Why so much buzz? Find out here, then join me, if you dare…
This week, instead of my regular essay, I’m sharing some news with those of you who might not have heard yet. The buzz has been incredible since we announced it during our LIVE reveal last Friday.
Instead of writing my regular weekly essay, I needed a few minutes to catch my breath and I want to keep you in the loop. It feels important to tell you what’s coming next––you may want to check it out and you may want to get involved.
First, a little background on my history. If you’ve been reading me for a while you know that even though I held a dream from childhood of becoming a writer, I didn’t start writing anything of substance or length until I was in my 50s. I never kept a diary. I dropped out of college because the idea of writing papers paralyzed me. I never believed I could do it. But I was an effusive and committed greeting card writer. I’d buy or design cards intended for the special people in my world. I’d pen loving missives to all of them, my friends, my family. Sometimes, I’d even get to the post office and send them! Nah, I sent them. On occasion, I’d indulge in a spew on the page about the ongoing life dramas I immersed myself in for far too many years.
And the bottom line, the theme of most of my screeds? My longing for happiness, peace, and clarity.
Tempted and inspired by the writers in my midst, (and worried that if I kept putting off writing, I’d never do it), I took a deep breath, got brave and attended a couple of workshops. I began by writing 500-word stories (about 4 minutes in length). I got even braver and began performing those stories on stage in competitions known as story slams. I’m sure you’ve heard of them.
I’ve been doing these contests for over a decade.
The first time I stood at the mic, I was terrified, my mouth as dry as unbuttered toast. I barely got my story out. But I did it, and I survived my fear. The best part? I knew I had to do it again. I was hooked.
My self-esteem grew, along with my writing skills as I learned to tell great yarns taken from the storylines of my life.
For my first 8 years slamming, I wrote maybe 1500 words a year. Just for slams. Yup, folks, that’s all she wrote.
Then, in January 2024, I came to Substack as a dare to myself and began to write at least 1500 words a week. The readers who’ve been with me since the beginning, know that some weeks, my essays run a bit longer that that. I suppose all those years of holding back caught up with me, and now, due to the benefit of aging, I’ve accumulated a lot of material. Stories abound, the 4-minute ones and the ones that sometimes run to 20 minutes in length. Yes, there are times when I do go on. And on.
So, in the spirit of my love for live performance in this medium AND my need to do something productive and inspiring in this world that’s gone totally upside down, I just launched a new project called Wham! Bam! Thank you! Slam! A story slam for women and non-binary folx.
Now that the emphasis on video is booming on Substack, my timing seems perfect. Doing a slam on the platform has been a “let’s-wait-and-see-if-it-could-work” goal since I got here. I decided to jump in, and make it real. When I approached my pal Eileen Dougharty of You’re Right, I Do Look Tired and asked her to be “my-partner-in-world-domination-so-women-can-finally-run-things-because-men-have-made-a-mess-of-everything,” she responded with a resounding, “YES, gurl, I’m in!”
Am I using too many hyphens today?
My intention is that Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam! will empower and promote other women writers on Substack. I love supporting others and singing their praises. This will be a place to speak, share, swear, and hopefully feel a sense of belonging and community.
Being in community now feels crucial to my emotional, social, and spiritual health. Is that true for you, too?
To find out more and see what we’ve got in store for you in 2026, take a look at the site, the calendar of story themes, the info for storytellers and for our audience members. You’ll get a great overview of our vision for this project.
If you have a newsletter on Substack and identify as a woman or as non-binary, you’re welcome to sign up for the theme of your choice by messaging me or Eileen. There’s one theme for each month of the year. And if you’re not sure yet whether you want to try it, you can come cheer our storytellers––you just might catch the bug I caught so many years ago.
“But what about men,” you ask? They’re more than welcome to attend shows, and support women’s storytelling by becoming paid subscribers and/or helping to get the word out. But the stage belongs to us.
And what about “The Next Write Thing?” you wonder. It’s not going anywhere. I’ll still publish my weekly essay every Wednesday morning. There will be some changes here, too, and I’ll be talking about that in the coming weeks.
All the info about how it works is waiting for you at Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!
To wrap this post for today, I’m sharing the story I told last week at my local slam.
This one’s a favorite of mine, and even though I was disqualified for going over time by two seconds, getting disqualified didn’t matter one bit, because I felt like I’d won first place by just doing it.
You can do it, too. If you’re scared, you’re not alone. But I’ll bet you’ll be happy you said yes once you’ve performed in one of our slams.
Then, we might not be able to get you off the stage! And that’s when we’ll know we’ve done what we set out to do. xoNan
PS. Yes, for those of you wondering…there will be MERCH!
PPS. Please stay, and watch this story. The theme is “True or False?”
