#Microblog Mondays 99: Epistles
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A friend is in a place for the next month where it will be difficult to reach her via phone and impossible to reach her to via email (no cellular service), but she can receive letters. So I dragged out the stationery after she left and started writing. And discovered I had forgotten how to write letters!
The first two were awful, rambling messes. The paragraphs didn’t fit together. I felt embarrassed sending them.
By the third one, I got comfortable using pen and paper again. All the paragraphs fit together, retelling stories from the weekend. Letter writing skills refound.
It has been nice to start my day several times a week sitting down and writing her a letter at my desk before turning on the computer. Part of me wants to continue it even after she comes home.
Do you regularly write letters?
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26 comments
I used to write lots of letters when I was a kid, to my friends, relatives, cousins. but with gradual invent of mobile phones and related services the charm of letter writing is lost.
I don’t regularly write letters by hand. However, since I live abroad, I found a website that let’s you personalize cards online and then have them sent. So I do one of those weekly from my grandmother, as she’s not on email. So, I don’t write a physical card but she does receive one. I find I write very differently to her than I do anyone via email, I guess because it’ll be a physical card she’ll hold onto? I used to love letter writing but have fallen out of habit… I do love receiving them, though, so I should probably take it up again.
With emails, letters have got lost in the stationeries but there is a charm. Last year, a blogging support group that I am a part of, did a random pairing and we sent out letters to each other. It was so good writing to people, we all loved it.
But yes, coming to think of it, we had to engage in an activity to write letters.
Thanks for sharing. I haven’t hand-written a letter in a long time… With some friends that I don’t see all that much I exchange long emails that are probably a bit like letters, but even with those I’ve noticed that I am struggling to make them consistent and make the paragraphs flow. Time for more practice?
I don’t write a lot of letters, though i used to. I was just talking about this, however. I regularly have my kids help me when writing thank you notes for gifts they receive. They are too young to fully write out a note themselves but I encourage them to dictate what they would say and give them suggestions for what is appropriate and thoughtful to include. I was volunteering in my daughter’s pre school class on a day when the students were dictating postcards to be sent home and the realization hit me that for many of them, this was their first note of any kind. They had no idea or concept of what to write. This made me a little sad and also glad that I’ve committed to teaching this skill.
Thanks to Girls Love Mail, I found an oulet to write frequent letters, albeit to strangers. I write to people I know but not as frequently for few people return the favor. I prefer hand-writen over electronic communications.
I’ve always loved the idea of starting letter-writing again. When I was a kid we had pen pals from all over the world. I’d love for my kids to have that experience. It’s one of many reasons I love Jane Austin: They’re always writing letters. The only thing that holds me back is that I have a horrible handwriting.
Like so many, I used to be a big letter writer. I can’t remember the last time I hand wrote one, nor the last time I received one. I bet it would take me a bit to get back in the groove, too.
Not in many years I am afraid! The last time I wrote letters regularly was in university to a dear friend (we had email but chose to write for a while-can’t remember why). Was wonderful and I still have all the letters!
Haven’t written a letter in many many years (decades? in college, I think)
Wow I wrote many many letters in my youth. We moved from one country to another and left many friends and family behind. I would write at least 2 to 3 letters a week. Some on an aerogramme! I still have the letters that my best friends sent me tucked away somewhere in the garage. Unfortunately I no longer write letters but I still cherish hand-written cards and esp. those that are filled with details of my friends and loved ones’ personal life.
Even though I used to journal (pencil and notebook) like crazy back in the day, I never enjoyed writing letters. It’s one thing to have to reread my own chicken scratches – I hated having to subject other people to it. I only started to enjoy writing to other people when I had the ability to backspace and erase. 🙂
Hope you do continue to write letters when they return – I think it would be a wonderful thing.
Oh gosh, I SO want to hand write letters again! I haven’t done it in ages, though. I have been considering seeing if I can find a pen pal, though. Just need to find someone willing to write me back!
I love this, though. I’m glad you are writing your friend.
I don’t think I have written a letter since coming home from the Peace Corps. I wrote many letters to many people when I was living in Nicaragua. And receiving letters was priceless! In the hustle and bustle of my busy life, I don’t make time to write, even journal, like I used to. I think I should change that!
What a nice practice! I write postcards and the occasional greeting card. And I do tend to ramble, but I figure it’s better to send something rambly than not send anything.
I havent written a letter in decades…but now that I read your post – I wish I had! Im off to find someone to write to…
I remember my mom would sit down and type letters to her family in England every Sunday. I enjoyed writing to friends who moved away and my pen pal in Germany when I was younger. But then the internet came and typing was much faster 🙂
I love getting written notes or letters (typed or not) and every year I tell myself I will send more cards to people, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Oooo. The idea of getting actual mail is so delicious. I use to love getting letters. Sadly, the only ones I write now are thank you notes or cards. Maybe it’s time to get back into the groove?
I don’t write letters, per se, but I send out actual thank you notes and cards, and occasionally send out “just because” notes. But always in a card format, not stationary paper. I love real mail. I love the surprise of getting a note tucked in with all the junk that normally comes to my mailbox… I’m glad you refound your letter writing skills and hope it continues to be a great experience!
I used to, but the people I wrote letters to have all died. 🙁 And, although I still make handwritten lists and write notes to my family, I seem to be losing my writing muscles – I was trying to write down a computer error the other day and my hand and wrist started cramping!
I write hand-written letters regularly with exactly one friend: http://breadwinesalt.blogspot.com/. 🙂 She’s very good at it, and she makes me good at it, too, when I respond. But we don’t do it very often; I’d say once a month or so.
I always wanted to be a letter writer and imagine how nice it would be to receive letters regularly. I think I still have deep-seeded issues with never having a pen-pal growing up.
Oh, I love that you are writing letters to your friend!
I love writing letters, and receiving them. But these days, it doesn’t happen very often. My 8 year old niece and I are supposed to be penpals! I’m waiting for her to write next. lol A friend I met through blogging and I hand-write letters occasionally. It’s nice. I do write catchup emails to friends from time to time, but more often they tend to just be about the one issue at hand. I blame Facebook actually – they seem to have killed the “keeping in touch” letters and emails. Even when we were away in Europe/Middle East for 5 months, I received very few chatty emails from friends, despite the fact that I was starved of contact with them, and let them know that. I even wrote a blogpost about it – https://aseparatelife.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/lessons-and-letters/
No, I don’t write letters anymore. I don’t feel comfortable when I think that the receiver might leave the letter lying around for other eyes to read.
you should definitely keep up the letter writing, even when your friend is back! it’s so much fun, and how nice to hold pen and paper again. i used to love the act of writing .. letters, notes, even lecture notes! i had an array of different colored pens, and i would use whichever color i was in the mood for 🙂 oohh, must go and find some green/purple/turquoise pens again!
I mostly send postcards, with a few letters here and there, but not so regularly. Year ago, through Postcrossing.com (the unofficial forum), I met others who like to write and I’ve exchanged letters with them. Some more than once. 😀 My writing letters is like how I think in my head: all over the place. LOL