Another way to be there.
Put a bit of happiness on paper.
The ABCs of Letter Writing
In celebration of National Card and Letter Writing Month (May), we thought it would be great to design the ABCs of Letter Writing. Read more about the stamps here.
Books & Movies (that feature letter writing!) 
BOOKS:
NONFICTION 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects by John Tingey Good Mail Day, A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art by Jennie Hinchcliff/Carolee Gilligan Wheeler The Elements of Style by Strunk/White/Kalman I Will Always Write Back How One Letter Changed Two Lives Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda with Liz Welch BOOKS:
FICTION The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows Griffin & Sabine An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock The Jolly Postman by Janet & Allen Ahlberg COLLECTIONS:
Posterity, Letters of Great Americans to Their Children by Dorie McCullough Lawson MOVIES:
84, Charing Cross Road with Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins Bright Star with Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish Letters to Juliet with Amanda Seyfried, Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave, Marcia DeBonis Roxanne with Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah |
Love Letters are Not Just for Lovers
You don't have to wait until Valentine's Day to write a letter, and remember, love letters are not just for lovers. Click here for our easy peasy fill-in-the-blanks love letter and it'll tug at your heartstrings and want to write more.
ONLINE RESOURCES:
WEBSITE: LETTERS LIVE Founded to raise awareness for literacy, Letters Live hosts events where performers read aloud memorable letters. Touching and funny, and definitely worth a look. WEBSITE: LETTERS OF NOTE Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience Read letters written by well-known writers, actors, musicians, comedians, and politicians including President Obama, Rolling Stones musician Keith Richards, photographer Annie Liebovitz, and actress Elizabeth Taylor. WEBSITE: LETTERHEADY A showcase of business and personal stationery design. From the elaborate to the simple, see stationery samples from Walt Disney, Cosmopolitan magazine, and Nelson Mandela. HANDWRITTEN
From letters to recipes, grocery lists to essays, a little bit of everything that is handwritten. 
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What to Write About?
Write about your day. It was early in the day and I was collecting stationery, stamps, and a decent pen to write a letter to my in-laws when I heard the neighbor's chickens. At least two of them were sounding, and it was loud. So loud that I stopped to peek out the kitchen window to be sure they were safe inside the coop. When I settled in to write, I wrote about the chickens: The neighbor's chickens are squawking. The chicken coop sits on the low end of the backyard just over the property line and we can see them from the back porch. In the evening we like to sit on the porch and watch them — we call it chicken TV. One chicken goes in the coop, they all go in. One comes out, they all come out. And peck, peck, peck. There's Ziggy (the hen with orange feathers), and Jimmy (the speckled one), and three others, and they spend a good part of the day circling in and out of the coop. Peck, peck, pecking. In and out, in and out, peck, peck, peck. And when they lay eggs, they squawk. One echoing the other. One egg, squaawk; two eggs, squaaawk; then all together--SQUAAWK, SQUAAAWK, SQUAAAWK! The chicken letter was a big hit and it gave us plenty to talk about when we visited a few weeks later. And that's something to squawk about! 3 Tips for
Writing the Business Thank You If you’re in a position to write a thank you note to an associate or business contact, congratulations! Writing a note is a gracious way to say thank you, and it's likely to make a good impression. Some things to consider: 1) Be sure to get the person’s name right, first and last. Is it Smith or Smyth? Start with Dear _________, Just remember, Mark could be Marc and Smith could be Smyth—don't make any assumptions. Take a look at the person's business card if you have one, go online to check, or if you must, call the office and tell them you’re writing a note (I've made the call because in the end the call is far less embarrassing or potentially harmful than spelling someone's name wrong). 2) Start with a draft. A draft will help you organize your thoughts. You’ll be editing as you go along and it would be a shame to waste good paper. Start by talking about them. Refer to something specific about your meeting, interview, or encounter, and use details ("It was good to learn more about your __________ ," or "Your __________ is _________"), and keep it positive. Then state what you’re writing about: are you thanking them for their time, a lead, helping you meet a deadline? If you’re feeling stuck, make a list of the points you want to cover. Then, try saying what you want to say—out loud. Say it again and write it down. Read what you have, edit, and edit again. Avoid using words you’d never say in conversation, and keep it brief—two or three sentences will do. Then close with what’s next. Do you want another meeting, are you looking forward to talking with them again or seeing them at an event? Ask or say what you want to happen. 3) Use personalized stationery or a simple note card. Hand write your note, preferably with blue or black ink, use classic stationery (white or cream paper), with matching envelope, or a simple note card. Finally, end your note with something simple like, “Sincerely,” or “All the best,” and sign your name. Though starting and composing a note can be awkward, the good news is, the more you do it, the easier it gets. |