Does anyone here write their stories by hand? 🤔 I'd never written a book by hand....until now. I've always been an avid journaler and I love the feeling of putting pen to paper. It feels organic and natural. But this is my first time writing a book this way. And so far, I'm loving it. ⭐️ Here are some of the reasons why. - It feels like I can tap into the magic much more easily and the story comes more naturally. - It's nice not to be staring at a screen (which I do too much of already). - I can't tap around on other tabs and pull up YouTube when I'm feeling stuck. - It stops me from editing as I go along. That last one is a biggie for me. When I'm typing on my laptop I have a tendency to go back and edit as I write, but I'm not supposed to be doing that on a first draft! 👨🏻‍🦳 James Patterson said. "Get your first draft out of you as fast as you can, and don't look back until it's finished." It's kind of crazy, but I think I actually write faster by hand than I do on my laptop. Because I'm not editing myself and I can't get distracted by the internet. I'm only just starting, but so far so freaking good! Do you write by hand✍️ or are you sticking to the keyboard? ⌨️

I'm writing I Escaped Hollywood, Barely differently than I thought I would. I'm not polishing every chapter before moving on. I'm not stopping every few paragraphs to make the writing perfect. Instead, I'm writing the memories exactly as they come. Some chapters are messy. Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unbelievable. They're also completely out of order. One moment I'm a teenage model in Japan during the 1980s, trying to navigate a culture and career that changed my life. The next, I'm standing on a Hollywood set wondering how I got there. I'm choosing to capture the memories while they're alive instead of interrupting them with editing. The editing can come later. Right now, I'm chasing truth. My hope is that when you read these stories, you'll feel like you're right there with me—experiencing the glamour, the culture shock, the excitement, the loneliness, the opportunities, the mistakes, and everything in between. Because this memoir isn't about celebrity. It's about survival. It's about growing up in extraordinary places while trying to figure out who I was. And above all, it's about telling the story honestly. Sometimes the most powerful stories aren't perfectly written first—they're simply written before they're forgotten. ❤️📖✨

I like to start from the beginning. I enjoy letting the story unfold to me as I’m writing; sometimes I don’t know what’s going to happen until it happens 😄. A friend of mine jumps around with her stories, usually writing from the climax, then back to the beginning, then finishing. So I was just curious what everyone else’s preference is. 😊

I Escaped Hollywood, Barely. Some memories fade. Others stay lit forever, like a movie playing in the back of your mind. I was about eighteen the first time I went to Movie Night at the Playboy Mansion West. One of my roommates invited me, and I remember standing in front of the mirror getting ready. Even now, decades later, I can still picture the dress I wore—a black dress with white polka dots. Maybe memory has polished the details over time, but that's the dress I see every time I revisit that evening. As I pulled into the circular driveway, valets moved effortlessly between BMWs, Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and every luxury car imaginable. The sound of waterfalls echoed through the entrance, softening the buzz of arriving guests. It felt like stepping onto a movie set instead of someone's home. Inside, the mansion had its own rhythm. Elegant, glamorous, and surprisingly relaxed. People gathered in small groups, laughing over cocktails, wandering through rooms filled with artwork, conversation, and anticipation for the night's screening. When we finally entered the private theater, I paused for a moment. Rows of plush seats stretched toward the giant screen. Everyone seemed to know someone. It wasn't just a movie night—it was a gathering of people whose lives somehow intersected in this very Hollywood world. As I looked around the room, I realized something that had quietly become normal for me. Wherever I went, I was often one of the most beautiful girls in the room. That isn't something I say with arrogance. It was simply the reality of working as a professional model at eighteen. My appearance opened doors long before anyone knew my name. Attention came with that. That night I found myself seated between two men. Both were kind. Both were charming. Both were clearly hoping the conversation might continue after the movie. I remember smiling politely and thinking to myself... "Well... I'm probably going to have to say no." My roommates handled those moments very differently.

Francesca Catlow wrote her first novel during COVID lockdowns while taking care of her newborn baby, her injured mother, and her chronically ill husband. “I fantasized about escaping to Corfu, so, while breastfeeding my baby at 4 am, I started writing The Little Blue Door and set the story there. I didn’t stop for four weeks until the first draft was complete.” Driven by a dream of earning a living as an author but too impatient to wait for a traditional publishing deal, she turned to a vanity press. Unfortunately, they did a poor job preparing her book for publication. After much effort (and a few tears), she regained her publishing rights and decided to give her novel the proper chance it deserved — starting with a brand-new cover designed by Reedsy’s Andrew Davis. From there, everything changed. Her sales jumped from a few hundred copies to thousands, making her an Amazon Top 50 Bestseller and a 2023 Kindle Storyteller Finalist. Her books are now stocked in bookstores, and she’s been invited to signings at Waterstones and indie bookshops. Often set on the beautiful island of Corfu, they continue to receive glowing praise. Despite the initial challenges, she achieved her dream of becoming a full-time author. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 🌟 I enjoy reading and posting these success stories because they are a reminder of what we are all capable of. Like many of us, these authors started from nothing. No knowledge, no audience, no experience. But they made it happen anyway. You can do the same. You don't have to wait for someone to give you an opportunity; create your own!