About Jen Zug

I love stories that resonate.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been capturing music lyrics and movie lines in my journal and processing my connection to their magic. Stories are how I make sense of the world and find my way through it. 

I believe life is messy, but we can still laugh.

Remember that scene from the movie, Steel Magnolias? The one where Sally Field is crying and yelling at everyone in the cemetery because her daughter is dead, and then Olympia Dukakis offers Shirley MacLaine as a sacrificial punching bag for her grief? Everyone is suddenly laughing. I can’t do messy or sad without also laughing. I need laughter to live. 

Once a week, I’ll share a slice of my life.

Subscribe to Jen Zug Writes, and once a week I’ll send you a note and invite you into a conversation. It’s free to read and free to comment. To sign up, click the button and add your email address.

But Who the Heck Is Jen Zug?

Hi, it’s me, and this is my garden. I remember capturing this selfie because it was a good hair day, and I only now noticed the smudge of dirt on my forehead from doing my gardening chores. I’ve been using this garden-smudged image as my headshot for a year now, which actually checks out because I’m all about Keeping It Real. Another thing I noticed just now is how much I loved this exact hairstyle when I was 22. There’s something to unpack there.

I’m a writer living in Seattle with very few credentials to prove this claim. In some respects, it doesn’t matter – I write because I love writing. But at some point I have to get over my fear and procrastination and earn my spot in the WRITER category of the World Manual of Belonging. Like the REAL stamp on dairy products you buy at the store. Please accept me as your squishy ball of mozzarella.

Other things about me: I’m 51 years old, married 21 years to a man who still makes me laugh, and mother to young adults aged 19 and 17 who are pretty great humans. I am usually employed in a job having something to do with writing or communications or design operations, but at the moment I’m freelancing and questioning every decision I’ve ever made about my “career.” 

What You Can Expect.

Every Wednesday I’ll share a story that (I hope) resonates. I’m willing to go first, but I don’t want to be the only one – please join me in the comments. 

Substack loves to promote specificity. Do I write about parenting? Movies? Travel? The categories make me sweaty. I’ve always been too Christian to be worldly and too worldly to be Evangelical, for example. Am I a writer or project manager? Yes. As a generalist, I want a box to check that says, all of the above. 

Generally speaking, I write about being a human.

Jen Zug Writes is free to read and free to comment. Executing as a writer is the goal. Creating community is the goal. Testing my ideas is the goal. A paid option exists for you to say, “Hey, I love your voice and I want more of it. Here’s a couple bucks. Keep going.” Yes, I’m saying money sometimes does buy love.

Substack Is Awesome.

Grateful for this tool and community that makes it easy for me to put my writing in front of your eyeballs. To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.