By Carol Harblin

Every story has a climax and every writer has a purpose. When writing our stories we cannot lose our purpose.

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WRITING EXERCISE:

Before doing anything else, take out a piece of paper or start a new Word Document and begin writing your own mission statement. It doesn't have to be that long. It can be up to a page or even as short as one paragraph. Keep that mission statement near your writing area so you never forget your WHY.

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Days turn into months and our writer's block transforms to an insurmountable mound. We sometimes lose our purpose - or our WHY we write.

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So what is a mission statement? It sets a tone and defines who we are as a writer and what we want to accomplish as a writer. When you answer that question, "Who am I as a writer?" you want to explore what it is about writing that makes you the most alive?

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Where did you start in life that you first realized you were a writer? Discuss the adversities you've overcome that gave you your epiphany that you were a writer.

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What are some short-term goals and long-term goals that you want to accomplish as a writer?

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The right mission statement will inspire you to continue writing and it will encourage you. You will be your own muse.

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One of my first assignments in graduate school was to write my own mission statement. I felt like a deer in the headlights. Everyone around me immediately began typing or etching their statements, but then after my momentary lapse of freaking out, it hit me. Once I began writing, I didn't stop till I finished my two pages. I just started writing why I loved to write.

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Generally in newspaper articles it is the what that we want to find out, but in our own mission statements and in our own stories we always need to find our WHY.

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Without knowing our purpose then we lose ourselves and we lose our raison de vivre   - reason to live. Writing is part of our core and soul. In every story we write there is always a lesson or message we want to get out. Our messages we send to our world is our legacy and our WHY. Writing is our way of changing the world.

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Make it a great story, a great life, and a great mission statement. Never forget why you started writing and never forget why it drives you.