Every writer, both aspiring and professional, must have a journal with them at all times.
I have not one… but THREE journals!
Whether if it’s writing poetry, writing down inspirational quotes by your favorite famous faces, including your own, or writing your deepest personal thoughts that you just want to vent, then journals are your perfect friends. In fact, living my life as an independent loner, the three little hand-written books are my only friends.
Apart from treating my three little books as my children and carrying them with me wherever I go, I assigned each one of them their roles. I can be really strict when it comes to organization and, I don’t mean to brag, perfection.
For instance, the one with a gothic fairy is my diary. It is filled with dealing with my depression and everything I just want to let out before I get into rage. I normally don’t share or expose this one unless if I have a personal story I want to express. As a matter of fact, this diary is perfect for the autobiography I’m planning to write.
The little purple one, in which I wrote “Become a Fighter, Not a Victim. -Nicole Cheng,” as if it’s a little published book, is filled with every quotes from historical and contemporary famous faces that I find truly deep and inspirational to me. I look them up and then write them down so I can reminisce them for eternity. Many of these quotes I wrote down are from my best and favorite authors, writers, actors/actresses, singers and even myself. In case you’re inquisitive, the butterfly I drew on the cover is my signature insect; it symbolizes the strength and beauty I have within me.
Lastly, the solid black journal, and perhaps my most favorite friend, is filled with my own poetry. I have been working on this poetry book since 2014 and I never allowed any one to read it through or even touch it (she’s very sensitive).
Before I even write down my new poems, I always space out to find an inspiration for a perfect metaphor. For examples, Broken Glass is my shattered life as a bullied and abused victim; Butterfly in a Jar is me as a stalked and afraid victim who cannot escape; White Dress is me feeling nothing but absence, invisibility and feeling lost all the time whenever I am around other people; and Amber Fossil is me being trapped by my haunted past. By the time I find the perfect metaphors, I write whatever comes into my mind, rhymes or without rhymes, albeit that is not right away.
First, there is drafting; I normally write drafts of my poems into my Writers App in my tablet. Next, I assiduously edit, which is imperative for all writers. Then, when it’s down and done, I write my poems from my tablet into that little black book. That way, whatever is written down there, eternally stays there. I have to remain meticulous when I write; I cannot make any mistakes, otherwise, I will go crazy if words are erroneously not where they’re supposed to be or if the stanza(s) is inaccurate.
As of now, as I write down my new poems, quotes and diary entries, I am currently making plans to have either one, two or maybe all three of my journals published as books. I’m not entirely sure when this will happen, but publishing my little written books will take some time; I better take it slow. Maybe I’ll get there as a published author, someday.
I’m hoping to become to next Sylvia Plath in this generation.
In the meantime, I will keep writing what I truly love the most. I will need my tablet, empty journal pages, a pen, my cat as my muse, and a cup of coffee. Coffee always helps me concentrate on my works; it’s my most beloved beverage. ☕
As long as I have my babies with me at all times, I might as well reach my ambitions.
It’s what Cheryl Strayed said in her book Torch: “Work hard. Do good. Be incredible!”