Anne here, sitting in a hotel room 1000 miles from home, pondering the gentle art of letter writing. I'm up in Queensland (Australia) and I just had lunch with a bunch of local authors, some of whom are my very good and dear friends, even though I could probably count on my fingers the number of occasions we've actually met in the flesh – usually at conferences, along with hundreds of other people. We do, however, email regularly, and that's how we've become such good friends.
That's the thing with email — it's very easy to get in touch and keep in touch. And there's an everydayness about email, a casual approach where we can email one or two line messages back and forth, not greeting, no sign-off or salutation at the end very — it's very much like the way we speak. And we keep up with the minutiae of each other's lives, as well as the bigger things.
Because I knew it was my turn to blog today, I started thinking about the way communication — written communication in particular — has become so much easier and also how much the style of written communication has changed as a result.
Here I am, far away from home, and whereas in the past I would have sat down and written a couple of letters, telling friends and family about my trip and my day and the lunch and my impressions of where I'm staying, all I did was dash off a couple of quick emails with a few lines. And I'll probably never write a letter.
I used to write hundreds of letters, and I know that people often used to keep them, which pleases me — I used to take a lot of trouble over the letters I wrote. Some I wrote when I was traveling, especially if I was in some land where I didn't speak the language. But often I wrote them for my own and others entertainment, just being silly. I loved writing letters but sadly, I can't think when I last wrote one. Email or blogging is just not the same.
These days people who are traveling put up a blog for everyone they know and don't know – one size fits all. There's a loss of personal intimacy in the general travel blog, I think. And a loss of detail with email, I find.
One of my favorite sources of historical research is letters of the time and place. For my book Tallie's Knight I relied heavily on the letters of a young Irishwoman taking the Grand Tour with friends. She wrote dozens of letters to her brother back at home, and they were wonderful — entertaining, informative, funny, sometimes wittily scathing, and always interesting. 
For my book To Catch A Bride, I also used letters and journals of people traveling in Egypt, and came across all kinds of amazing and peculiar little details I never would have found otherwise. These letters have survived because they were interesting enough for the recipients to keep and entertaining and well written enough for them to be published in some form or other much later.
What will happen today to the many thousands of emails we write? Will the few gems we produce disappear, swamped by the dross of the everyday?
And how will anyone find, say, their grandmother's emails, fifty years from now? If you discover a box of letters in the attic one day, you can read them immediately and decide whether they're interesting and worth keeping, or not. Or you can oput them back for another generation to discover. Would you examine an ancient dead computer for its contents? I doubt it. Would a dead compouter even make it to the attic? And even if it did, could we read it?
When my sisters and I were clearing out our parent's house, we found some wonderful old letters, including some really romantic ones. It reminded me that my aunt and uncle "met" through writing letters in secret while my uncle was overseas at war. My aunt was only 16 and her mother wouldn't have allowed it had she known. But they fell in love long before they met —people will sometimes write things they might not say aloud. I know a few people who fell in love through email exchanges, but will their correspondence ever remain for their children or others to read?
Where would we be without Jane Austen's correspondence? Would it have been as much of a source of fascination to us today if she was texting her sister, or emailing? Csandra R U OK?
The thing is, when we sit down to write a letter the thought processes are, I believe, different. Certainly we probably put a bit more thought and effort into writing letters than we do with most emails. Was it because we felt the need to use up the required space — a sheet or two? Was it because it costs money to send a letter? Was it because people often read letters more than once – and special ones get reread over and over?
They took letter writing more seriously in the past. Children learned the correct way to write formal letters, they'd copy them out of books, and for many people it was treated as an art. Certainly writers and poets and philosophers and others knew letters were an art form.
In the Regency it was quite expensive to send letters — that's why they crossed them. Do you know what a crossed letter is? There's one here. They filled a page, writing normally, then turned it 90 degrees and filled the page again, crosswise. A little tricky to read, but you soon get the hang of it, especially if the handwriting is familiar to you.
It was cheaper if you had a tame lord on hand — as hereditary members of the Upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords, their mail went free, as long as they "franked" it — marked it with their signature or signet ring or seal. Of course they'd happily frank letters for any of their family or household — there was a lot of abuse of the system, so much in fact that the franking requirements got more detailed — lords had to write the town of dispatch and the full date in words on the letter in their own hand. In the end the abuse caused such a drain on the mail system it was abolished in 1840.
Letters also took a long time to arrive, so they were quite prized when they did arrive. 
I get hundreds of emails. I do prize the occasional one, but even those are mostly lost when I upgrade my computer every three or four years.
So I wonder and worry a little about the future historians and what kind of historical footprint we'll leave behind. And yet here I am blogging, and planning to do more emails after that when I probably should be writing a letter.
What about you — how has email changed your life and communication style? Do you have good friends you have made via email? Are you more in contact with loved ones, and is it a deeper kind of contact or do you think it's more superficial? Do you care? Do you still write letters?
And if you were Jane Austen, what kind of text would you send Cassandra?
I do like the immediacy of being able to email friends and family while away on trips. I can instantly (depending on wireless availability!) tell someone about a interesting find or place, sharing my trip with them even thought they are not there.
I also use email to keep in touch with friends that have drifted throughout the world. I think that if I had to sit down and write a letter, find postage, and mail it, I might have lost touch with more than I have already. However, I agree that the ease and style fosters more of a surface relationship and exchange of ideas rather than a deep and thoughtful one.
I recently read the Greater Journey: Americans in Paris and was fascinated by the letters written by those who left home to travel so far. It did raise the question in my mind of how people in the future would be able to track the minutiae of our lives since we will not be leaving such personal records (I think journaling has also decreased with letter writing).
As a side note, I love epistolary novels and I think that is due to never receiving letters of my own!
Great topic!
I do like the immediacy of being able to email friends and family while away on trips. I can instantly (depending on wireless availability!) tell someone about a interesting find or place, sharing my trip with them even thought they are not there.
I also use email to keep in touch with friends that have drifted throughout the world. I think that if I had to sit down and write a letter, find postage, and mail it, I might have lost touch with more than I have already. However, I agree that the ease and style fosters more of a surface relationship and exchange of ideas rather than a deep and thoughtful one.
I recently read the Greater Journey: Americans in Paris and was fascinated by the letters written by those who left home to travel so far. It did raise the question in my mind of how people in the future would be able to track the minutiae of our lives since we will not be leaving such personal records (I think journaling has also decreased with letter writing).
As a side note, I love epistolary novels and I think that is due to never receiving letters of my own!
Great topic!
I do like the immediacy of being able to email friends and family while away on trips. I can instantly (depending on wireless availability!) tell someone about a interesting find or place, sharing my trip with them even thought they are not there.
I also use email to keep in touch with friends that have drifted throughout the world. I think that if I had to sit down and write a letter, find postage, and mail it, I might have lost touch with more than I have already. However, I agree that the ease and style fosters more of a surface relationship and exchange of ideas rather than a deep and thoughtful one.
I recently read the Greater Journey: Americans in Paris and was fascinated by the letters written by those who left home to travel so far. It did raise the question in my mind of how people in the future would be able to track the minutiae of our lives since we will not be leaving such personal records (I think journaling has also decreased with letter writing).
As a side note, I love epistolary novels and I think that is due to never receiving letters of my own!
Great topic!
I do like the immediacy of being able to email friends and family while away on trips. I can instantly (depending on wireless availability!) tell someone about a interesting find or place, sharing my trip with them even thought they are not there.
I also use email to keep in touch with friends that have drifted throughout the world. I think that if I had to sit down and write a letter, find postage, and mail it, I might have lost touch with more than I have already. However, I agree that the ease and style fosters more of a surface relationship and exchange of ideas rather than a deep and thoughtful one.
I recently read the Greater Journey: Americans in Paris and was fascinated by the letters written by those who left home to travel so far. It did raise the question in my mind of how people in the future would be able to track the minutiae of our lives since we will not be leaving such personal records (I think journaling has also decreased with letter writing).
As a side note, I love epistolary novels and I think that is due to never receiving letters of my own!
Great topic!
I do like the immediacy of being able to email friends and family while away on trips. I can instantly (depending on wireless availability!) tell someone about a interesting find or place, sharing my trip with them even thought they are not there.
I also use email to keep in touch with friends that have drifted throughout the world. I think that if I had to sit down and write a letter, find postage, and mail it, I might have lost touch with more than I have already. However, I agree that the ease and style fosters more of a surface relationship and exchange of ideas rather than a deep and thoughtful one.
I recently read the Greater Journey: Americans in Paris and was fascinated by the letters written by those who left home to travel so far. It did raise the question in my mind of how people in the future would be able to track the minutiae of our lives since we will not be leaving such personal records (I think journaling has also decreased with letter writing).
As a side note, I love epistolary novels and I think that is due to never receiving letters of my own!
Great topic!
Hi Anne,
I still write letters. I do not have ready access to internet and I enjoy writing. I only write to a handful of people all family. I write them because I like to receive “fun mail”… things that are not junk or bills 🙂
I find that when I am online I don’t have enough time to write all that I want and I enjoy long hand writing to typing anyway. So I will stick with writing letters. Thanks for asking.
Hi Anne,
I still write letters. I do not have ready access to internet and I enjoy writing. I only write to a handful of people all family. I write them because I like to receive “fun mail”… things that are not junk or bills 🙂
I find that when I am online I don’t have enough time to write all that I want and I enjoy long hand writing to typing anyway. So I will stick with writing letters. Thanks for asking.
Hi Anne,
I still write letters. I do not have ready access to internet and I enjoy writing. I only write to a handful of people all family. I write them because I like to receive “fun mail”… things that are not junk or bills 🙂
I find that when I am online I don’t have enough time to write all that I want and I enjoy long hand writing to typing anyway. So I will stick with writing letters. Thanks for asking.
Hi Anne,
I still write letters. I do not have ready access to internet and I enjoy writing. I only write to a handful of people all family. I write them because I like to receive “fun mail”… things that are not junk or bills 🙂
I find that when I am online I don’t have enough time to write all that I want and I enjoy long hand writing to typing anyway. So I will stick with writing letters. Thanks for asking.
Hi Anne,
I still write letters. I do not have ready access to internet and I enjoy writing. I only write to a handful of people all family. I write them because I like to receive “fun mail”… things that are not junk or bills 🙂
I find that when I am online I don’t have enough time to write all that I want and I enjoy long hand writing to typing anyway. So I will stick with writing letters. Thanks for asking.
I have been thinking about this very topic recently, because I’ve been buying sets of old letters and revelling in them – as you say, it’s the little details which emerge that are the most surprising. I doubt that the same material will exist for our time-period.
I used to write to my grandmother every week when I was a child, and then later when I was at university I kept in touch with my family by letter. But in the last few years I’ve rarely written a letter – the most I’ll do is write a notecard, and that is rare. I find I keep in touch with many people mainly by mobile phone text messages, which has the advantage of letting them know quickly and unobtrusively that I’m thinking of them. However, texts are even more ephemeral than emails.
I do think that it will be more difficult for biographers in particular to understand their subjects in future, especially as it seeems much more unusual for people to keep detailed diaries now, too.
I have been thinking about this very topic recently, because I’ve been buying sets of old letters and revelling in them – as you say, it’s the little details which emerge that are the most surprising. I doubt that the same material will exist for our time-period.
I used to write to my grandmother every week when I was a child, and then later when I was at university I kept in touch with my family by letter. But in the last few years I’ve rarely written a letter – the most I’ll do is write a notecard, and that is rare. I find I keep in touch with many people mainly by mobile phone text messages, which has the advantage of letting them know quickly and unobtrusively that I’m thinking of them. However, texts are even more ephemeral than emails.
I do think that it will be more difficult for biographers in particular to understand their subjects in future, especially as it seeems much more unusual for people to keep detailed diaries now, too.
I have been thinking about this very topic recently, because I’ve been buying sets of old letters and revelling in them – as you say, it’s the little details which emerge that are the most surprising. I doubt that the same material will exist for our time-period.
I used to write to my grandmother every week when I was a child, and then later when I was at university I kept in touch with my family by letter. But in the last few years I’ve rarely written a letter – the most I’ll do is write a notecard, and that is rare. I find I keep in touch with many people mainly by mobile phone text messages, which has the advantage of letting them know quickly and unobtrusively that I’m thinking of them. However, texts are even more ephemeral than emails.
I do think that it will be more difficult for biographers in particular to understand their subjects in future, especially as it seeems much more unusual for people to keep detailed diaries now, too.
I have been thinking about this very topic recently, because I’ve been buying sets of old letters and revelling in them – as you say, it’s the little details which emerge that are the most surprising. I doubt that the same material will exist for our time-period.
I used to write to my grandmother every week when I was a child, and then later when I was at university I kept in touch with my family by letter. But in the last few years I’ve rarely written a letter – the most I’ll do is write a notecard, and that is rare. I find I keep in touch with many people mainly by mobile phone text messages, which has the advantage of letting them know quickly and unobtrusively that I’m thinking of them. However, texts are even more ephemeral than emails.
I do think that it will be more difficult for biographers in particular to understand their subjects in future, especially as it seeems much more unusual for people to keep detailed diaries now, too.
I have been thinking about this very topic recently, because I’ve been buying sets of old letters and revelling in them – as you say, it’s the little details which emerge that are the most surprising. I doubt that the same material will exist for our time-period.
I used to write to my grandmother every week when I was a child, and then later when I was at university I kept in touch with my family by letter. But in the last few years I’ve rarely written a letter – the most I’ll do is write a notecard, and that is rare. I find I keep in touch with many people mainly by mobile phone text messages, which has the advantage of letting them know quickly and unobtrusively that I’m thinking of them. However, texts are even more ephemeral than emails.
I do think that it will be more difficult for biographers in particular to understand their subjects in future, especially as it seeems much more unusual for people to keep detailed diaries now, too.
I simply can’t imagine a world without hand written letters. I am fountain pen addicted (and have been since I was 16). Fountain pens and snail mail seem to go together. I relish real letters while I become frustrated with constant email communications with all of it’s acronyms and abbreviations. My friends now know that if I don;t respond to emails they call me.
When I read about a new ‘service’ called snail my my email’ whereby a person can send an email and have one of the letter mavens make a ‘real’ letter from the email replete with doodles and squiggles I really began to wonder what in the heck is going on in society when a person can’t (or won’t) take a few minutes to down and write their own snail mail. You’re right indeed – what will the future be like without a box of old letters and journals in the attic.
I simply can’t imagine a world without hand written letters. I am fountain pen addicted (and have been since I was 16). Fountain pens and snail mail seem to go together. I relish real letters while I become frustrated with constant email communications with all of it’s acronyms and abbreviations. My friends now know that if I don;t respond to emails they call me.
When I read about a new ‘service’ called snail my my email’ whereby a person can send an email and have one of the letter mavens make a ‘real’ letter from the email replete with doodles and squiggles I really began to wonder what in the heck is going on in society when a person can’t (or won’t) take a few minutes to down and write their own snail mail. You’re right indeed – what will the future be like without a box of old letters and journals in the attic.
I simply can’t imagine a world without hand written letters. I am fountain pen addicted (and have been since I was 16). Fountain pens and snail mail seem to go together. I relish real letters while I become frustrated with constant email communications with all of it’s acronyms and abbreviations. My friends now know that if I don;t respond to emails they call me.
When I read about a new ‘service’ called snail my my email’ whereby a person can send an email and have one of the letter mavens make a ‘real’ letter from the email replete with doodles and squiggles I really began to wonder what in the heck is going on in society when a person can’t (or won’t) take a few minutes to down and write their own snail mail. You’re right indeed – what will the future be like without a box of old letters and journals in the attic.
I simply can’t imagine a world without hand written letters. I am fountain pen addicted (and have been since I was 16). Fountain pens and snail mail seem to go together. I relish real letters while I become frustrated with constant email communications with all of it’s acronyms and abbreviations. My friends now know that if I don;t respond to emails they call me.
When I read about a new ‘service’ called snail my my email’ whereby a person can send an email and have one of the letter mavens make a ‘real’ letter from the email replete with doodles and squiggles I really began to wonder what in the heck is going on in society when a person can’t (or won’t) take a few minutes to down and write their own snail mail. You’re right indeed – what will the future be like without a box of old letters and journals in the attic.
I simply can’t imagine a world without hand written letters. I am fountain pen addicted (and have been since I was 16). Fountain pens and snail mail seem to go together. I relish real letters while I become frustrated with constant email communications with all of it’s acronyms and abbreviations. My friends now know that if I don;t respond to emails they call me.
When I read about a new ‘service’ called snail my my email’ whereby a person can send an email and have one of the letter mavens make a ‘real’ letter from the email replete with doodles and squiggles I really began to wonder what in the heck is going on in society when a person can’t (or won’t) take a few minutes to down and write their own snail mail. You’re right indeed – what will the future be like without a box of old letters and journals in the attic.
I do understand the nostalgia for the days of letter writing and I love reading old letters. Having said that, most people throughout history have not been able to write and the minutiae of their lives has been lost. In societies that are more literate than ever before I wouldn’t be surprised if there is plenty of material for future historians to study. Blogs, though hardly as elegant as handwritten letters, are to some extent already being archived by national libraries for use by future researchers.
I do understand the nostalgia for the days of letter writing and I love reading old letters. Having said that, most people throughout history have not been able to write and the minutiae of their lives has been lost. In societies that are more literate than ever before I wouldn’t be surprised if there is plenty of material for future historians to study. Blogs, though hardly as elegant as handwritten letters, are to some extent already being archived by national libraries for use by future researchers.
I do understand the nostalgia for the days of letter writing and I love reading old letters. Having said that, most people throughout history have not been able to write and the minutiae of their lives has been lost. In societies that are more literate than ever before I wouldn’t be surprised if there is plenty of material for future historians to study. Blogs, though hardly as elegant as handwritten letters, are to some extent already being archived by national libraries for use by future researchers.
I do understand the nostalgia for the days of letter writing and I love reading old letters. Having said that, most people throughout history have not been able to write and the minutiae of their lives has been lost. In societies that are more literate than ever before I wouldn’t be surprised if there is plenty of material for future historians to study. Blogs, though hardly as elegant as handwritten letters, are to some extent already being archived by national libraries for use by future researchers.
I do understand the nostalgia for the days of letter writing and I love reading old letters. Having said that, most people throughout history have not been able to write and the minutiae of their lives has been lost. In societies that are more literate than ever before I wouldn’t be surprised if there is plenty of material for future historians to study. Blogs, though hardly as elegant as handwritten letters, are to some extent already being archived by national libraries for use by future researchers.
Amy, in the past getting access to wifi, especially at a reasonable cost, has been an issue for me, too, because email is not my main way of staying in touch, and with a wider range of people than in my leter-writing past. But I wrote this blog on my laptop and uploaded it using my i-phone, which is ‘tethered’ to my lap top. Basically my phone allows my laptop internet access —a kind of roving wifi — so as long as I have phone reception I’m fine.
I, too enjoy letters in/as novels. Have you ever read 44 Charing Cross Rd, or Daddy Long Legs? Or the most recent one I read, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A gorgeous book, highly recommended.
Amy, in the past getting access to wifi, especially at a reasonable cost, has been an issue for me, too, because email is not my main way of staying in touch, and with a wider range of people than in my leter-writing past. But I wrote this blog on my laptop and uploaded it using my i-phone, which is ‘tethered’ to my lap top. Basically my phone allows my laptop internet access —a kind of roving wifi — so as long as I have phone reception I’m fine.
I, too enjoy letters in/as novels. Have you ever read 44 Charing Cross Rd, or Daddy Long Legs? Or the most recent one I read, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A gorgeous book, highly recommended.
Amy, in the past getting access to wifi, especially at a reasonable cost, has been an issue for me, too, because email is not my main way of staying in touch, and with a wider range of people than in my leter-writing past. But I wrote this blog on my laptop and uploaded it using my i-phone, which is ‘tethered’ to my lap top. Basically my phone allows my laptop internet access —a kind of roving wifi — so as long as I have phone reception I’m fine.
I, too enjoy letters in/as novels. Have you ever read 44 Charing Cross Rd, or Daddy Long Legs? Or the most recent one I read, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A gorgeous book, highly recommended.
Amy, in the past getting access to wifi, especially at a reasonable cost, has been an issue for me, too, because email is not my main way of staying in touch, and with a wider range of people than in my leter-writing past. But I wrote this blog on my laptop and uploaded it using my i-phone, which is ‘tethered’ to my lap top. Basically my phone allows my laptop internet access —a kind of roving wifi — so as long as I have phone reception I’m fine.
I, too enjoy letters in/as novels. Have you ever read 44 Charing Cross Rd, or Daddy Long Legs? Or the most recent one I read, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A gorgeous book, highly recommended.
Amy, in the past getting access to wifi, especially at a reasonable cost, has been an issue for me, too, because email is not my main way of staying in touch, and with a wider range of people than in my leter-writing past. But I wrote this blog on my laptop and uploaded it using my i-phone, which is ‘tethered’ to my lap top. Basically my phone allows my laptop internet access —a kind of roving wifi — so as long as I have phone reception I’m fine.
I, too enjoy letters in/as novels. Have you ever read 44 Charing Cross Rd, or Daddy Long Legs? Or the most recent one I read, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A gorgeous book, highly recommended.
Amy, I forgot to say, that Americans in Paris book sounds wonderful. I might have to track it down. Some pretty famous and influential people did that, from the French Revolution, onward.
I’ve read a bit about some of the more well-known Americans who took up residence in Paris for a time in the early 1900’s. I think Gertrude Stein said something like “America is my country but Paris is my home town.” Fascinating.
And as I’m thinking about this, more and more names come to mind. I’m definitely going to have to get that book. Thanks,
Amy, I forgot to say, that Americans in Paris book sounds wonderful. I might have to track it down. Some pretty famous and influential people did that, from the French Revolution, onward.
I’ve read a bit about some of the more well-known Americans who took up residence in Paris for a time in the early 1900’s. I think Gertrude Stein said something like “America is my country but Paris is my home town.” Fascinating.
And as I’m thinking about this, more and more names come to mind. I’m definitely going to have to get that book. Thanks,
Amy, I forgot to say, that Americans in Paris book sounds wonderful. I might have to track it down. Some pretty famous and influential people did that, from the French Revolution, onward.
I’ve read a bit about some of the more well-known Americans who took up residence in Paris for a time in the early 1900’s. I think Gertrude Stein said something like “America is my country but Paris is my home town.” Fascinating.
And as I’m thinking about this, more and more names come to mind. I’m definitely going to have to get that book. Thanks,
Amy, I forgot to say, that Americans in Paris book sounds wonderful. I might have to track it down. Some pretty famous and influential people did that, from the French Revolution, onward.
I’ve read a bit about some of the more well-known Americans who took up residence in Paris for a time in the early 1900’s. I think Gertrude Stein said something like “America is my country but Paris is my home town.” Fascinating.
And as I’m thinking about this, more and more names come to mind. I’m definitely going to have to get that book. Thanks,
Amy, I forgot to say, that Americans in Paris book sounds wonderful. I might have to track it down. Some pretty famous and influential people did that, from the French Revolution, onward.
I’ve read a bit about some of the more well-known Americans who took up residence in Paris for a time in the early 1900’s. I think Gertrude Stein said something like “America is my country but Paris is my home town.” Fascinating.
And as I’m thinking about this, more and more names come to mind. I’m definitely going to have to get that book. Thanks,
Kate, writing comes easier to me by hand than typing, too — I never learned typing at school or afterward, and even though I spend my life typing — and I’m quite fast — the words flow more easily with a pen. I often write a scene by hand before typing it up.
And with actual written letters, it’s more than the words, isn’;t it? Handwriting conveys so much of a person’s personality. And I’m not artist, but I used to often include little drawings in my letters. I do great stick figures. LOL
Kate, writing comes easier to me by hand than typing, too — I never learned typing at school or afterward, and even though I spend my life typing — and I’m quite fast — the words flow more easily with a pen. I often write a scene by hand before typing it up.
And with actual written letters, it’s more than the words, isn’;t it? Handwriting conveys so much of a person’s personality. And I’m not artist, but I used to often include little drawings in my letters. I do great stick figures. LOL
Kate, writing comes easier to me by hand than typing, too — I never learned typing at school or afterward, and even though I spend my life typing — and I’m quite fast — the words flow more easily with a pen. I often write a scene by hand before typing it up.
And with actual written letters, it’s more than the words, isn’;t it? Handwriting conveys so much of a person’s personality. And I’m not artist, but I used to often include little drawings in my letters. I do great stick figures. LOL
Kate, writing comes easier to me by hand than typing, too — I never learned typing at school or afterward, and even though I spend my life typing — and I’m quite fast — the words flow more easily with a pen. I often write a scene by hand before typing it up.
And with actual written letters, it’s more than the words, isn’;t it? Handwriting conveys so much of a person’s personality. And I’m not artist, but I used to often include little drawings in my letters. I do great stick figures. LOL
Kate, writing comes easier to me by hand than typing, too — I never learned typing at school or afterward, and even though I spend my life typing — and I’m quite fast — the words flow more easily with a pen. I often write a scene by hand before typing it up.
And with actual written letters, it’s more than the words, isn’;t it? Handwriting conveys so much of a person’s personality. And I’m not artist, but I used to often include little drawings in my letters. I do great stick figures. LOL
HJ, I think it’s partly because letter-writing was a more leisurely activity. Now as I’m writing this, I’ve had three emails ping in, and last night when I arrived at the hotel, I took a few snaps of the view from my window and balcony (cheap room, so the view is of the river and hinterland you have to crane around the balcony to see the sea.)
So with a quick snap, there’s no need to paint a word picture, and they’re much more interesting because words reflect an interaction of the place with the person — interpreting the place, the experience, my feelings about it, etc.
HJ, I think it’s partly because letter-writing was a more leisurely activity. Now as I’m writing this, I’ve had three emails ping in, and last night when I arrived at the hotel, I took a few snaps of the view from my window and balcony (cheap room, so the view is of the river and hinterland you have to crane around the balcony to see the sea.)
So with a quick snap, there’s no need to paint a word picture, and they’re much more interesting because words reflect an interaction of the place with the person — interpreting the place, the experience, my feelings about it, etc.
HJ, I think it’s partly because letter-writing was a more leisurely activity. Now as I’m writing this, I’ve had three emails ping in, and last night when I arrived at the hotel, I took a few snaps of the view from my window and balcony (cheap room, so the view is of the river and hinterland you have to crane around the balcony to see the sea.)
So with a quick snap, there’s no need to paint a word picture, and they’re much more interesting because words reflect an interaction of the place with the person — interpreting the place, the experience, my feelings about it, etc.
HJ, I think it’s partly because letter-writing was a more leisurely activity. Now as I’m writing this, I’ve had three emails ping in, and last night when I arrived at the hotel, I took a few snaps of the view from my window and balcony (cheap room, so the view is of the river and hinterland you have to crane around the balcony to see the sea.)
So with a quick snap, there’s no need to paint a word picture, and they’re much more interesting because words reflect an interaction of the place with the person — interpreting the place, the experience, my feelings about it, etc.
HJ, I think it’s partly because letter-writing was a more leisurely activity. Now as I’m writing this, I’ve had three emails ping in, and last night when I arrived at the hotel, I took a few snaps of the view from my window and balcony (cheap room, so the view is of the river and hinterland you have to crane around the balcony to see the sea.)
So with a quick snap, there’s no need to paint a word picture, and they’re much more interesting because words reflect an interaction of the place with the person — interpreting the place, the experience, my feelings about it, etc.
Marie, I had an affair with fountain pens when I was young, but my handwriting can’t ever be called beautiful, and quick practicality got in the way, so my various pens languish in the drawer, untouched for years.
But my dad used fountain pens for years, and I still have letters from him written in pen. I love them. My mother was a big letter writer, Dad much less so, so it was wonderful when he did bother.
I don’t like the idea that some software will add appropriate squiggles and doodles. Letters are uniquely personal, software-devised imitation personality isn’t.
Marie, I had an affair with fountain pens when I was young, but my handwriting can’t ever be called beautiful, and quick practicality got in the way, so my various pens languish in the drawer, untouched for years.
But my dad used fountain pens for years, and I still have letters from him written in pen. I love them. My mother was a big letter writer, Dad much less so, so it was wonderful when he did bother.
I don’t like the idea that some software will add appropriate squiggles and doodles. Letters are uniquely personal, software-devised imitation personality isn’t.
Marie, I had an affair with fountain pens when I was young, but my handwriting can’t ever be called beautiful, and quick practicality got in the way, so my various pens languish in the drawer, untouched for years.
But my dad used fountain pens for years, and I still have letters from him written in pen. I love them. My mother was a big letter writer, Dad much less so, so it was wonderful when he did bother.
I don’t like the idea that some software will add appropriate squiggles and doodles. Letters are uniquely personal, software-devised imitation personality isn’t.
Marie, I had an affair with fountain pens when I was young, but my handwriting can’t ever be called beautiful, and quick practicality got in the way, so my various pens languish in the drawer, untouched for years.
But my dad used fountain pens for years, and I still have letters from him written in pen. I love them. My mother was a big letter writer, Dad much less so, so it was wonderful when he did bother.
I don’t like the idea that some software will add appropriate squiggles and doodles. Letters are uniquely personal, software-devised imitation personality isn’t.
Marie, I had an affair with fountain pens when I was young, but my handwriting can’t ever be called beautiful, and quick practicality got in the way, so my various pens languish in the drawer, untouched for years.
But my dad used fountain pens for years, and I still have letters from him written in pen. I love them. My mother was a big letter writer, Dad much less so, so it was wonderful when he did bother.
I don’t like the idea that some software will add appropriate squiggles and doodles. Letters are uniquely personal, software-devised imitation personality isn’t.
Melovell, I know a lot of electronic communication will be archived and historians of the future will be able to dig up electronic files about certain people if they want to, and go looking for it, but what someone says to the world, or an email group, isn’t the same— or as personally revealing — as individually written letters.
I know it’s inevitable. I’m part of the change myself. I’m sitting here typing, instead of writing, and I love being able to email friends all over the place so easily (love my tethered phone) but I’m also aware that something small and delicate has been lost.
Melovell, I know a lot of electronic communication will be archived and historians of the future will be able to dig up electronic files about certain people if they want to, and go looking for it, but what someone says to the world, or an email group, isn’t the same— or as personally revealing — as individually written letters.
I know it’s inevitable. I’m part of the change myself. I’m sitting here typing, instead of writing, and I love being able to email friends all over the place so easily (love my tethered phone) but I’m also aware that something small and delicate has been lost.
Melovell, I know a lot of electronic communication will be archived and historians of the future will be able to dig up electronic files about certain people if they want to, and go looking for it, but what someone says to the world, or an email group, isn’t the same— or as personally revealing — as individually written letters.
I know it’s inevitable. I’m part of the change myself. I’m sitting here typing, instead of writing, and I love being able to email friends all over the place so easily (love my tethered phone) but I’m also aware that something small and delicate has been lost.
Melovell, I know a lot of electronic communication will be archived and historians of the future will be able to dig up electronic files about certain people if they want to, and go looking for it, but what someone says to the world, or an email group, isn’t the same— or as personally revealing — as individually written letters.
I know it’s inevitable. I’m part of the change myself. I’m sitting here typing, instead of writing, and I love being able to email friends all over the place so easily (love my tethered phone) but I’m also aware that something small and delicate has been lost.
Melovell, I know a lot of electronic communication will be archived and historians of the future will be able to dig up electronic files about certain people if they want to, and go looking for it, but what someone says to the world, or an email group, isn’t the same— or as personally revealing — as individually written letters.
I know it’s inevitable. I’m part of the change myself. I’m sitting here typing, instead of writing, and I love being able to email friends all over the place so easily (love my tethered phone) but I’m also aware that something small and delicate has been lost.
I do love to write, but alas, my hands don’t often cooperate like they used to so for me, typing, my piano, they force me to exercise my fingers so the arthritis isn’t so bad. I think with email, I can stand not writing letters anymore but it was a killer to have to set aside my quilting most of the time now.
The thing I do enjoy about emailing though is the fact that I can carry on a written conversation with someone in the immediate.
But I keep emails too. I print them and save them folded up in a box. They might not be hand written but the ones I keep are heart written and that’s enough to warrant saving them. :o)
And speaking of letters, did anyone see the Breakfast links on Two Nerdy History Girls for Sunday? They had a OMGTDF *sigh* love letter that’s truly romance in life.
http://goo.gl/xdth9
I do love to write, but alas, my hands don’t often cooperate like they used to so for me, typing, my piano, they force me to exercise my fingers so the arthritis isn’t so bad. I think with email, I can stand not writing letters anymore but it was a killer to have to set aside my quilting most of the time now.
The thing I do enjoy about emailing though is the fact that I can carry on a written conversation with someone in the immediate.
But I keep emails too. I print them and save them folded up in a box. They might not be hand written but the ones I keep are heart written and that’s enough to warrant saving them. :o)
And speaking of letters, did anyone see the Breakfast links on Two Nerdy History Girls for Sunday? They had a OMGTDF *sigh* love letter that’s truly romance in life.
http://goo.gl/xdth9
I do love to write, but alas, my hands don’t often cooperate like they used to so for me, typing, my piano, they force me to exercise my fingers so the arthritis isn’t so bad. I think with email, I can stand not writing letters anymore but it was a killer to have to set aside my quilting most of the time now.
The thing I do enjoy about emailing though is the fact that I can carry on a written conversation with someone in the immediate.
But I keep emails too. I print them and save them folded up in a box. They might not be hand written but the ones I keep are heart written and that’s enough to warrant saving them. :o)
And speaking of letters, did anyone see the Breakfast links on Two Nerdy History Girls for Sunday? They had a OMGTDF *sigh* love letter that’s truly romance in life.
http://goo.gl/xdth9
I do love to write, but alas, my hands don’t often cooperate like they used to so for me, typing, my piano, they force me to exercise my fingers so the arthritis isn’t so bad. I think with email, I can stand not writing letters anymore but it was a killer to have to set aside my quilting most of the time now.
The thing I do enjoy about emailing though is the fact that I can carry on a written conversation with someone in the immediate.
But I keep emails too. I print them and save them folded up in a box. They might not be hand written but the ones I keep are heart written and that’s enough to warrant saving them. :o)
And speaking of letters, did anyone see the Breakfast links on Two Nerdy History Girls for Sunday? They had a OMGTDF *sigh* love letter that’s truly romance in life.
http://goo.gl/xdth9
I do love to write, but alas, my hands don’t often cooperate like they used to so for me, typing, my piano, they force me to exercise my fingers so the arthritis isn’t so bad. I think with email, I can stand not writing letters anymore but it was a killer to have to set aside my quilting most of the time now.
The thing I do enjoy about emailing though is the fact that I can carry on a written conversation with someone in the immediate.
But I keep emails too. I print them and save them folded up in a box. They might not be hand written but the ones I keep are heart written and that’s enough to warrant saving them. :o)
And speaking of letters, did anyone see the Breakfast links on Two Nerdy History Girls for Sunday? They had a OMGTDF *sigh* love letter that’s truly romance in life.
http://goo.gl/xdth9
Theo, I think it’s great that you print out and keep remarkable emails — I think I should start doing that, too. And what a lovely letter that link took me too — thanks for sharing.
Arthritis is a terrible affliction. My grandmother, who was a beautiful piano player had it, too, and stopped playing. They probably didn’t realize the playing would help. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had to set your quilting aside now. It’s sad to have to give up a pastime you love and which results in beautiful heirloom objects
Theo, I think it’s great that you print out and keep remarkable emails — I think I should start doing that, too. And what a lovely letter that link took me too — thanks for sharing.
Arthritis is a terrible affliction. My grandmother, who was a beautiful piano player had it, too, and stopped playing. They probably didn’t realize the playing would help. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had to set your quilting aside now. It’s sad to have to give up a pastime you love and which results in beautiful heirloom objects
Theo, I think it’s great that you print out and keep remarkable emails — I think I should start doing that, too. And what a lovely letter that link took me too — thanks for sharing.
Arthritis is a terrible affliction. My grandmother, who was a beautiful piano player had it, too, and stopped playing. They probably didn’t realize the playing would help. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had to set your quilting aside now. It’s sad to have to give up a pastime you love and which results in beautiful heirloom objects
Theo, I think it’s great that you print out and keep remarkable emails — I think I should start doing that, too. And what a lovely letter that link took me too — thanks for sharing.
Arthritis is a terrible affliction. My grandmother, who was a beautiful piano player had it, too, and stopped playing. They probably didn’t realize the playing would help. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had to set your quilting aside now. It’s sad to have to give up a pastime you love and which results in beautiful heirloom objects
Theo, I think it’s great that you print out and keep remarkable emails — I think I should start doing that, too. And what a lovely letter that link took me too — thanks for sharing.
Arthritis is a terrible affliction. My grandmother, who was a beautiful piano player had it, too, and stopped playing. They probably didn’t realize the playing would help. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had to set your quilting aside now. It’s sad to have to give up a pastime you love and which results in beautiful heirloom objects
I love reading collections of letters. Letters from a Lost Generation, which is Vera Britten’s letters to 4 friends during the Great War, is one of the most moving I’ve ever come across, and gives you a much poignant sense of what the war meant than most history.
I’ve always been a letter addict, but I admit I’m now an email addict and I agree with what most people have said, it’s different. You write about daily minutia more, and what’s actually going on in your head less. Paper and pen make you think, articulate how your feeling, whereas emails are much more about what you’re doing in my experience. Which means in the future people will know a lot more about how we lived, but not very much about what we thought about it, I think. Which is quite sad.
Though funnily enough, when I’m stuck with my writing, or want to think something through, plot something out, understand a scene more, I use pen and paper.
This was a really interesting post. Thank you.
I love reading collections of letters. Letters from a Lost Generation, which is Vera Britten’s letters to 4 friends during the Great War, is one of the most moving I’ve ever come across, and gives you a much poignant sense of what the war meant than most history.
I’ve always been a letter addict, but I admit I’m now an email addict and I agree with what most people have said, it’s different. You write about daily minutia more, and what’s actually going on in your head less. Paper and pen make you think, articulate how your feeling, whereas emails are much more about what you’re doing in my experience. Which means in the future people will know a lot more about how we lived, but not very much about what we thought about it, I think. Which is quite sad.
Though funnily enough, when I’m stuck with my writing, or want to think something through, plot something out, understand a scene more, I use pen and paper.
This was a really interesting post. Thank you.
I love reading collections of letters. Letters from a Lost Generation, which is Vera Britten’s letters to 4 friends during the Great War, is one of the most moving I’ve ever come across, and gives you a much poignant sense of what the war meant than most history.
I’ve always been a letter addict, but I admit I’m now an email addict and I agree with what most people have said, it’s different. You write about daily minutia more, and what’s actually going on in your head less. Paper and pen make you think, articulate how your feeling, whereas emails are much more about what you’re doing in my experience. Which means in the future people will know a lot more about how we lived, but not very much about what we thought about it, I think. Which is quite sad.
Though funnily enough, when I’m stuck with my writing, or want to think something through, plot something out, understand a scene more, I use pen and paper.
This was a really interesting post. Thank you.
I love reading collections of letters. Letters from a Lost Generation, which is Vera Britten’s letters to 4 friends during the Great War, is one of the most moving I’ve ever come across, and gives you a much poignant sense of what the war meant than most history.
I’ve always been a letter addict, but I admit I’m now an email addict and I agree with what most people have said, it’s different. You write about daily minutia more, and what’s actually going on in your head less. Paper and pen make you think, articulate how your feeling, whereas emails are much more about what you’re doing in my experience. Which means in the future people will know a lot more about how we lived, but not very much about what we thought about it, I think. Which is quite sad.
Though funnily enough, when I’m stuck with my writing, or want to think something through, plot something out, understand a scene more, I use pen and paper.
This was a really interesting post. Thank you.
I love reading collections of letters. Letters from a Lost Generation, which is Vera Britten’s letters to 4 friends during the Great War, is one of the most moving I’ve ever come across, and gives you a much poignant sense of what the war meant than most history.
I’ve always been a letter addict, but I admit I’m now an email addict and I agree with what most people have said, it’s different. You write about daily minutia more, and what’s actually going on in your head less. Paper and pen make you think, articulate how your feeling, whereas emails are much more about what you’re doing in my experience. Which means in the future people will know a lot more about how we lived, but not very much about what we thought about it, I think. Which is quite sad.
Though funnily enough, when I’m stuck with my writing, or want to think something through, plot something out, understand a scene more, I use pen and paper.
This was a really interesting post. Thank you.
I’ve thought about how we having been loosing a lot of our personal histories since letter writing declined. It probably started with the telephone, and just got accelerated with emails & texting. Future generations won’t be able to look back at ancestors letters to get a sense of how they lived.
I’ve thought about how we having been loosing a lot of our personal histories since letter writing declined. It probably started with the telephone, and just got accelerated with emails & texting. Future generations won’t be able to look back at ancestors letters to get a sense of how they lived.
I’ve thought about how we having been loosing a lot of our personal histories since letter writing declined. It probably started with the telephone, and just got accelerated with emails & texting. Future generations won’t be able to look back at ancestors letters to get a sense of how they lived.
I’ve thought about how we having been loosing a lot of our personal histories since letter writing declined. It probably started with the telephone, and just got accelerated with emails & texting. Future generations won’t be able to look back at ancestors letters to get a sense of how they lived.
I’ve thought about how we having been loosing a lot of our personal histories since letter writing declined. It probably started with the telephone, and just got accelerated with emails & texting. Future generations won’t be able to look back at ancestors letters to get a sense of how they lived.
Marguerite, I read some of those letters years ago and they were wonderful, I recall, though I can’t remember any details. I’ll have to dig them out and read them again.
I’ve read letters and journals from the Napoleonic wars and though they’re often expressed in brief, plain language, they convey a great deal.
I think when we go to put pen to paper, we try to paint a picture more for the reader, not just of surroundings, but of how we’re feeling, even if it’s only a description of place and events, it’s filtered through us and the reader can infer feelings and responses.
And I, too take to my pen when I’m trying to sort out something. Many of the scenes in my books start off in handwriting in a notebook.
Marguerite, I read some of those letters years ago and they were wonderful, I recall, though I can’t remember any details. I’ll have to dig them out and read them again.
I’ve read letters and journals from the Napoleonic wars and though they’re often expressed in brief, plain language, they convey a great deal.
I think when we go to put pen to paper, we try to paint a picture more for the reader, not just of surroundings, but of how we’re feeling, even if it’s only a description of place and events, it’s filtered through us and the reader can infer feelings and responses.
And I, too take to my pen when I’m trying to sort out something. Many of the scenes in my books start off in handwriting in a notebook.
Marguerite, I read some of those letters years ago and they were wonderful, I recall, though I can’t remember any details. I’ll have to dig them out and read them again.
I’ve read letters and journals from the Napoleonic wars and though they’re often expressed in brief, plain language, they convey a great deal.
I think when we go to put pen to paper, we try to paint a picture more for the reader, not just of surroundings, but of how we’re feeling, even if it’s only a description of place and events, it’s filtered through us and the reader can infer feelings and responses.
And I, too take to my pen when I’m trying to sort out something. Many of the scenes in my books start off in handwriting in a notebook.
Marguerite, I read some of those letters years ago and they were wonderful, I recall, though I can’t remember any details. I’ll have to dig them out and read them again.
I’ve read letters and journals from the Napoleonic wars and though they’re often expressed in brief, plain language, they convey a great deal.
I think when we go to put pen to paper, we try to paint a picture more for the reader, not just of surroundings, but of how we’re feeling, even if it’s only a description of place and events, it’s filtered through us and the reader can infer feelings and responses.
And I, too take to my pen when I’m trying to sort out something. Many of the scenes in my books start off in handwriting in a notebook.
Marguerite, I read some of those letters years ago and they were wonderful, I recall, though I can’t remember any details. I’ll have to dig them out and read them again.
I’ve read letters and journals from the Napoleonic wars and though they’re often expressed in brief, plain language, they convey a great deal.
I think when we go to put pen to paper, we try to paint a picture more for the reader, not just of surroundings, but of how we’re feeling, even if it’s only a description of place and events, it’s filtered through us and the reader can infer feelings and responses.
And I, too take to my pen when I’m trying to sort out something. Many of the scenes in my books start off in handwriting in a notebook.
Dianne, I think that’s true. And I’m a bit sad about it.
Though I do think quite a few people keep journals, which will probably end up meaning we leave roughly the same proportion of personal records as they did in the past — thinking about the number of people who were literate in the past and the no. keeping journals today. Though we’re more likely to get a higher proportion of self-obsessed worriers. LOL (I keep a writing journal.)
When I get home, I’m going to print off some of my keeper emails, and start a box, like Theo.
Dianne, I think that’s true. And I’m a bit sad about it.
Though I do think quite a few people keep journals, which will probably end up meaning we leave roughly the same proportion of personal records as they did in the past — thinking about the number of people who were literate in the past and the no. keeping journals today. Though we’re more likely to get a higher proportion of self-obsessed worriers. LOL (I keep a writing journal.)
When I get home, I’m going to print off some of my keeper emails, and start a box, like Theo.
Dianne, I think that’s true. And I’m a bit sad about it.
Though I do think quite a few people keep journals, which will probably end up meaning we leave roughly the same proportion of personal records as they did in the past — thinking about the number of people who were literate in the past and the no. keeping journals today. Though we’re more likely to get a higher proportion of self-obsessed worriers. LOL (I keep a writing journal.)
When I get home, I’m going to print off some of my keeper emails, and start a box, like Theo.
Dianne, I think that’s true. And I’m a bit sad about it.
Though I do think quite a few people keep journals, which will probably end up meaning we leave roughly the same proportion of personal records as they did in the past — thinking about the number of people who were literate in the past and the no. keeping journals today. Though we’re more likely to get a higher proportion of self-obsessed worriers. LOL (I keep a writing journal.)
When I get home, I’m going to print off some of my keeper emails, and start a box, like Theo.
Dianne, I think that’s true. And I’m a bit sad about it.
Though I do think quite a few people keep journals, which will probably end up meaning we leave roughly the same proportion of personal records as they did in the past — thinking about the number of people who were literate in the past and the no. keeping journals today. Though we’re more likely to get a higher proportion of self-obsessed worriers. LOL (I keep a writing journal.)
When I get home, I’m going to print off some of my keeper emails, and start a box, like Theo.
I believe I’ve made a few friends via blogger and even Facebook, although I’m not on very often. But, I miss the art of letter writing. And my teen daughters have no clue how to write a letter! They use to write thank you notes when they were younger, but now it’s not worth the fight anymore.
I believe I’ve made a few friends via blogger and even Facebook, although I’m not on very often. But, I miss the art of letter writing. And my teen daughters have no clue how to write a letter! They use to write thank you notes when they were younger, but now it’s not worth the fight anymore.
I believe I’ve made a few friends via blogger and even Facebook, although I’m not on very often. But, I miss the art of letter writing. And my teen daughters have no clue how to write a letter! They use to write thank you notes when they were younger, but now it’s not worth the fight anymore.
I believe I’ve made a few friends via blogger and even Facebook, although I’m not on very often. But, I miss the art of letter writing. And my teen daughters have no clue how to write a letter! They use to write thank you notes when they were younger, but now it’s not worth the fight anymore.
I believe I’ve made a few friends via blogger and even Facebook, although I’m not on very often. But, I miss the art of letter writing. And my teen daughters have no clue how to write a letter! They use to write thank you notes when they were younger, but now it’s not worth the fight anymore.
A friend advised me to start writing 15 minutes a day. After I retired I started a sort of diary of adjustment. It’s up to Chapter 72. Chapter 72 was written by hand with a pencil in a notebook because the PC was down for a week. I have become so addicted to journaling that I could not stop just because I could not type! I email the sections to certain valuable friends. One says she prints them and keeps them in a notebook. I suppose you could call this a letter.
A friend advised me to start writing 15 minutes a day. After I retired I started a sort of diary of adjustment. It’s up to Chapter 72. Chapter 72 was written by hand with a pencil in a notebook because the PC was down for a week. I have become so addicted to journaling that I could not stop just because I could not type! I email the sections to certain valuable friends. One says she prints them and keeps them in a notebook. I suppose you could call this a letter.
A friend advised me to start writing 15 minutes a day. After I retired I started a sort of diary of adjustment. It’s up to Chapter 72. Chapter 72 was written by hand with a pencil in a notebook because the PC was down for a week. I have become so addicted to journaling that I could not stop just because I could not type! I email the sections to certain valuable friends. One says she prints them and keeps them in a notebook. I suppose you could call this a letter.
A friend advised me to start writing 15 minutes a day. After I retired I started a sort of diary of adjustment. It’s up to Chapter 72. Chapter 72 was written by hand with a pencil in a notebook because the PC was down for a week. I have become so addicted to journaling that I could not stop just because I could not type! I email the sections to certain valuable friends. One says she prints them and keeps them in a notebook. I suppose you could call this a letter.
A friend advised me to start writing 15 minutes a day. After I retired I started a sort of diary of adjustment. It’s up to Chapter 72. Chapter 72 was written by hand with a pencil in a notebook because the PC was down for a week. I have become so addicted to journaling that I could not stop just because I could not type! I email the sections to certain valuable friends. One says she prints them and keeps them in a notebook. I suppose you could call this a letter.
LilMiss Molly, I do think a lot of people aren’t attuned to the nuances that you learn through letter writing. I often get emails from readers with no greeting and sometimes no name at the end, just something like “so are you going to write about XXX”
That’s it, the full email. I don’t mind, of course, but I do think it’s sad these little skills are disappearing.
LilMiss Molly, I do think a lot of people aren’t attuned to the nuances that you learn through letter writing. I often get emails from readers with no greeting and sometimes no name at the end, just something like “so are you going to write about XXX”
That’s it, the full email. I don’t mind, of course, but I do think it’s sad these little skills are disappearing.
LilMiss Molly, I do think a lot of people aren’t attuned to the nuances that you learn through letter writing. I often get emails from readers with no greeting and sometimes no name at the end, just something like “so are you going to write about XXX”
That’s it, the full email. I don’t mind, of course, but I do think it’s sad these little skills are disappearing.
LilMiss Molly, I do think a lot of people aren’t attuned to the nuances that you learn through letter writing. I often get emails from readers with no greeting and sometimes no name at the end, just something like “so are you going to write about XXX”
That’s it, the full email. I don’t mind, of course, but I do think it’s sad these little skills are disappearing.
LilMiss Molly, I do think a lot of people aren’t attuned to the nuances that you learn through letter writing. I often get emails from readers with no greeting and sometimes no name at the end, just something like “so are you going to write about XXX”
That’s it, the full email. I don’t mind, of course, but I do think it’s sad these little skills are disappearing.
Artemisia, that sounds like a lovely thing to do. I’m a huge advocate of people writing for 15 minutes a day, and I love journalling, too. It’s not quite a letter (which to me implies an exchange) but it brings out the same skills of reflection and interpretation.
I often advise people who are planning to write to adopt Dorothea Brande’s approach to 15 minutes a day. I wrote an article about it here:
http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html
Artemisia, that sounds like a lovely thing to do. I’m a huge advocate of people writing for 15 minutes a day, and I love journalling, too. It’s not quite a letter (which to me implies an exchange) but it brings out the same skills of reflection and interpretation.
I often advise people who are planning to write to adopt Dorothea Brande’s approach to 15 minutes a day. I wrote an article about it here:
http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html
Artemisia, that sounds like a lovely thing to do. I’m a huge advocate of people writing for 15 minutes a day, and I love journalling, too. It’s not quite a letter (which to me implies an exchange) but it brings out the same skills of reflection and interpretation.
I often advise people who are planning to write to adopt Dorothea Brande’s approach to 15 minutes a day. I wrote an article about it here:
http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html
Artemisia, that sounds like a lovely thing to do. I’m a huge advocate of people writing for 15 minutes a day, and I love journalling, too. It’s not quite a letter (which to me implies an exchange) but it brings out the same skills of reflection and interpretation.
I often advise people who are planning to write to adopt Dorothea Brande’s approach to 15 minutes a day. I wrote an article about it here:
http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html
Artemisia, that sounds like a lovely thing to do. I’m a huge advocate of people writing for 15 minutes a day, and I love journalling, too. It’s not quite a letter (which to me implies an exchange) but it brings out the same skills of reflection and interpretation.
I often advise people who are planning to write to adopt Dorothea Brande’s approach to 15 minutes a day. I wrote an article about it here:
http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html
I love letter writing but sad to say nowadays that it slowly is losing its touch. Instructors should encourage letter-writing to their students to preserve the culture.
-admin
I love letter writing but sad to say nowadays that it slowly is losing its touch. Instructors should encourage letter-writing to their students to preserve the culture.
-admin
I love letter writing but sad to say nowadays that it slowly is losing its touch. Instructors should encourage letter-writing to their students to preserve the culture.
-admin
I love letter writing but sad to say nowadays that it slowly is losing its touch. Instructors should encourage letter-writing to their students to preserve the culture.
-admin
I love letter writing but sad to say nowadays that it slowly is losing its touch. Instructors should encourage letter-writing to their students to preserve the culture.
-admin