Every successful company has a Mission Statement. A good mission statement describes why a company exists.

One of the best is Google’s twelve-word Mission Statement: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” That says it all. No hype. No bravado. A simple statement of why they exist.

As writers, many think we don’t need a mission statement, but I say baloney. Of course we need one! We need a mission statement to print out and post on our wall, or on our desk, or on our computer screens. WHY are we writers? or editors? This statement isn’t about the type of writing we do, or what we hope to achieve with our writing. It’s a simple statement of why we exist, our raison d’etre.

As a challenge to myself, I decided to write my Writer’s Mission Statement. (I have an Editor’s Mission Statement already. It’s what guides my editing endeavors.) Here is my Writer’s Mission Statement:

“To observe the human condition empathetically and share my explorations in writing.”

Okay, so that’s twelve words. I tie Google. Pithy, I think.

What’s YOUR Writer’s Mission Statement? I challenge you to create one, and send it to me in the Comments section. I’ll do a follow up when I have enough submissions.