April is Card and Letter Writing Month!

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One of my absolute favorite hobbies (ever since I was a little girl) was writing letters to friends and family. There was something so much fun about choosing a nice card (or stationary) and sending messages to my best friend, even though I saw her just hours before. As I got older, I picked up new correspondents, from my old high school friend (who attended a college 45 minutes away) to my favorite aunt, then living in Michigan. Now, I’m pleased to share that I have pen pals all over the world, including Colombia, Kenya, and Rome.

Getting started in letter writing is very easy. You just need to have some paper, a stamp, and a willingness to share. Some people think letter-writing is complicated. Or that they need to design something Instagram-worthy before they send it out. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Letters don’t have to be anything long and complicated. While I love to see the beautiful mail art that people showcase on Pinterest, I’ll be the first to admit that these beautiful productions also create unrealistic expectations for people, and often create an artificial barrier to getting started. Don’t let “social media standards” steal your joy and motivation! After all, you’re not writing these letters to post them online. You’re writing to tell someone you care. Now, let’s dive into letter writing one step at a time!

1. Choosing Your Recipient

The first step of letter writing is deciding who to write to. And the possibilities are endless! You can write to a family member, a friend, your old college roommate, your little cousin, your elderly neighbor, etc. You can also find someone to write to using an online service (there are tons of them out there, although I don’t personally have one to recommend), or by contacting your church or community center to see if there are any homebound or lonely folks in need of a smile. Honestly, though, I suggest starting with someone you know, such as a friend who lives out of town or a classmate or coworker who has moved on to exciting new opportunities. This makes it easier to think of what to say, and you don’t have to go through the awkwardness of explaining who you are (although some letter-writers love that stage!)

You can write to as few or as many people as you would like, but I always suggest starting small and starting slow. It’s always easier to add people then it is to drop them from your list. As for timeline, that’s up to you, but I don’t write to an individual person more than once a month.

2. Choosing Your Medium

Now that you know who you want to write to, it’s time to think about how you want to write. When I say “medium”, I mean that in reference to the format you’ll be writing. For our purposes, we’re talking snail-mail here (no emails, no snapchat, texting, tweeting, posting, or DMing). So, how do you want to write? If you’re feeling short on words, you can always send a postcard. These aren’t just for vacations, but for any time you feel inspired to reach out. I like to pick up postcards from second hand shops, craft shows, bookstores, and vacation destinations and send them when I want to say a little something, but don’t want to go on for more than a few sentences. (Sometimes, you just want to say I’m thinking of you). The wide array of designs always makes for a lot of fun, and the lower postage rates are kinder to the wallet, as well.

If you want to write a little more, greeting cards are great. They come in a whole host of shapes and sizes, with more designs than you can shake a pen at. I try to choose my cards to match the person I’m sending it to. So, my Francophile college roommate gets cards with pictures of the Eiffel tower, and I pick up cards with fish, duck, and deer for my outdoorsy cousins. The fun thing about cards is that you can get designs with a pre-written message or ones that are blank, so there’s something for every mood.

Of course, if you want to write something more long-winded, you can find tons of beautiful stationary paper at the card store, or can even create your own! I like to take colorful lined paper and decorate it with stamps, stickers, washi-tape, or even crayons and markers to make something pretty to write on. And you can combine multiple mediums, too. One of my dearest friends always chooses a lovely card to send, but writes his message on a piece of lined paper from a legal pad and tucks it inside.

3. Stamps!

One of my favorite parts of sending a letter is decorating the envelope. I like to purchase postage stamps and choose fun designs that I think will go well with the letters I’m sending. For example, I have tons of fun winter stamps that I’ve picked up over the years, such as snowflakes, snow globes, and Santa, while in the summer, I choose flowers, outdoor activities, or fish. Modern US stamps are called “forever stamps” and don’t have prices listed on them. So, whether you purchased a forever stamp last week or last year, they can still be used, even if the price to buy new stamps goes up. Older stamps (with prices on them) are also a lot of fun to use (and provide a great “vintage” feel, but be aware of the current mailing rates when you use them, so that you have enough to cover the cost!

There are several kinds of stamps in addition to your standard postage. Postcard stamps are a little cheaper (which is great if you want to send a small letter), but they can only be used to mail postcards. International stamps are a must for sending letters out of the country, and additional ounce stamps are great to add to your standard stamp when you’re sending something that’s not big enough to require special postage, but is a little too heavy to be covered with one stamp. (You could also just use two standard stamps, but again, the additional ounce is a little cheaper!)

As a frequent letter-writer, I keep all of these types of stamps at my writing station at home (and I always buy them in various designs!). If you’re unsure of what sort of stamp you need, check with your local post office to learn more!

4. What to Write About?

This is the real important part of the letter, isn’t it? What do you write about? The honest answer is that you can write about anything at all! But, here are a few suggestions:

  • Your day. It might seem boring because its your life and you live it every day. But, I always love to hear what my friends have been up to! These slice-of-life letters are some of my favorites to receive.
  • A vacation or trip. Whether it was a daytrip or a month-long cruise, it’s always fun to talk about (and read about) adventures!
  • Work or school. I write to a friend who is studying in Rome and to another who is in medical school in Kenya. And I also write to my little cousin who is a junior in college. I love to hear about their classes, what makes them excited, and to see the differences between their school experiences and mine.
  • Memories of them. Who doesn’t enjoy reminiscing? Write to your grandparents about summers spent on their farm, or to an old friend about some silly misadventure you shared. If a holiday is coming up, you can use that as an excuse to talk about your favorite holiday memories, too.
  • Daydreams or fantasies. What are your hopes for the future? Or something you think about a lot? Have you been obsessing about the new car you’re saving up to buy, or the backpacking trip you plan to take at the end of the summer? Share your thoughts with your pen pal.
  • Books and movies. Did you read or watch something recently that you think your pen pal would love? What about a real clunker you wanted to complain about? Sharing recommendations (or titles to avoid) is always a great place to start.
  • The people in your life. Do you have some interesting people in your life? (Of course you do!) Write about them! Share the story of when a deer snuck into the neighbor’s house, or the time your coworker attempted to reorganize the whole office, and no one could find anything. Or your uncle’s crazy Super Bowl parties. Your correspondent might not know the people you’re talking about, but you can definitely “bring them to life”. One of my old pen pals always had stories about her eccentric best friend (ironically, also named Erin), and even though I never met her, I couldn’t wait to hear about the latest “incident”.

5. Decoration

I mentioned this briefly in section 2, but decorating the letter and the envelope can be one of the most satisfying parts of the letter-writing process. The best part is that no artistic skill is required. You can create a border using decorative tape or markers. I like to use stamps and an inkpad, or a couple of well-placed stickers. The same goes for the envelope. The most important thing is to make sure not to block out the address for the person you’re sending it to or to make the design too busy. If the post office can’t read the address, they can’t deliver your letter! And don’t forget to include your own address in the top left, just in case! If for some reason, your letter is undeliverable (insufficient postage, wrong address, etc.) USPS will make sure that it gets back to you.

6. But, What if They Don’t Write Back?

This is a tricky one. What do you do if you’re writing to someone and they don’t write back? Or what if you write to them and they only respond once in a while? There’s no right answer here, but let’s talk about it.

First, you have to decide what you’re looking for from this writing relationship. I write to several people on a regular basis, including friends and family, and only a few of them will write letters back. Some send text message or emails, others will wait to say anything until we see each other in person. For some writers, not getting a letter back is like an insult (although I really don’t think you should look at it this way). Instead, remember that not everyone shares your passion for postage, and that’s perfectly okay. I’ll admit that I write more to the people who write back (or who at least acknowledge my letters in some way), but at the end of the day, I write because I want to write, not because I’m hoping to get lots and lots of letters (although, I would love to get lots and lots of letters!). On average, I receive one letter for every three to five that I send. Which is pretty good, all things considered. But, I do this because I love to write. And because I love the people I write to.

7. A Few Books to Get You Started!

Here are a few of my favorite books for letter writing inspiration!

Happy Writing!

Erin

I'm the Reader's Advisory Librarian at WPPL. My interests include old horror films, classic novels, manga and anime, paper-crafting, and plants. If you like my suggestions, you can request personalized recommendations from me on My Librarian page.