-set. I have never worked as hard as I have since deciding to be a writer, or it decided on me. (I’ve never been sure.) I work so hard that people would not consider it is making me happy. Most of the time it feels like chasing mode. It isn’t. And it does, make me happy that is. Writing allows all the above to happen, at least for me.
I’m not chasing the bestseller list (but a girl can dream), I don’t care about being famous (wait a minute, will it mean I meet Hugh Jackman) but through reading and writing I get to appreciate new worlds and through this see the important things in life, and every day I learn something new. What if I can reciprocate through my own work, even in a small way, wouldn’t that be a part of this being happy, a major part even? So then why not a mission statement to help me clarify what it is I do and why, and then put it out there to remind me when I falter.
Deciding to write one and actually doing it? What was I thinking? For inspiration I went back to the quote I have on my website:
“Every human is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no others are, and to do what no other can do.”
– William Ellery Channing, 1780-1884
I had chosen this quote and the masks as a theme because I believe it is very much what a writer aims for – to be unique and do something in a way that reflects that uniqueness. I say unique and not original. Everything we do, we do with the knowledge whether conscious or unconscious, of what we have seen, read, and been party to or exposed to in some way. It is the human that chooses and puts on the mask thereby reinforcing their uniqueness with individual choices drawn from the pool of humanity. It is too late for original but never too late to be unique whilst we have an endless library of previous history at our fingertips.
My Mission Statement
Passions are for sharing. My goal then as a self-published author is two-fold. The first is to bring enjoyment through my romance series, my poetry and anything else that I create along the way to my readers. The second is to encourage taking off one mask and replacing it with another to live your own dreams. I am explorer looking to bring experiences alive on the page with my readers in a joint effort. As a self-confessed passionate lover of languages, cultures and travelling the construction of bridges to new worlds should be enticing and deliver a fantasy that inspires adventures in the wider world or the comfort of the home.
Authors are architects, builders and worker ants of our creations. We need a clear, decisive idea of what we do and what we offer so that we can. Will my mission statement help deliver a better product? Well, I look forward to your thoughts as I hope to have this sorted in the next few days.
COMING VERY SOON
A NEWLY EDITED VERSION OF
UNEXPECTED OBSESSION
BOOK 1, THE UNEXPECTED SERIES
(Stayed tuned further for news of a print copy)
Alla prossima,
Barb
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