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They say the handwritten letter is a lost art.
This post is here to help you find it.
Just think of how impressive it is to receive a handwritten note from anyone these days. Seeing that someone took the time, energy, and focus to put pen to paper and write you a personal message means much more now than when everyone wrote letters.
In this post, we'll get you started with a snail mail tutorial so you can start penning posted notes with confidence and ease.
Chances are, you might have already heard of NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month—a challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in November's 30 days. Well, InCoWriMo is similar in spirit and a little kinder in execution. InCoWriMo is short for International Correspondence Writing Month and takes place in month of February—the shortest month of the year. During InCoWriMo, the challenge is to handwrite a piece of correspondence (a.k.a. snail mail) every day during the month. 28 letters in 28 days (and one more on leap years!).
As simple as this sounds, not many people are practiced at handwriting letters. E-mails? Sure. I send plenty of those every day. Now, a handwritten piece of mail—how exactly did they do this back in the day? Is there "autocorrect" or "spell check" option on my fountain pen? Where's the "delete" button if I make a mistake? How am I supposed to remember what I wrote to the person first when they reply back?
Ok, since this is an analog activity, we're going to silence the notifications, roll up our sleeves, grab an inked pen and some paper, and get to work making today's first letter.
Below, you'll find a digital mockup example of how a piece of personal correspondence is formatted. You'll notice this format is usually followed when you get official notices from companies, usually when they're asking for money. Although the example is on one full side of paper, your letter could be as long as you want—a few sentences on a postcard or several sheeets of paper written on front and back. If your letter is multiple pages long, to make sure the sequence is read correctly, make sure to number each page on the corner.
Firstly, let's take a look at what a typical piece of correspondence looks like. This is important to follow because, especially as you begin to receive mail, you realize that a well-formatted letter is far easier to read and digest than one that looks like it was written in the middle of an earthquake.
Do include your name, address, and other pertinent contact info on the letter itself. Sure, having a return address on the envelope is sufficient for the post office, but many people discard the envelope, so including your address information in the top left of the page helps the recipient keep track of their correspondence and easily get back to you without fishing through the trash bin.
Addressing the person by saying "Dear [Insert Person's First Name]" works fine in most cases. You can go with the informal, "Hello, [First Name]," "Hi, [First Name]," if you are more familiar with the person. If you're unsure of who you are sending the letter to (like a company or organization), then you would do best to write "To Whom It May Concern" or "To the Kind Folks of [Company Name]."
Now that we've got our formalities out of the way, next is the actual guts of the message, the part that has most beginners staring at a flashing cursor for what seems like an eternity. Where do I begin?
Think of the first sentence or two as an opener. It doesn't have to be as formal as a declaration of intent, but it can carry the same message - this is the reason you are staring at an inky piece of paper from me.
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To Whom it May Concern,
It is with great respect and sincerity that I am writing you with my letter or resignation.
Or,
Dear John,
I'm in the midst of writing a bunch of letters for this thing called InCoWriMo and decided to send you a piece of snail mail because you're such a great guy.
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The part that comes after is the body of the message. Use the opener as a springboard to let the words flow. If you've written to your Aunt Milly asking about her 3 cats, maybe you write about the fond memories you had of the cats when visiting her house. If you're writing to a celebrity or person you admire, you can gush about all the ways they've impacted your life without even knowing it. Or, you can do what comes so naturally to most people and talk about yourself. I'm sure person receiving your mail will be enthralled to read all about the shows you've binged.
Now that you've gotten past that uncomfortable feeling of not having anything to write about, you're faced with the problem of "how do I wrap it up?" Finishing a letter isn't like writing the end of The Sopranos. You don't need to stick the landing, closing all the loose ends, and satisfying the fandom. Obviously, the letter has to end somehow, so here are a few ideas on how you can conclude the correspondence.
Option 1: Restate the purpose for sending the mail. For example, if you wanted to write to your best friend because they were in your thoughts, you can end your letter with, "I'll always remember the good times we had and look forward to making new memories in the future."
Option 2: Perform the small ask. In marketing, this is the "call to action." Let's say you're writing to someone famous you admire. After plegding your unwavering fanaticism for their work, you might ask for a signed photo in return, for example. If you're going to ask for something to be mailed back, be sure to include a self-addressed and stamped envelope as a courtesy.
Option 3: Pose questions as suggestied topics for a reply back. If you shared what's going on in your life, maybe you can ask the person questions to help them create a response with content you'll be interested to read about.
Lastly, if all else fails, you can write, "well, I guess I'll end this letter here since I ran out of space on this paper."
Signing off can be as simple as a standard, one-size-fits-all "Regards," or "Sincerely." Best Regards, Kind Regards, All the Best, Yours Truly, Love, Yours in Solidarity, and so on can all be used in whatever best fits the context of the letter and the intended recipient.
Right underneath the sign-off, throw in your best "John Hancock" signature. It sometimes might be appropriate to throw in an online handle or an e-mail address to help further identify you in the digital realm.
A post script (P.S.) can sometimes appear in a letter as an afterthought. Sometimes writers use this part of a letter as a vehicle for ironic humor. A letter mustn't always require a P.S. Pen and Ink enthusiasts appreciate it when you include the pen(s), nib(s), and ink(s) used to write the letter.
So, now that you understand the basic structure of a letter, the first question to ask yourself before getting down to writing is, well, who am I writing to?
Your audience is so critical in crafting the letter. You have a one-to-one connection with anyone of your choosing. Possible candidates for InCoWriMo can be (but not limited to) the following:
Family
Close friends
Co-Workers
Teachers
Students
Business owners
Military Servicemen and women
Veterans
Doctors
Congress
Pen Pals
When you know who will be reading your letter, it may help in guiding you through the process of creating that letter for them. Think of what you would say to these people if you were left alone in a room with them. Maybe you have something on your mind that you wanted to share with them. Maybe there's always something that was left unsaid between you that would be better described in writing than talking face-to-face. Maybe you don't often express just how much these people mean to you. Use these letters as an opportunity to deepen relationships and create a stronger bond between you and the people you care about.
Since we're writing over two dozen letters to people, it will be difficult to keep track of all the threads of conversations. When you're finished handwriting these amazingly personal documents of correspondence, you may want to record your end of the conversation before sending it out through the pony express. This is where modern technology can help. Use your smartphone with an app like Dropbox, Evernote or just use the camera to take a picture of the letter's contents so you have a copy of what you had sent out.
Lastly, but most importantly, make sure you address the front envelope correctly and apply postage in the top right corner. Some may put the return address on the top left corner of the envelope's front side. Others prefer the back flap of the envelope for that information. Optionally, you may adorn the flap with a wax seal or piece of washi tape to fancy things up a bit.
While handwriting a letter may be considered a lost art, there are plenty of pen pals that continue to find pen and paper a satisfying and intimate form of communication that provides deeper connection than current digital methods. Even if you don't feel ambitious in tackling the InCoWriMo challenge, I hope this article was helpful when you do want to craft a handwritten message.
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