A Writer’s Mission!

 

I recently read an article regarding writers having mission statements, and I thought, “I’m a writer and I don’t have one.” A mission statement represents the core principles of a company. The last company I worked for, FINRA’s mission statement is, “FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation of the securities industry.” This is McDonald’s mission statement: “McDonald's vision is to be the world's best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile." Not every company succeeds in living up to their mission, but it is a good foundation and reminder for what they need to strive for…what they set out to do in the first place.  

Why don’t writers have a mission statement? I mean, we state everything, right? We state our opinions and feelings…so where and when do we state our mission? (I'm sure there are a few out there that have one.)

As writers, we need to have a story/idea, write what we know, know our audience, and revise, revise, revise into beautiful works of art. Yet without a mission, without a vision of what we expect of ourselves and our writing, I think it makes keeping ‘butt-in-chair’ and sharing ourselves with the world a bit more difficult. If we each had our own mission, it would help us achieve our principles and expectations when our expressive ink dries up, or when we question if we’re cut out for writing. Our mission statements will remind us of the reason we each decided to become writers.  

I took some time to think about what I want my mission statement to read. Over time, our focus and achievements will alter our mission statements, but for now, this is my mission: 

“Denise’s vision is to let the ordinary and flawed be loved and have purpose; give the boring a fresh look; and open people’s eyes to the power and beauty of words. While she develops her writing, she hopes to bring a positive change to at least a few lives along the way.”  

How about you? Do you have a mission statement for your life?  

Mission and reminders,

Bea

Ich Lerne Deutsch! (I learn German)

Herzliche Gruesse,

Ich bin Bea Sempere und ich bin aus Chicago. Chicago ist nicht die Hauptstadt von Illinois. Wie heisst du?

Translation:

Heartfelt Greetings,

I am Bea Sempere and I am from Chicago. Chicago is not the capital city of Illinois. How are you called?

Since the beginning of September, I have been learning German from meinem Liebsten (my Love). We are working from a textbook and two workbooks, but it’s difficult not being in an environment where German is the primary language. I want to learn German so I can a) communicate with mein Liebster’s parents and brother, and b) in case we wind up living in Germany for a year or two. It will give me a head start before taking an extensive German course out there.

It’s tough learning a language at this stage in my life, and German isn’t an easy language to learn. English was derived from the Germanic language, yet much of what is utilized in German, isn’t in English. Unlike a Spanish translation, German doesn’t translate well into English—at least not word for word. There are many English words and phrases that don’t exist in German, and different grammatical rules.  

All nouns have an article: (die) feminine, (der) masculine and (das) neutral. Not only do I have to learn the nouns, I need to learn the article forms…and on top of that…the article changes with the noun depending on the object. Nouns are capitalized, too. Wie heisst die Biologielehrerin? How is the biology teacher called? The ending is “in”, which indicates that the biology teacher is female. That’s why the article is “die”. If the biology teacher is male, it would be der Biologielehrer. My brain does flips when I have to say and write out a number. Germans start with the second number first, such as 43 (my age). Ich bin dreiundvierzig Jahre alt. I am 43 years old.

I’m actually enjoying the challenge until mein Liebster starts talking fast. Like all languages, he blends his words together as opposed to annunciating each one, so I’ll be using Wie bitte? Excuse me? plenty of times.

Do you speak a second language?

Bratwurst and beer,

Bea

I’m on the Write Track!

I recently joined Helium, an online site where I can write, publish and get paid. On the right side of my blog, you’ll find the title Bea Sempere’s Articles on Helium. You can click on the link to take you to my “About Page.” From there you can read about me and my articles, along with browsing through Helium to see what it’s all about. Psstt… if you’re interested in joining let me know, so I can invite you and earn money from them. *smiles*

The reason I joined Helium was to get in the habit of writing and having the honor of other writers’ rate my articles. Sometimes we are our worst critics, or we overlook our weaknesses, but here I’ll know what other writers’ think. There might be instances, such as a debate article, where someone might rate me based on my opinion as oppose to my writing style. I can’t do anything about that and know that for the most part I’ll get an idea of where my articles rank amongst other writers’ articles. It’s an exciting process and I hope to learn from this experience.

For anyone stopping by my blog for the first time, or long time readers, I’d love to hear your opinion about any of my articles if you get the chance to visit my “About Me’ page. You can contact me through the email address under my profile, so please don’t hesitate to praise, criticize, or discuss my writing or my position on particular topics. Hearing your input is one way I'll learn and grow as a writer.

I thank you for stopping by and wish you a beautiful Sunday.