Words For Hire

Business, PR, Marketing, Social Media 586.461.2103

  • Home
  • Services
  • About
  • Case Studies
  • Press
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • June 21, 2025

The Sun Will Come

March 18, 2008 by Karen Swim

By Karen D. Swim

Today is a gray and dreary weather day. The kind of day when it is light enough to be daylight but dark enough that the outside lights have not yet turned off. Most of the snow piles have melted and the brown grass is now fully visible. The barren trees stand tall against the dark sky as rain gently falls.

As I sip my morning coffee, I stand in the doorway watching a light mist of rain fall from the sky. I’m tempted to work in my pj’s but I know that will hinder my productivity. I take a deep breath and muster up the memories of warm sunshine, gentle rays falling upon my face. Spring is only days away and I suppose this is winter’s swan song reminding us that soon all will be new again.

It seems like a perfect time to breathe deeply and reflect as I prepare for a new season. The beauty of spring is that dead things are revived after the harshness of the cold winter season. As spring nears, I find myself yearning to stretch myself personally and creatively. As I shake off the winter doldrums, inspiration is everywhere awaiting discovery. This week I have indulged myself with a neglected love of poetry. I have been devouring podcasts of spoken poetry and reading classic and modern poets. Below is one that seems to match my mood today.

Keep Me Fully Glad, by Rabindranath Tagore

Keep me fully glad with nothing. Only take my hand in your hand.
In the gloom of the deepening night take up my heart and play with it as you list.
Bind me close to you with nothing.
I will spread myself out at your feet and lie still. Under this clouded sky I will meet silence with silence. I will become one with the night clasping the earth in my breast.
Make my life glad with nothing.
The rains sweep the sky from end to end. Jasmines in the wet untamable wind revel in their own perfume. The cloud-hidden stars thrill in secret. Let me fill to the full my heart with nothing but my own depth of joy.

# # #

What are you doing to prepare for Spring? Are there new things in store for you? I am sure that I will be inspired by your insights, so please share.

Wishing you all sunshine (inside and out)!

Karen

Photo Credit: The beautiful photo is courtesy of the talented photographer and writer, Amy Palko, courtesy of Flickr. Do stop by Amy’s blog, you will be delighted you did!

Filed Under: Inspiration, Writing

Lying Authors and their Tales of Woe

March 8, 2008 by Karen Swim

Another author has been outed as a liar. Margaret Seltzer is the latest author to pass off fiction as a memoir. In the language of the ‘hood she professed to have lived, her own sister “dropped a dime on her” (translation, her sister told). Seltzer’s book “Love and Consequences” was supposedly a memoir detailing her violent and drug running childhood in South Central. Writing as Margaret B. Jones the critically acclaimed novel enjoyed a week as a literary darling before the lies were exposed.

Seltzer/Jones now joins James Frey and Stephen Glass in the growing list of writers who lie their way to fame. Lying authors make it harder to gain the reading public’s trust. The internet and “reality” TV have already taught us to be leery of what is spun as truth but there was a time you could trust a memoir to be true.

Seltzer’s story is both tragic and laughable. A news reporter checked one part of Seltzer’s story, her college education, in 5 minutes, something her publisher never bothered to do. Uncovering the lie before publishing certainly would have raised red flags and prevented the now humiliating venture.

Other clues were obvious. To begin with, “South Central” is a media term. No one who actually knows Watts, Compton, Inglewood or LA actually uses the misnomer. Insiders also would have never fallen for her half white / half Native American drug runner for the bloods. I am from Southern California and know these neighborhoods well including Seltzer’s real hood – The Valley! But I digress….

What really bugs me is why authors feel the need to pass off fiction as fact? Why not just write a good story and call it what it is – fiction? Readers do still love a good story, don’t they? In fiction, you have the freedom to pull in bits and pieces of reality and twist and shape them into a good tale.

Thanks to Seltzer and others the book public has once again been duped, and the writing community stung by the shame they bring to the profession. May their pens melt at the touch!

Karen

Photo: © John Weise | Dreamstime.com

Filed Under: Writing

All the World’s A Stage

January 30, 2008 by Karen Swim

My stomach quivered with excitement as I sat riveted by the words spoken by the actors on the stage. However, I was not moved by the performances as much as the thought of the playwright who had written the dialogue now being spoken on this stage.

I leaned in closely to capture the texture, ideas and power in the playwright’s words. Once again, I was my 5 year old self in love with the ability to tell a story.

All these years later (and trust me I am decades past 5!) my fascination and respect for those who write has not diminished. In fact, today I believe I have a greater appreciation for those who dare to inspire, educate, inspire, engage or entertain with their words.

So how does this translate in business? Writing for business is no less powerful. Your audience is (potentially) rapt with attention and you have the power to persuade them to listen to your thoughts, ideas, solutions and passions or you can cause them to leave at intermission.

Well developed characters and tightly woven plotlines will peak their interest and have them on the edge of their seats as they anticipate the next act. And like the playwright you must tell a story that is meaningful to you and will resonate with your audience.

The next time you sit down to write for your business respect the power that your words can have and then write not only from your head but from your heart – your audience will thank you by sticking around for Act 2.

Filed Under: Writing

The Random Journey to Somewhere

December 18, 2007 by Karen Swim

I have a TiVo, well actually two which I love. This thought crossed my mind today as I sat staring at the white background of Microsoft Word. A background I might add that should have been covered with words. So, I thought of the dreaded “blue screen of death” feared by TiVo users. Of course thankfully my TiVo has never been broken which then made me think of things that had been broken. This is the random thought process in which I often engage when words fail me.

At one time I would have chided myself for engaging in pointless head chatter. I have learned, however, that allowing my mind to wander and roam free often actually leads somewhere. It leads to a place, a thought , an idea that never would have been allowed to form in my otherwise structured, deadline driven day. So often in doing nothing I accomplish a great deal.

Everyone can find value in allowing time to drift along with their thoughts being carried wherever they may lead. Seemingly unrelated threads can sometimes form the basis of true innovation. Far too often in business we focus so much on structure that we miss the opportunity to dream, plan, visualize and create.

Engaging in random thought is different than brainstorming. With brainstorming you are still focused on a specific problem or concept. You simply free yourself from censoring any idea or solution. Random thought is wholly unstructured in every way. You take a back seat and allow your thoughts to do all the driving. Random thoughts have a number of benefits including:

· They can help you overcome a challenge or problem. Giving your mind a break from mulling over something can often lead you right to a solution.

· They can reveal underlying issues that you have been avoiding.

· They can reignite your creative spark.

· They open the dam and allow a release of fresh thinking and new ideas.

· They help you to recover lost memories.

The next time you find your mind drifting along don’t try to harness your thoughts. Unless of course you’re behind the wheel of a car in rush hour traffic! Otherwise, give yourself the freedom to drift along on a sea of random thoughts. You may be happily surprised where those thoughts take you.

This post was inspired by the awesome writer, Joanna Young who wrote a post on Random Facts which got me thinking….

Filed Under: Writing

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6

Copyright © 2025 · Legacy Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in