As you likely know, I’m a fan of the analog. I have an affinity for pencils and pens, stationary, and — of course — paper books. And as an extension of this, I love all things that involve writing by hand.

In January I ran a series of creative workshops at the bookshop, one of which was a session on the art of old fashioned letter writing. Together over a two-hour session we got four letters finished and into the mail.

Prior to the event I had discussed letter writing with Lucy Corry for RNZ and she asked me: Why write letters at a time when there are so many more efficient and convenient ways to communicate?

I can’t remember what answer I bubbled through at the time, but there’s nothing like a journalist’s question to force you to reflect.

Why write a letter in this digital age?

On reflection, I came up with several reasons why any thinking person might want to add letter writing to their pursuits, including:

Art Practice: while not a very creative person, in a pinch I could call handwriting my “art practice”. I like practising and perfecting the skill, and writing letters gives me an outlet. It’s also an opportunity to experiment with inks, stickers and vintage postage.
Mindfulness: letter writing is an opportunity to slow down and to reflect, particularly good for the active relaxers among us.
Connection & Relationship Building: Letters stand out from digital messages for lots of reasons but a key one is that it’s quite hard to do more than one thing when you’re writing a letter. They tell the recipient that you devoted a period of attention to them alone. Google engineer Linda Stone put it perfectly when she said (unrelated to letter writing): “People hunger for more attention. Full attention will be the aphrodisiac of the future.”

I find that the letters I write will fall into different categories depending on the situation, and sometimes it will feel like a little combination of them all. But one way we can help avoid the overwhelm that sometimes accompanies letter writing is to decide which of the above reasons best describes why you’re writing the letter, and in this way you can focus on what matters most and ignore the rest.

If it’s Art Practice, you can focus on the tools and supplies that make you feel creative.
If it’s Mindfulness, choose to focus on your environment, and keep your expectations of yourself reasonable
If it’s Connection, concentrate on the substance of your letter and choosing recipients who will appreciate your effort

Types of Letter Writing

The type of letter you’re composing will also give your writing some direction. In our workshop, we worked through a short list of types of letters one could write to get more immersed in the practice.

The Postcard

With this in mind we turned our January session to a warm up exercise — common in many art practices. In our case, we wrote a couple of postcards. Postcards are a great way to limber up your letter writing muscles!

My #1 piece of advice on postcards - pick one thought / reflection / experience / sight and concentrate that small writing space on the one thing. Save the long form for a letter.

The Thank You Card

Next we worked on a Thank You card. In January there are usually plenty of reasons to send out a thank you message, but a handwritten note is welcomed all year round:

To thank people for help or gifts we’ve received
To a tradesperson or professional service provider — show them that their work is really appreciated
A teacher or a coach
A colleague or boss

Small Goods

I gave all the attendees a seed packet and asked them to pop it in an envelope and address it to themselves. This was a way for them to get a little reward for their letter writing effort to others, and to show how tiny but thoughtful gifts can also be sent in the mail.

Other small things that are suitable for the post include:

Photos
Drawings and paintings
Paper Goods like stickers, stamps, novelty bandages
Clippings from magazines
Recipes — hand write your favourites
Handkerchiefs. Some of us still use them!

Other Opportunities to Write a Letter

You don’t need a special occasion to write and send a letter, but if you’re looking to increase your letter writing practice, here are some ideas of opportunities to send off a quick note.

Thank You Cards - Friends, Family, Tradesmen, Professional Services, Teachers, Coaches, Coordinators, Authors, Media Personalities, Public Servants, Your Favourite Barista
Congratulations - New Home, New Baby, New Job or Promotion, Act of Service, Unexpected Kindness
Condolences - This is an especially appropriate way to acknowledge a loss
Updates - Big Life Changes, New Ideas You Want to Work Through, Keep in Touch with Extended Relatives (especially fun for kids).
Postcards - From Your Travels, also consider collecting postcards from vintage stores
Special Occasions - Don’t overlook occasions just because they feel commercial, make them your own! Valentines, Easter, Christmas, Arbour Day, Matariki, Mother’s/Father’s Day, Election Day (see condolences 😉)

What to write

You get to be you when it comes to subject matter, but I can tell you that no one ever receives a letter from me that’s an update on my whole entire life.

Instead I focus my letters on just a few relevant things that are going on. I think of my letters like a coffee catch up, I try to anticipate the things my recipient might ask if we were face to face and the areas of shared interest between us whether that’s family, business, books, ghosts you’ve met or business building.

And if grammar or spelling worries you, pick up a paper dictionary next time you’re at the bookshop and keep that near your cards and stationery.

If you’re still uncertain about what to put in the actual content of the letter, consider:

Book Reviews — yours or rewrite someone else’s that you think the recipient might appreciate
Movie or TV Reviews
A description of a gallery or museum you visited
A recipe you love, or have adapted
Quotes or passages from a great book
Life lessons learned or observations about humanity
A memorable moment from a trip
Wild food or beverage you consumed
A new hobby you’ve taken up
Letter to your future self
Things you’re enjoying right now — albums, notebooks, pens
Recaps: monthly or quarterly in reflection

Tools & handwriting

By far the most common questions I get about my letter writing relate to my choice of pens and paper — and usually relating to the question-asker’s fears about the adequacy of the tools they already have.

I collect all kinds of cards and papers on my travels. When I see a card I like I will buy it even if I don’t know who it’s for yet (we’ll come to storage soon) and it’s definitely helpful to have cards on hand for when the mood strikes. But apart from keeping some paper goods on hand, please do not add any stress to your letter writing life by worrying about what you write on or write with.

Use biro, gel pen, fountain pen or graphite — whatever you like to write with is the correct tool to use.

Likewise, don’t let your thoughts about your own handwriting be an enemy. As long as you do your best to keep it neat and you try to keep the way you write pretty uniform for the duration of your letter, your recipenet will get the hang of your script.

The only thing you might want to give special consideration — if you’re not already using a greeting card — is the size of your letter writing paper. We have come to recognise A4 (or US Letter) as business mail. We use it for our home printer, and all our bills and boring mail come on this paper size so if A4 paper is all you have, consider cutting that in half to make it a little bit special.

Travel and Storage

As I mentioned, the best way to get more letters written is to have cards and paper on hand and everything in one place. Any box will do and like your writing implements, it doesn’t need to be fancy.

Having said that, if it’s a pretty box it means you can have it on display, calling your name, rather than as a box sitting in a cupboard. I keep all of my paper goods together in one of our Leuchtturm book boxes, and for travel — when I tend to write the most letters — I keep a dedicated Traveler’s Notebook.

I have a PVC zip pouch for postage stamps, a sticker release insert full of stickers for decorating envelopes, and a kraft folder full with fresh postcards and some small cards and envelopes.

By the way, did you know postage stamps are valid forever? As long as your vintage postage stamps add up to the current cost of sending a letter you can use them forever and a whole lot of vintage postage on the front of your letter is sure to delight the recipient! We also sell vintage postage - enough for one standard letter - at the bookshop.

Why Write Letters in a Digital Age? A Primer on Modern Letter Writing