Three top tips for writing tip top letters
Harry Potter stamps. Image: USPS
Perhaps you’re like me and find yourself yearning for a simpler time. A throwback to earlier days, before cell phones and pretentious Starbucks orders existed; when the plague was still a threat, art was found in caves, and Velociraptors roamed the land.
Letter writing is a dying art. While there may be a select few who still compose letters on a regular basis, communication has morphed into a pressing of buttons and emoji selection.
When reading a letter, the writer’s voice echoes through our heads in ways more personal than text or email can accomplish. I, like most, love receiving letters, but am notoriously horrible at responding. That is why this summer, after acquiring a pen pal, I swore I would not mess this up. No letter would go unanswered. I even purchased a collection of Harry Potter stamps as a motivator. How hard could it be?
As it turns out, personal writing is in fact very different from the academic writing I am used to. Despite the epistolary books I have read such as, “Dracula,” “Frankenstein,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and my brother’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” the words were not flowing from my usually loquacious hands.
To remedy this, I turned to the internet. After reading a series of how-to guides including choosing exceptional stationery and locating an operating post office, I have come up with three crucial steps to fabulous letter writing that will hopefully get me waxing poetic in no time.
1. Grab attention
Command your reader’s attention from the beginning. My dear Watson, or O Smaug Chiefest and Greatest of All Calamities, are both sound examples. Each offers something endearing and welcoming. Beginning a letter with, “To whom this may concern,” is an absolute no.
2. Be true to yourself
Let your natural voice come out. Don’t hide behind the page. Write about life, but don’t turn the letter into a whining monologue, those are no fun to read. Conversely, don’t make the letter only about the reader. That would be uncomfortable.
3. Keep it clean
Only the finest of penmanship will be accepted. No smudge marks or scribbled out words. As a leftie I understand the struggle, but know you can succeed. But, yes the other kind of “clean” too. You were raised a lady, not by wolves. And if you were raised by wolves, that is no excuse, be a lady.
When was the last time you received a hand written letter? How often do you write letters? Do you have any tips for a novice letter writer like myself? Comment below!
Kelly Bartlett’s internship at NCPR is supported by the Stan Macdonald Journalism Fund
Tags: communication, harry potter, letters, writing
Heads up! Your promotion crew did it’s job sending this site over the airways…..talk about communication!
Letter writing has always been a part of my being. I love letters to hold on to, reread and appreciate. Often there can be a hidden message, which used to be called “reading between the lines” or even a Freudian slip.
Letters are not corrected by spell check or grammar check thus, as you said, your true self comes out.
I am passionate about finding people I knew in the past. To do this I used computer sites, next, the telephone and lastly snail mail. What a wonderful day, at the mail box, when I receive beautifully hand written response. I know, as a result, there was a reason why we connected so long ago.
Oh, one more thing….you are so right about the paper you use. Being original is part of the creative process.