At the End of the Day, I'm Here To Tell Stories

No matter the medium, the message remains the same.

Stories have always been a part of my everyday life.

I grew up with an older sister who loved to read, so I often found myself flipping through books far above my reading level. I loved being whisked away into worlds completely unlike mine. Before “escapism” became a buzzword, I craved stories about people who lived lives I’d never known. Sleep-away summer camps, boarding schools, varsity football teams? Sign me up.

But as I got older and more self-aware—particularly as a Black girl in predominantly non-Black spaces—my taste in stories started to shift. The library shelves rarely reflected my reality, so I went looking elsewhere. That’s when I found Wattpad—an online platform with stories written by young Black women. These stories were often fanfics about whatever Black boyband was trending and I stayed up all night, often missing the bus to read them.

After consuming so many, I eventually started dabbling with telling my own (please don’t go looking them up—they’re soooo bad 😭), but I before I could finish them, I was off to university and if it wasn’t for school or my work as a sports reporter, I wasn’t reading or writing for fun.

Still, my love of good stories never left. It just changed forms. I’d always been a movie girl—Blockbuster Fridays were a family ritual—but access to Netflix and illegal streaming sites unlocked my obsession with good television.

As a Communication Studies and Multimedia major, I got to analyze media for homework, and my appreciation for the craft deepened. In my final year, we were assigned to create a TV series and write a pilot episode. In true ADHD fashion, I pulled it all together in a weekend—loosely inspired by my university life. Not only did I get an A, I got high praise from my professor, who encouraged me to apply to the USC Summer Film Program.

And when I got in, it confirmed what I had already began to realize about myself. Not only am I storyteller, I’m a big-picture thinker and USC was the perfect opportunity to refine my raw talent.

But when the cost of a summer program exceeds a year of university tuition… you pivot. I thought about some of my favourite films and TV shows—and how many of them were inspired by books. That lit a new path: If I could put my stories to paper and people connected with them, maybe one day they could be adapted for screen. Maybe that could be my way into film.

So I wrote. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. And the whole time, I thought of my story as a series or a movie. Who I would cast as Robyn (Lauryn Ajufo), what she would wear (Kai Collective, duh), even what song would be playing during the opening sequence (“Princess Going Digital” by Amaarae).

So now, five years later, with my debut novel just three months away from being available to the world, I know what you’re thinking:

Jessica, do you know how many books get published and their film rights never sell? And even when they do, how many end up in development hell?
Yes. I know. Trust me—I know.

But honestly? I don’t care. I learned a long time ago to never take yourself out of the running. If a door hasn’t been slammed in your face, then it’s still wide open. And even if it does close, another one can still appear—better than you ever imagined.

So no, this newsletter isn’t ending with news that The Full Picture has been optioned by my dream production company. Not yet, anyway. 😉

But I truly believe I’m on this earth to tell stories and I know my words won’t live solely on paper.

Believe that.

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In The Full Picture related news, I’ve been getting so many amazing advanced reviews on GoodReads (we’re sitting at 4.56 stars!!!) so I thought I’d share some of my faves here:

If you haven’t yet pre-ordered your copy yet, I don’t know what your waiting for! I promise it’s a good time!

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And as usual, my monthly thoughts brought to you by my hardest working app—after TikTok and Libby of course!

Until we gist again,

Jess 🫶🏿