The beautiful creative woman’s journal by MatrikaS

“I defeat every demon when I write.”

This is the seven-word story of my life. There is nothing that I cannot overcome if I write about it. Whenever I find myself struggling to make a decision or overwhelmed with an irreparable loss, I take refuge in writing. This is the reason journaling is a huge part of my life. 

I collect beautiful journals when I am travelling. I have an enviable collection of journals, each dedicated for a particular reason. There are some professional journals, some personal journals and some travel journals. When I got the beautiful, creative woman’s journal by MatrikaS last month, my happiness knew no bounds because I never owned a journal that is designed for the creative woman in me. 

First of all the bright red color of the journal attracted me to it. There was a golden feather drawn on the cover. The most beautiful and motivating word was written beside the feather: write.

"Peace is the space

Between the words, I write;

It is during those

soft, satin moments of writing

I find a mine of peace

Tumbling from my heart

Onto the paper."

I caressed the cover of the journal and knew that it is going to be a prized possession of mine. A journal that is specifically designed for the creative woman is one of the best things I can own. It will inspire me to write, to dream and to be creative in every possible way. 

"I take a sip

Of the world around me,

Savor every little flavor

Inhale every little emotion

Then, I sit in front of the blank page

And let myself bleed."

And this journal makes the writing experience blissful. The creative woman's journal, my muse and I make a stellar creative combination. 

"I’ve met you

Through my poems

In several worlds;

Distant daydreams

Yet, so sublimely close

Countless conversations

Yet, not a single word exchanged

How beautiful you are my muse!

You beautify even the mundane scribbles."

The creative woman’s journal is my place to dream without inhibitions and to put order to my chaotic thoughts. I always had a dream of visiting old city bookstores and it was therapeutic putting my dreams on the journal. 

Apart from ruled sheets, there are also white doodle sheets in the journal where I can enjoy doodling and sketching. Nothing is more enjoyable than to doodle and scribble your heart away. The cool It's time to sticker provided in the journal made it more fun.

There are 8 beautiful coloring sheets in the journal made of elements inspired by nature. It was a delightful surprise and without any ado, I started coloring one of the pages. The butterflies in the page were beckoning me to color them with the brightest hues. It was such a stress relieving activity.

The journal is full of surprises. There are amazing stickers in the journal that made me extremely happy. Some stickers like bucket list, I want to learn to…, My current fav times, it’s time to… will help me prepare some cool lists. There are also some stickers like do it now, believing in magic, this too shall pass that are extremely motivating. The best thing is that I can also color the stickers.

The journal also has two pages dedicated to Books to be read and Places to be visited. As I love reading books and travelling, these two pages will be my favorite.

There is so much to love about the creative woman’s journal by MatrikaS. Here are the reasons why this journal is so special to me:

·        It is the perfect place to lose myself in my dreams.

·        Conversations with my muse are more delightful.

·   It revives my childhood hobby of sketching and doodling.

·        The coloring sheets alleviate my stress.

·        I can make plenty of lists…bucket lists, books to be read, places to be visited, movies to be watched, my favorite songs, best moments of the year and so on.

·        It has a cute pouch that will help me store little notes.

·        It has elastic for safe locking.

In the hectic and mundane days, this journal is like a whiff of fragrance in my life. It makes my life colorful and nudges me to dream bigger. What can be better than this for a restless dreamer like me?

My words and creativity have found a beautiful hamlet. I know, after a couple of years, I would love to revisit this special journal to see how my dreams have shaped up. 

If you are a creative soul like me, I am sure you would love this journal too. Check out the beautiful paper products of MatrikaS on their website. Also, check out their Facebook page to stay updated on their latest offers and products. 

NaNoWriMo: All set for a new challenge!

(Image Source)

I have been hearing about NaNoWriMo, which is the National Novel Writing Month since the last 4 years of my writing career. However, I couldn't motivate myself to take part in it because writing 50,000 words in a month along with managing regular workload (content writing in my case) doesn't sound easy at all. 

Moreover, there is no denying that I am so lazy, especially in the weekends. I hardly skip a weekend without catching up my friends, partying or going to a movie. So I never dared to attempt NaNoWriMo. 

However, this year, things are different. I want to challenge myself for NaNoWriMo due to plenty of reasons. First of all, I have been really bad to 'the writer in me' this year. During late August, I was so disheartened due to some reasons that I almost decided to quit writing. Even thinking of it makes me shiver now. How could I have even thought of that? Writing is like breathing to me, and even for some vulnerable minutes, I thought of giving it up. 

After that episode, I had a contemplative September when I rediscovered myself and made certain changes in my life to promote my well-being and to fuel my creativity. I made peace with the fact that writing is the number one priority in my life. It is the purpose and meaning of my life. I cannot let anything, no matter how important, take me away from it. 

I am having a wonderful, festive October with plenty of celebrations and travelling. All my close friends are Libras and therefore, October is all about birthday parties and celebrations for me. It was less work, more play. 

So now that I am all recharged with the celebrations, I have decided to commit myself to NaNoWriMo from 1st to 30th November. You can find me (Purba_Chakraborty) on the NaNoWriMo website. Please add me as a writing buddy if you are also participating in it this year. 

The tentative title of my novel is "Is it me you're looking for?" I wanted to write this book since a long time, but I have always postponed it, for some reason or the other. So, I feel that NaNoWriMo is the perfect push that I need to write this book. 

Rumi once said: "What you seek is seeking you."

The story of "Is it me you're looking for?" takes inspiration heavily from this quote. It is an emotionally intense, gripping and moving story about lost love, broken dreams and the power of miracles.

I am spending these days plotting and preparing for NaNoWriMo. I really don't remember the last time when I was so excited to start working on something new. 

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? Do you have any tips for me? Please feel free to share.

Triumph #7WordStory

This is my 7 word story on Triumph.

August has always been a very special month for me because this is the month when my artistic journey began. This is the month when I became a published author exactly 4 years back in 2012. Now, after 4 years, 3 solo books and 8 anthologies, the month of August still makes me feel excited and emotional.

25th August, 2012...this date still brings a thousand feelings within me. It is the day when my first book Walking in the streets of love and destiny released. I was so excited, nervous, happy, thrilled and emotional. 

I experienced the same feelings again on 7th August, 2014 when my 2nd book The Hidden Letters was released. 

Today, I cannot imagine a life where I am not writing and creating something. Yes, I may exist, but I won't live. I am extremely dependent on my craft for a wholesome life.

I have realized over the years that there is not a single demon that I cannot defeat when I am writing. Some of the demons that I have to battle on a regular basis are the fear of losing my loved ones to misunderstanding and death, fear of betrayal and manipulation. I also have to regularly battle chaotic thoughts that confuse and overwhelm me. 

But the best thing is that when I am writing, I have a grip on all my thoughts. I am a calmer person. I have full control on my mind and as a result, I can perfectly defeat every demon when I write. 

It feels that I am in touch with the divine energy the most when I am writing and creating. This is my triumph and I am forever thankful to God.

What is your story of triumph? Is there any work, activity or a person that helps you to battle your demons? Please share in the comment. 

My Journey To Become An Author

Two weeks back, one of my favorite bloggers and author of Metro Diaries, Namrata (popularly known as Privy Trifles in the blogosphere) invited me to write a guest post for her blog. She told me that she would love to have my journey to become an author.

The idea seemed great and it was amazing to reflect on my journey and see how far I have come with all the learning, setbacks and appreciation. 

"It always feels so good to recall all the moments that made up my journey of writing. Thank you, Namrata for giving me this lovely opportunity to talk about my journey to become an author. Today, if anyone asks me to describe my journey in one word, it would be “enlightening”. By that I don’t mean that it has been a smooth and easy ride. Well, it is a blend of many beautiful, magical, healing, frustrating, distressing and enriching moments.

At one point of time, we all choose a certain path to connect to our inner self. Some do it through meditation or prayer. Many do it through travelling. I feel that when I write, I can connect to my soul the most....."

You can read about my entire journey here: Guest Post: The Writer in me by Purba Chakraborty