Create Your Own Mission Statement

 By Janie Reinart

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“If you don’t know where you’re going,

 it doesn’t matter which way you go.” 

~Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland

What is your passion? Your purpose? Your calling? What gets you up in the morning and makes your heart pound with anticipation? For me, it's my writing. From pen and paper to the keyboard, my days are filled with the process of bringing stories to life and working towards publication.

How do you focus and make the most of your vocation? How do you accomplish your goals? The answer starts with writing a personal mission statement. Your mission statement gives a spotlight on what is important to you, the direction you will take to accomplish it, and who will benefit. A mission statement can help you remember why you do what you do! Your mission statement can grow and change with you.

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These are the steps I followed.

1. I read personal mission statements.

“To serve as a leader, live a balanced life, and apply ethical principles to make a significant difference.” Denise Morrison, CEO of Campbell Soup Company

“To live each day with courage, compassion, and curiosity; to become a better version of myself each day, and to inspire others in my path to do the same.”  Kara Benz

2. Brainstorm and make a word bank.

     nurture, compassion, kindness, empathy, creative process, playfulness, motivation, positive  
     energy, writing, imagination, community, contributor, voice, magic of words, readers,                  
     heart/mind connection, universal truths, emergent writers, workshops.

3. Keep it brief. (30 words or less.) 


4. Play with the words. Rewrite your statement.

My mission is to ignite imagination and nurture empathy through writing stories, to engage emergent writers in finding their voice, and to be a positive motivator in the kid-lit community. 

Live your passion. Know where you are going. Accomplish your goals. Share your personal mission statements with us in the comments.  

Focus

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By Janie Reinart

I love opening a new pack of crayons, note cards, or a new journal.  You can imagine how excited I am for a new year. Then I saw a short paragraph in a magazine. . .

"Increase your chance for success by focusing on what matters most . . . This free program empowers you to identify and work toward improvements promising the greatest satisfaction."

So I took a look at LifeReimagined.org/renew

The first activity was to come up with seven or more goals. Each card has a space to type in your objective. When you finished typing in your ambition, the program has you select what goal you would choose to do first between two of your cards. 

Would you do this first or this?

After cycling through all your goals, you end up with your #1 goal. You can repeat the process with new ideas.  

This turned out to be my #1 goal. Not what I expected. 

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Next the program gives you a chance to journal about what you can change to accomplish your goals.

I am going to try to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. There never seems to be enough hours in a day!

Another step says,"This activity helps you put everyone else’s needs aside for a while and reflect on your own priorities." 

As a mom of five children and grandmommy to thirteen grandchildren, I admit this step was difficult for me. I don't think about my priorities. More time to reflect and journal. 

I am going to have to work at this. I am considering setting a timer to make sure I get my writing time in each day.

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The program goes on, "Get to the root of who you are to determine if the goals you want to accomplish are what will make you happy.  

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Wishing all of you great success in the new year and hoping you all accomplish what will make you happy. Share your goals so we can cheer you on.

Ready or Not. It's Time to Show Up. ~By Suzy Leopold

Perhaps there are times when you think it isn't the right time to write.  

I'm not ready to write that book. I can't write because I have so much to do.

Perhaps you are a writer, or desire to be a writer, but you are stuck in a pattern of defeat. Dismiss the negative thoughts. You have been given a life that includes goodness, frustrations, blessings, distractions, beliefs and doubts. Dismiss the self-doubt.

In the midst of all of the items on your daily to-do list, your family needs, the demands at work, numerous deadlines, and so forth, don't forget about you and your needs and desires. Sure you have needs for happiness, comfort and good health for you and your loved ones. These are all good desires that everyone deserves in life.

With a new year around the corner, it is time to uncover the needs and desires that make an imprint on your soul and express who you are as a writer. 

Begin thinking about bite-size goals and resolutions for 2016.

January
2016

One of the greatest road blocks a writer faces is the lack of structure. There is no one to tell you what to do and when to do it.

A writer needs goals.

If you don't know where you are headed or what road to take, how will you know when you are there?

Start small. Show a willingness. Begin with an open heart. This is about an emotion of readiness and not a feeling of courage. If you wait to feel courageous before you begin writing, you may be waiting forever.

Learn how to set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goals for your writing career.

SMART

Specific: Write clear, precise and definite goals that provide a target. If goals are too broad or too general they will be hard to achieve. 

Measurable: Goals must be written so that a writer can measure progress and know when the goals are achieved. Goals are useless if they can't be measured.

Attainable: Think about the steps to take to achieve the goals.

Relevant: Make sure the goals are just right; not too easy and not too challenging.

Timely: Follow a definite timeline. As you check your progress, adjust as need be.

Perhaps you could begin with the Five Ws. Include the word How.

First Step: Set Goals
Second Step: Get to Work
Third Step: Stick to It
Fourth Step: Make a Plan
Fifth Step: Achieve

Consider setting up a list of short-term goals and a list of long-term goals. Short-term goals are reasonable goals that can be accomplished during 2016. The other list will include reasonable goals that will take longer and eventually be accomplished over time.

Which of the following examples are SMART Goals? Which are only dreams that will cause frustration?

I will read X number of books on the craft of writing during 2016.

I will become a published writer in 2016. 

I will research and write X number of picture book manuscripts in 2016.

I will become a famous author in 2016.

I will attend X number of writing retreats, conferences and/or workshops in 2016.

I will write and sell my first chapter book for $100 k.

I will study and examine X number of picture books as mentor texts.

I will purchase all recently published picture books.

If we are to live our lives fully and well, we must learn to embrace the opposites, to live in a creative tension between our limits and our potentials. We must honor our limitations in ways that do not distort our nature, and we must trust and use our gifts in ways that fulfill the potentials God gave us.

~Parker Palmer

Don't sit down to write without a set of goals. A writer needs goals to have a direction and a purpose.

Showing up where you are with what you have is what good writers do. Time to write. Time to create. 

Create a Mission Statement ~By Suzy Leopold

The primary reason to create a Writer's Mission Statement is to identify one's purpose for writing, help a writer to stay focused, and to reach attainable goals. 

What is your voice for wanting to write? What is your purpose for needing to write? A clear, concise mission statement gives you a valuable tool for your writing journey.

By examining your desires, a writer is forced to think about goals and to list attainable goals and follow through to achieve them.

Created by my Cousin
Sheri McCulley Seibold

Let's get started.

1. Begin with your thoughts
Think about your hopes and dreams as a writer. Think about a mission statement as a strategy. It needs to serve a purpose for you and your writing. It must not be generic and meaningless.

• Who are you as a writer?
• What do you write?
• Who do you write for?
• Why do you write?
• What's important to you personally and professionally?
• What sparks you as a writer to write?

2. Focus on a goal
Brainstorm what is important to you as a writer. What goal do you want to achieve with your writing? This is an opportunity to define your goals as a writer. What is your purpose for writing? A good mission statement gives clarity and a purpose.

3. List actions
Think about what you can do to accomplish the goal[s] that you set in number two. What can you do to achieve the goals for your writing? Make sure these actions are realistic and attainable. Your statement should inspire action and create an image of you as a writer.

Goal + Action = Writing Success!

4. Time to revise and edit

Yes, just as a writer begins with a sloppy copy that becomes a draft, followed by revisions and more revisions, the same is true for a mission statement. Time to rewrite and rethink about what you wrote. This step is worth it. Time to bring it all together in words that ring true to you.

Mission statements define objectives for a writer and become part of who you are as a writer. Sure, you can edit and adjust as time goes on. A writer should make adjustments as need be after an action fulfills the goal and you have achieved success that you set out to do.

5. Post the Mission Statement 
Consider displaying your mission statement in your writing workspace, on your desk, on your business card, and on your social media profiles. Frame it. Refer to it often.

6. Memorize the Mission Statement
Internalize the reason why you write and the steps you will take to reach your goal.

A well-developed mission statement is a great tool to understand you as a writer. Doing so can be time consuming and soul searching. Writing a mission statement will help you find your way through the journey of writing for your audience. A mission statement will reflect who you are as a writer.

Claim it, Own it, Do it, Live it, Achieve it. 

Joanna Penn states, "Authors are entrepreneurs . . . " and should consider what companies do to achieve goals. She shares a 5-Step Mission Statement on her blog, The Creative Penn.  She states that a mission statement is essential to an author.

If you want to read my Mission Statement, you can read it on my Through the Prairie Garden Gate WordPress.

Don't let another day go by without writing a mission statement. Doing so will help you to stay true to you as a writer.

A sunflower from my garden.
Watch out for the bee!

Making Time for Your Writing in 2015 by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Making Time To Write

If you are like me, your list of what’s going on in your life is a mile long. Just right now, I’m renovating my house on a shoestring budget. My husband is working out of town all week. I’ve been so lucky that he’s always helped with household tasks and childcare in a big way, so his absence is putting an extra strain on what I have to do. I am teaching full-time, taking care of two kids. I’m also writing.

I’m not complaining. I feel totally and utterly blessed.

In fact, I’ll bet if you asked anyone you know their list is probably at least as long as mine, if not longer. And likely more stressful. I realize I’m not the only one who experiences life stresses.

But it’s how we choose to respond to that stress that affects our dreams. If you are like me, your dream is to work as a writer. A published one.

But how do you write if you also have to work a day job to support that writing dream?

How do you make time to write when you have multiple other responsibilities pulling at you?

Acknowledge the Season of Your Life

If you are in the season of life where you are moving, raising kids, and working full-time, then this is your current reality.

If your kids are in college and you cannot quit your day job, then this is your current reality.

If you are cobbling together part-time jobs that take up more time than a full-time job, then this is your current reality.

If you are the caregiver of an aging parent, then this is your current reality.

It does us no good to say: “If I only had ______________.” Some situations are changeable, but some are not. I wouldn’t want to get rid of my kids. I made a decision to have them, and I daily make a decision on how to be involved in their lives.

One thing about seasons is that they don’t last forever. My kids are still very young, but even in their short lives my writing schedule and process has changed as their schedules and needs have changed.

Push Yourself Without Pushing Yourself Over the Edge

I am a Type-A, highly motivated person. One of my pitfalls is taking on more than I can handle. I like to stay busy and I like to have things to work toward.

But sometimes, I forget to “acknowledge my season” and I do things that push myself right over the edge. Sometimes my husband, my mom, and my friends can see it coming long before I can.

Now, don’t get me wrong, if you are saying you have NO time to write, I would argue that isn’t true. You may not have as much time as someone else, but you do have some time. However, there is a line that goes from not doing as much as you could to pushing yourself over the edge.

Again, acknowledge for yourself: Do I need to push myself more? Or Do I need to back off and not push myself over the edge?

Write Despite Your Busy Life

Schedule a write-in for yourself. 

Pick a weekend. It might be only a few times a year that you can manage this. Set aside that time to write. But prepare carefully. You will need to do some prep work ahead of time to make that weekend effective. For instance, set aside a particular project to work on and make a list of specific tasks you plan to do on that weekend.

Pack a bag. 

Whenever I have a crazy mom-taxi kind of day, I have a friend who always asks me, “Did you pack your bag?” She knows me so well. Yes, I always pack a writing bag. A bag with my laptop, a notebook, pens, and some piece of a work in progress. It might be something to read on a hard copy and mark up. It might be chapters that I need to write. It might be research that I am going to read and organize.

Set small goals. 

Break down your task into manageable tasks. For instance, writing a book as a whole project can be overwhelming to think about. Divide the big task into manageable 15 or 30 min. tasks. It does take prep work, but it can be done.

Do Not Compare Yourself to Other Writers

I think this is one of the hardest things that I struggle with. I cannot go at the pace of some writers I know. I've been writing a long time, sometimes with little progress. But I know without a doubt that I am better writer now that I was a year ago. I can only concentrate on ME and how I can take MY writing to the next level.

Find a Non-Writing Task to Feed Your Writing

I am Type A and driven, but I also know there are times in our lives when things happen that are so emotionally taxing that we can’t write. It has happened to me and I’m sure that it’s happened to many writers I know. What can you do? You can engage in activities that feed your writer’s soul.

Read. 

As a young mom who reads to her son every night, I utilize this time to soak in good books. My snuggle time is also my research time. I write picture books and reading dozens of them a week does feed me as a writer.

Listen to books on audio. 

If I’m traveling or spending time in the car, I always listen to podcasts and audiobooks. If my kids are going to be in the car with me, we listen to middle grade novels. Again, it feeds me as a writer.

Books I Recommend

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown 

The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and theNext Big Thing by Jeff Goins 

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job by John Acuff

Time to Write by Kelly L. Stone

For my other posts on Making Time to Write, click here. 

Do it For Yourself

What is that writing project that you have been meaning to work on? Break it down into small chunks to work on it for 15-20 minutes a day. Don't say "It's not enough time." Try it (and read about one how author did it). After a month, you WILL see progress. 

What are you going to do to make time to write in 2015? Tell us in the comments below.