LWR's Latest – What kind of Letter Writer are you?

Check out this recent LWR envelope. It’s a fine looking specimen that’s primed for delivery. Wonder what kind of letter it might contain? There are several types of letters: to friends, family, for business, complaint, for help; pages that are philosophical, confessional, writings sent to strangers – blind letters for entertainment (will you get a reply?) This latter unseeing and faithfully disconnected variety is ideal for advancing the art and finding your voice, and gives a sender the special pleasure of flinging their pages into the void without expectation… Wait and see, it may resonate somewhere and be welcomed, or, at the very least, you’ll own its mystery and memory for a while.

Thinking in this direction then begs the question: What kind of letter writer are you? Focussed or eclectic, drawing in wide references? Do you mirror, gush, conceal, share, deny or forget; and is your restless pen curt, sardonic, reporting, zappy, sentimental, functional, poetic or purely furious? Are your letters confused, without structure, or do you like them like that? Your reader may not mind, or notice. Do you put off replying to a fresh delivery or start right away? And your first line style… Intrepid or apologetic, or both? Committed or insouciant?

Insist upon penning your letters in the bath or the café? Surely you start writing then stop and come back later…. or blast it out in a single sitting. Or you take it further, with great thought and care, by drafting first then recopying once you’re satisfied. Perhaps you might approach the mood to correspond by taking a walk through deserted woods, or by looking up the lyrics to Echo Beach. Beyond the influence of your impulses, however, assure yourself that the action, the process and the result all matter!

Whatever your style, you’ll rightly feel enriched upon signing off your cathartic correspondence. And then the fine rituals begin… the seal, and the post office relinquishment. A deep bitter pleasure rolls uniquely through the letter writer in a perfect evolving cycle – a sensation that one grows to love like a rare friend who’s always there when needed. Recognise that feeling! Join the Letter Writing Revival! (plus watch out for news of our latest upcoming project – we may need your help…)