Things Not Said - Start Here!
My novel draft is now on Substack, and I'm developing it into a graphic novel
In 2022, I took the tiny seed of a story I’d scribbled a few years ago about a mysterious pink door at the back of the pantry of an old house, and ran with it for NaNoWriMo.
The goal was to hit 50,000 words in the month of November—that’s 1,667 words a day. It was breakneck speed for someone like me, who hadn’t planned on writing a novel at all, and was struggling with major perfectionism and art block.
November 30th and 50,000 words came, and the story wasn’t done yet—but by Christmas, I had finished the first draft (just under 67,000 words) of Things Not Said, a novel about grief and generational trauma.
I published each chapter as I completed it (flying by the seat of my pants) for my patrons over on Patreon, and the process of sharing my unedited work in real time was a huge breakthrough for me creatively. I loved the energy of writing “on stage” and the extra push it gave me to get through the perfectionism that had been slowing me down. I’ve since moved to Substack, and I’m bringing Things Not Said along!
✨This August-October, I posted one chapter a week (for free, for everyone), every Friday.✨
GET STARTED READING:
Read Chapter One - Do You Still See Me?
Read Chapter Two - This Isn’t What I Wanted
Read Chapter Three - Stuck Before I’ve Even Begun
Read Chapter Four - You’ve Changed / You’re the Same
Read Chapter Five - Something is Missing
Read Chapter Six - Fear Keeps Us Apart
Chapter Seven - This is Yours to Carry
About the Story:
Things Not Said is a young adult novel in first draft form about grief, family secrets, and generational trauma, for fans of The Secret Life of Bees, with a New England setting and emotional resonance similar to The Spitfire Grill.
14-year-old June hasn’t spoken since her mother died a year ago, and in her new life in a small New England town with the warmhearted Grandmother she had barely met before, all she wants is to stay silent, invisible, and safe. She observes the world from the corner booth of her Grandmother’s cozy diner, learning the stories of the regulars from afar, but avoiding getting too close to anyone—her prying social worker, her pushy therapist, the overly-friendly girl from school, and even Grandma can never, ever learn June’s painful secret about her mother’s death. But Grandma’s been forgetting things, and when her strange ramblings reveal dangerous secrets of her own, June fears their carefully constructed safe haven is crumbling, and it's only a matter of time before they’re separated and sent to different kinds of Homes. With Grandma sending cryptic letters that keep getting returned to sender, and a strange tapping coming from the mysterious door in the pantry of her old house, June must unravel her family’s dark secrets to keep Grandma’s lapses under wraps—and their fragile life together secure.
Things Not Said is a thoughtful story about the insidious nature of guilt, and the things we scream with our hearts—but don’t say out loud—that pass from one generation to the next. When our deepest secrets are brought to light, will we burn—or begin to heal?
Though this story is completely fictional, it is deeply infused with my own experiences with early trauma, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, dissociation, and family secrets. Though I wasn’t fully aware of my Autism and ADHD when I started writing it, it also reflects a lot of the internal conflicts and thought processes of a neurodivergent person.
As such, it covers a lot of difficult topics. I’ve tried to handle it all delicately and not too graphically, but if any of this sounds triggering to you, please tread lightly, friends. I’ll include specific content warnings before each chapter to help you navigate. 🧡
On a lighter note, it is also full to the brim with New England fall, cozy diner food, and jazz music.
Enjoy.
Developing a Graphic Novel
This summer, I did some (very light) spell-checking, grammar and clarity tweaks, but for the most part it’s still in its first draft form (please keep this in mind when commenting on chapters—I plan to do more research and polishing as I edit this story later on).
I know it’s still rough, and I already have some ideas for ways to make it stronger, but before I get too far with editing it as a prose novel, I want to explore what it might look like as a graphic novel.
So, along with each first draft chapter I repost, I’ve included some graphic novel concept art as I explore character and environment design, color palette and materials, and, most importantly, visual storytelling in panel form—it’ll be a special challenge to figure out how to translate June’s internal story with more illustration than words, and convey the depth of experiences like flashbacks and dissociation with imagery.
Whichever route Things Not Said takes in the future (novel or graphic novel), it’ll be a loooooong road getting there, and this is just the next step. I’ll appreciate all the support and cheering on I can get along the way!
To my original patrons,
Thank you so much for encouraging me at the start of this ambitious project, for caring what happens to June and Imogen, and making it possible to take this next step! Sending you all the chocolate chip pancakes I can pile on this virtual plate. 💙
Ways to Support Things Not Said:
Leave a comment, restack, or recommend on Substack (all free!)
Become a paid subscriber here on Substack
Buy me a coffee (one-time donation via Ko-fi)
If this all sounds exciting to you, leave me a comment— even if it’s just a 🥞 emoji!
I know the pressure to formulate a comment can be stressful, but a simple digital stack of pancakes is all it takes to let me know you’re out there—and it all helps on this long journey to bring this story to life!
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the idea of writing 'live' feels so exciting and fresh! excited to follow along. 🥞
🥞 🍵 🥰