Creating Focus thru a Mission Statement

Creating focus thru a mission statement.  Yes, that sounds very businesslike - doesn't it?  How does it impact my writing?  Well for starters, it makes things very clear for what I hope to achieve with my series - in one simple sentence.  Everything I do should resonate with this central idea.  My theme, my anthem, my mission statement ... they are all one in the same.   

Here's my mission statement: Helping children discover the mysteries of the Chesapeake Bay in a fun and fantastic way. 

I think that sums it up.  Now I didn't write book 1, Salty Summer, with this as a vision for the series.  But by book 2, I had already decided to do the coloring contest and that's where the idea was born.  Elements specific to the Chesapeake Bay keep creeping in my storyline, whether by design or sheer dumb luck.  And all brilliant ideas are really a mixture of BOTH.  So I am embracing this theme and will use it to give myself clarity.  It is a map for my mind that tells me where I'm going. 

In creating this as my 'mission' and understanding that there is an educational component that goes along with this vision - I may end up doing some revisions to my stories.  Or maybe this will assist me in creating educational companion books for my stories - not unlike what the Magic Tree House Series did. 

This idea goes hand in hand with selecting my audience and writing specifically for them.  Because your book, any book, is not really for EVERYBODY.  It is for a certain genre, a specific audience and everything you do from conception, to writing, to marketing needs to be geared in the direction of your audience.

I have updated my website to include my mission statement in the header.  It tells everyone that visits my sight exactly what I am writing about in a single glance! 

Brilliant!  {one tiny eye opening moment at a time and it will hopefully make all the difference in the world}