The lost art of letter writing - why you should readopt this seemingly archaic form of communication

Like any other artistic expression, letter writing can unlock a creativity within you, with the added bonus of developing a close bond to the recipient that a text or email could never accomplish. I have loved letter writing since I was young; it was a fun way for me to keep in touch with friends and relatives, while adding a creative flare of my own. Still to this day, I find it satisfying knowing that my hand written letter has gone through a series of people, processes and places in order to arrive at its destination. Sometimes, if I think about it too much, I contemplate the amount of times that a letter could have potentially been lost or misdirected along the way. Yet somehow it arrives, relaying my words enclosed within the envelope.

I think it is no coincidence that I enjoy letter writing as well as film photography. While both are old fashioned and have been largely replaced by more modern methods, I think the main similarity is the delayed gratification that both pastimes entail. You must wait for your film to be developed before you can look at the photos, much like the delay from writing and receiving letters.

Because I love letter writing so much, I thought I would share my top 4 reasons why you should start too!

• It shows you care

Letter writing conveys to the recipient of your letter that you care enough about them to put time and effort into keeping in touch with them. Letter writing is easy, and doesn't take much time, but can be a really touching thing to receive in the post. Everything within the letter is intentional, which is something I like to keep in mind when both writing and receiving letters. You have to think exactly what you want to say, rather than being able to write messages back and forth instantly. I remember as a child the excitement of seeing something in the postbox addressed to me. This excitement has not been diminished by age in the slightest. It always feels nice to open an envelope addressed to you, because it shows that someone is thinking of you, and cares enough about you to let you know that.

• It can unlock something creative within you

Letter writing can be as creative as you want. You can write on a lined piece of paper and stick it in an envelope, and it is still a very special thing to receive. Alternatively, I enjoy decorating my letter paper with stamps and stickers. I am not a particularly artistic person; I was always awful at art in school and still draw people as stickmen, yet I can use letter writing as something to unlock my creativity. I also find it a useful way to practice my handwriting, because nowadays we often use our laptops to make notes at school or in meetings, and perhaps lose the ability to write continuously for an extended period of time.

• You can meet likeminded people across the world

Whilst it is really fun to write to relatives and people you have met before, I found it really worthwhile to look for someone online who lives in a different country. I signed up for various websites such as penpalworld.com and globalpenfriends.com. I also made an account on a tumblr page dedicated to people finding penpals, and this is when a girl from Hungary called Julia emailed me. We realised that we had really similar interests and would love to start writing letters to each other. This was when my longest and happiest penpal friendship started. I know some people have quite a few penpals but I enjoyed writing to Julia so much, I didn't see the necessity in writing to anyone else. She emailed me in April 2017, and we have been writing to each other every few weeks ever since. It feels like a privilege to be able to communicate with someone likeminded in a different country. While we could have kept in touch online exclusively, I feel that I have learned so much more about her as well as her culture and background from writing letters. (I think it's also important to mention that you should make sure you trust the person before you give them your home address for letters - there can be some dodgy people online!)

• Much more can be conveyed

When was the last time you wrote a really long text to someone? We generally send short messages to people, rather than giving big updates of our lives. Writing letters gives you an excuse to write more, and let others know what is happening in your life, while also asking them about theirs. Receiving a letter allows you to engage more in others' lives rather than just with superficial short texts which don't convey much. You can actually become closer to someone through writing letters, because you learn more about one another and care enough to put time and effort in. Over lockdown I have been writing relatively frequently to one of my flatmates next year, Molly. I think we have become closer because of this, as it has allowed us to learn more about one another, and keep in touch more frequently.

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There is no strict set of rules for letter writing, and that's the beauty of it. You can do it on your own terms and however frequently you want. You could write once a week, once a month or even once a year, and it is still worth it.

(Cover image by Harry Tennant, blogpost illustration by Ginnie Hsu)