Hey, Storytellers!

How it works at Wham! Bam! Thank you! Slam!

We’re thrilled you want to step up and tell us your stories.

Your dirty secrets, your poignant tales, and your fabulous fables. We’re dying to hear the story you’ve always wanted to tell, but haven’t yet because the forum wasn’t right. We’re here and our eyes and ears are wide open. We’re on the edge of our seats.

We want storytellers who’ve done this before. We want writers who’ve always wanted to be storytellers. We want writers who are scared…but want to do it anyway. We’re here to support you in taking our virtual stage.

You know we’re putting on a show, and we’re doing it once a month ‘til the end of time.

But please, be advised that the end of time might not be too far into the future the way things are going these days, but a girl can hope for the best. Always.

I’m betting on a long run and you can help me make that happen.

Storyteller info:

We provide the theme, and you write and tell an amazing story. Everyone will cheer, and roar, and stamp their feet! Here’s the deets:

1. 1 story. It must be true and about you. It has a beginning, middle, and end. We’re telling the stories of our lives. And remember, a little hyperbole never hurt anyone, and exaggeration is your friend.

2. We don’t vet your story in advance, it’s not for us to judge your work, we want to hear your words. It helps to keep in mind that it’s not an essay, it’s not a poem, or a recipe, or a mathematical formula, or a way to get rich buying crypto.

3. You have 4 whole minutes to tell your story. We’re timing you and you’ll see the timer, too. If you go over time, you can finish. But that doesn’t mean you should write a longer piece. 500 words give or take has been the guideline I’ve used. It’s a fun personal challenge. When you rehearse, think about leaving time for meaningful pauses, audience laughter, and applause. The slam isn’t a competition, so going over won’t disqualify you from anything.

4. You don’t have to memorize your story. You can read your words and concentrate on your delivery.

6. Serious stories are sublime. Funny stories are fantastic. Because, girls, we gotta keep laughing. We’ve cried so much already. Let’s get ANGRY. Let’s get SILLY. Let’s get REAL.

7. To tell a story at Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam! you must be a writer on Substack with a publication, not just a profile…we want to link to and promote your work.

8. As long as you don’t identify as male, you are welcome to tell a story. That’s all we need to know. If you’re nonbinary, this is your place to shine, too. People who identify as male are valued audience members.

9. Inclusivity. We love DEI. We want women of color to come tell stories and feel safe in our community. Anyone who’s been marginalized by this culture for being queer, trans, nonbinary, pagan, nonreligious or religious, people with disabilities, people with learning differences. People who’ve been fat-shamed. Neurotypical and neurodivergent. You can have great taste in fashion or not give a rat’s ass about style. The list could go on for ages. One more mention to the haters out there: don’t bother coming, unless you’d like a chance to grow.

10. ABSOLUTELY NO AI STORIES EVER, EVER, EVER. We’ll sniff you out and report you to the principal and then, you’ll have to stay after school every day for an entire year, without your devices. You’ll be given paper and pencil, and you’ll have to write your stories the old-fashioned way. In longhand cursive.

11. After the show wraps, we’ll publish a post with storyteller videos. It will be sent to subscribers on WBTYS and cross-posted to our personal stacks. You’ll be able to cross-post it, too.

12. You’ll sign a release giving us the right to share your stories on Substack and out in the greater (but not better) world. We’re uploading on our YouTube channel.

13. Be outrageous. Be brave. Be scared but do it anyway. Be your wonderful self. Be honest. We love you and can’t wait to see you do your thing!

14. If you have questions, get in touch with me. If you anxiety about performing or would like coaching to increase confidence and skill, you can schedule a session with me and I’ll take you through best practices.

15. The show takes place on Zoom. We welcome storytellers from all over the world. Isn’t that amazing? If you live in a time zone that would require you to stay up very late or get up at dawn, and you don’t want to, reach out to me. We’ll make it work, so you can participate, too.

“Just in case” coaching:

I offer one-on-one coaching sessions, too, so if you want an infusion of confidence, give me a shout. I want you to SHINE and I’m available to support and cheer you on.

Some tips from The Moth:

You can see more on The Moth’s site.

• ABOVE ALL, this is a safe and inclusive space. We will not tolerate racism, the phobias (you know) or hate speech of any kind, from storytellers or audience members.

• We REALLY don’t want to vet your material in advance because we trust our storytellers, and want to be as surprised as the audience the day of the show. I have a real affinity for the Zoom “eject from room” button.

• Be careful about foreign accents, unless you’re a solid impressionist or a multilingual speaker. If you think you can nail a hilarious impersonation of your mother or your great Aunt Paulie (ask me about her Great Aunt Paulie).

• Stories that do the best in slams have stakes. You want your audience to care. There are loads of different ways to get from A-Z, and 4 minutes doesn’t allow for dawdling to get to the point. Make us care from the get-go. Give us great opening lines. Your story should be true and yours to tell...no spinning yarns where you’re not an essential character.

• Related to all of the above, be mindful of not exploiting other characters in your story. Their identities/issues should not be plot-points for laughs or dramatic intrigue.

• Please, no TEDx talks, lectures, stand-up, sales pitches, therapy talk, rants. We want plain old-fashioned STORIES. Classic yet succinct arcs where you arrive changed at the end and we hang on every word. We know you can do it.

• Keep in mind that the most exciting content can go poorly if the teller is not personally invested. We want to see your passion, even if it’s about something small.

• At Eileen Dougharty’s first time at The Moth, she saw an unassuming guy tell a story about finding a “wheat penny” and taking it to be appraised to see if it had value. You might think, “OMG who cares?” but this dude told the story so deftly that the entire crowd was yelling “WHEATIE!” and stomping their feet by the time he wrapped up.

• If you question whether your story meets the theme requirements or violates anything mentioned above, ask me to check it out or perhaps simply write something else, especially if a nagging voice in the back of your head is saying, “maybe not?” Trust yourself.

Let’s talk about “Zero dicks.” Again.

The question keeps coming up. I think people might be taking this a little too seriously. To me, the fact that there’s been dismay means something powerful is happening.

That’s an opportunity for a conversation. But this first. Maybe it’ll clear things up.

Our tagline is “1 story. 4 minutes. Zero dicks.” Using the word “dick” is intended to be tongue-in-cheek. As in “don’t be a dick.” Meaning “don’t be an asshole.”

In life, and on the stage.

That applies to men and women. Yes, this is a feminist project. No. I don’t hate all men, just the bad ones. I don’t like hating anyone, but sometimes my hand is forced. Making the choice to not invite men to be storytellers is more about saying no to male privilege, mansplaining, and manspreading. It’s not about a body part.

I’m happy to know that there are plenty of people who find humor in the tagline. For those of you who don’t, oh, well. Different strokes. Don’t read anything into that.

We can take ourselves a little less seriously and have some fun. I’m sure of it.

After an important conversation with a dear Substack friend who was concerned about the tagline, for reasons I didn’t consider, here’s some info on inclusivity and gender and how it’s being addressed in this space. This one’s important.

Inclusivity at Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!

Here’s another post about how to write, perform a 4-minute story.

The How-To of Storytelling

Want to see our slate of themes, first? You’re going to want to do it even more.

Slam Calendar and Themes!

Want to tell a story? C’mon, you know you do…push the button and tell me you’re in.