» Write a letter?
When the last time you sent someone a handwritten letter?
I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t remember the last time I’ve written one- and I’ve got gorgeous pens, wonderful color inks and fancy writing papers from G Lalo and Clairefontaine. Why don’t I do it? crazy as it sounds, (and as much as I enjoy receiving mail) I think things are so much easier via e-mail (though much less personal) because you can see the entire conversation. (If you don’t delete it) I remember receiving letters and having no clue what the person was referring to that I supposedly said in a previous letter…. So I guess I’m a little afraid of feeling foolish when I can’t remember something. Maybe if I write a letter I could scan it first, or does that sound silly?
Can you maybe offer me some tips to help me because I think I really would enjoy writing some letters and receiving some personal correspondence in my mailbox.
Comments
Hi,
I really love writing handwritten letters to my friends and do it often (and yes, I do scan them sometimes). Recently, I found another reason to write to people. http://www.postcrossing.com/
This not only gives me a good reason to sit back and think of something nice to write about, but also has the advantage of ensuring that you also get something back in your mailbox! I just love it!
When I was in high school I used to write letters to my girlfriend in a notebook. Instead of tearing out pages, I gave her the whole notebook and she we respond on the next page.
You can do something similar with willing participants. Write a letter and have the recipient write their response on the back of the paper. When you write your next letter, include the first conversation sheet with it. After a while, you’ll have a whole collection of conversations!
I cant remember the last time I wrote someone a letter. However every Christmas and Birthday I send people handwritten thank you cards. I always find a ink color to match the cards outside. I do the same with regular blank cards that I write quotes in and send to people.
It makes sense to scan the letter. In fact that’s a great idea! Sorry I can’t give you any tips on sending letters to people.
Hmmm. This gets me to thinking. The “handwritten” letter or note has been under attack for sometime. First, it was the telephone [the telegraph was really for only business and critical communication], then email, then texting in various forms, and more recently there’s “Skyping”. Tweating and Facebook doesn’t count for anything more than a waste of time [some may argue their entertainment value which may be even more scary]. Is a handwritten letter more personal than a phone call, or a Skype session … I’m not sure. By the way, I should disclose that I am a proponent of the handwritten letter, and often will include a doodle or sketch of some sort with the words.
As in art, stop worrying and just do it!!
I wrote one to a good friend of mine not long ago. She had sent me a lovely poster print of a painting she did, and I know she loves writing & receiving letters, so I sent her one. Used a calligraphy pen and folded the letter into an origami shape.
I love sending origami with letters. It’s like a little gift that you can fold, and it doesn’t add anything to the weight hardly, won’t set off postal scanners…perfect!
Great blog post. I’m just now getting into fountain pens and trying to improve my handwriting. I’ve been thinking more about letter writing though. Certainly, handwritten notes better communicate something about the writer than email does.
Bryan
No, scanning is not silly. I do that when I write my letters – for the very reason you stated. And I agree with Aaron: just do it.
Sometimes I think the little things that catch your attention are the best things in a letter, yet we stress over what to write and how to say this or that. Instead, write down what moved you to tears of joy or made you giggle, something you didn’t expect to experience, or just write about the joy of making your mandalas! I use letters to doodle around the page numbers since I don’t have time to do “real” art. I bought a new pearlescent paint set and did a really neat doodle, will post eventually. You can do a dialogue notebook correspondence if forgetting what you wrote really bothers you, but it may just lead to surprising conversations. And recent research has shown that letter writing improves cognitive abilities. So, write now!
Second Aaron’s comment ;). Though personally I tend to limit my handwritten notes to birthday cards which usually get a doodle or sketch along the signature.
>Just write a letter: you’ll improve with practice
>Be available: did you know there is no mailing address on the “contact us” page?
>Don’t be too anal about remembering what you wrote before. A good correspondent will give you a cue in their reply as to what you said in the first place.
>When was the last time you sent a four page email: each serves its purpose.
Reflection and nuance works on paper and not-so-much in email.
Now go write someone!
I love handwritten letters. Have you checked out Letters and Journals? Jackie’s very nice and LOVES letters. Can’t wait to see her first issue! http://lettersandjournals.blogspot.com/
I second JoniB. I, too, scan my letters, which makes the “conversation” easier to follow.
Scanning – what a great idea! Sounds silly, but for centuries people kept copies of the letters they sent as well as the ones they received. Which is part of the reason we now have the “collected letters” of various authors and historical figures…
Leah,
You mean that before the age of copiers, people actually wrote out two copies of their letters?
Booker, yes — that’s my recollection from grad school, at least. I’m guessing it was initially done to keep records on important business transactions, but there were definitely people who kept copies of their personal correspondence, too. If you were wealthy, you would have had your secretary do the work.
Thanks, Leah. I always wondered how they put those letters together. I scan mine, but for my benefit only. I don’t think anyone a hundred years from now is going to be interested in my correspondence.
@Note Booker- That’s probably what Picasso and his brother said! Or Anne Frank! Or maybe the biblical Mathew, Mark, John and all those others who wrote the bible. Don’t sell yourself short, there will be plenty of people to do that in a hundred years! Or the letters will be priceless and your great-grandkids will be rich.
I was going to say pretty much this, but Gary above said it better:
>Don’t be too anal about remembering what you wrote before. A good correspondent will give you a cue in their reply as to what you said in the first place.
Absolutely. In order to carry on a continued conversation, you must give a little bit of context.
Call me nutty, but I believe I received a letter from you… you couched in the guise of a written ink sample, but I certainly considered it a letter. Your handwriting, and your writing style, is so refined, and your artistic skills so excellent, that it amazes me that you even worry about it. Just sit down and write!
I write my blog, , missivemaven.com, to help inspire myself to write more letters, and some of my blog readers say it inspires them. At the very least I have tons of letter-writing links there, for further exploration.
I recently returned to pen pal correspondence in my 30s (hadn’t done much since my teens). Letter-writing adds a different kind of depth than email correspondence can. I’m also starting to embellish my stationery and make my envelopes — it’s turned into its on full-blown hobbies. Also (fyi), Fountain Pen Network members can find a pinned thread for those who want participate in snail mail / postcard exchanges.
Just to throw my two cents in here, my first go around with college wasn’t successful. As an incoming senior, I decided not to return to school. This was an unfortunate decision, which only hindsight can truly give true perspective. There were reasons why did this, and they were political in nature. The president of the college sent me a hand written note on his personal stationary stock and written with his famous green ink. The letter was him adjuring me with a great sense of urgency to return to the college to finish my course of study.
It’s the only letter that has ever been hand written to me. Sadly I don’t have the letter anymore, but I kept it for years. There is not one single day that the words on that letter don’t come to mind. That was 1995.
In this day and age of everything instant,we loosing that personal touch.
An e-mail, a text message is impersonal.
I have several people that I write letters to. I also make my own postcards and exchange postcards world wide. We have a generation sadly that will probably never know, the joy of receiving a letter or writing one.
Some things must be kept.
May I recommend the Letter Writers Alliance where the love a written correspondence continues to live.
I re-discovered the joy of letter writing because of a beloved cousin who sends me letters and surprises (old family pix, keepsakes, etc.). We could visit in person or on the phone, but it’s not the same. Besides, we write about our family memories and often get wonderful insights into our our histories, as well as stories that can be kept and handed down. Wonderful therapy, wonderful friendship, useful family history!
I actually write a lot of handwritten letters – and because it’s easy to forget what you write, I also scan them before putting them in an envelope to be sent off or handed to the recepient.
I prefer e-mail to letters when it comes to general conversations, but in a letter I feel that I can both be more personal and intimate, and get the feeling that it’s at once way more personalised, what with the choice of fountain pen, ink, and last but not least, the fact that our handwriting is unique and says a lot about ourselves as well.
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