 This is how it starts. I gather my supplies: my favorite pen (a thin marker), stationery, and stamps. I'm seated at the desk ready to write and my mind goes blank. I don't know where to start the letter I want to write. It doesn't happen every time, but often enough. And I imagine it sometimes happens to you. I get the letter writing jitters and am afraid I don't have anything interesting to say. When that happens, I remind myself ... 1) This is not a test. It's easy to feel like it's some sort of exam, as if your writing will be graded on how well you write or how interesting your stories are ... never mind how neat and legible your the handwriting is. When this happens, remember, the people you write to will be the most forgiving audience you'll ever find for your writing. They are not concerned about run-on sentences, missing commas, apostrophes, or your handwriting, because ... 2) People love getting mail. They really do. Don't hold back because you're feeling self conscious ... mail makes people happy. It really does. 3) Tell a story. And start with a strong opening: The neighbor's chickens are squawking. That was the opening line I used when I first discovered the power of storytelling in my letters. It was so much easier (and interesting) to start with a story. Less about me, more about whatever it was I was writing about. And start with a statement like I did with the chickens. Write something about that delicious meal you cooked last night ... and describe it in detail. What ingredients did you use? Did you have to search for a rare spice? Was the recipe a new one? A family favorite? Start there. Are you growing a garden? Planting seeds? What does the dirt feel like in your hands? Do you wear gardening gloves? When do you expect your first crop? Give them the date and tell them what you'll be harvesting. Write about that concert you went to. How's that project you're working on is going? What's working, what's not? People love stories, and you've got some good ones. Need more help? Order your copy of A Snail Mail Guide to Cursive Writing Practice. It has all the encouragement and tips you'll need to get started:
  p.s. Bonus tips ...
• Your writing will improve. Writing is like any other skill. You need to practice. The more you write, the easier it will get. And you may even get a letter or two in return! • Visit without traveling. Social media, texts, and phone calls are convenient, but there's something different about a letter. It gives people something to hold onto. The people you write to can be near or far. Either way, if you write, you'll make their day a good mail day.
0 Comments
 When I moved the typewriter poster that was rolled and stored in a bin in the attic for the umpteenth time, I decided it was time to do something with it before it gets torn, crumpled, or ruined. It's never going into a frame to be hung on the wall, but it's too charming to toss, and it seemed there had to be some use for it. There is. Found paper stationery: papers from tin cans, fancy soaps, that paper wrapping around the just-bought bottle of Lea & Perrin's worcestershire sauce, flour bags, hanging number tickets from the auto repair shop, bagel bags ... and repurposed posters. Found paper stationery is worth the effort for two reasons:
The question now ... do I write or type my letter?   Give them something to hold on to
It's hard being apart from the people you love and like best. Texts, phone calls, and social media are great, but sometimes it's just not enough. What can you do? Write a letter. Yes, an old-fashioned pen on paper letter. And mail it. Write to a friend or family member. Tell them you're thinking about them. Write about what's happening in the neighborhood, that disaster of a recipe you cooked last night. Or the yummy cookies you baked today. No, it won't replace a hug or having a conversation across the kitchen table, but it will give them something to hold onto. And people love getting mail. They really do. Embarrassed by your handwriting? A Snail Mail Guide to Cursive Writing Practice will help. Was you school one of the schools that dropped cursive writing from the curriculum? Has it been a while since you've handwritten ... well, anything? A Snail Mail Guide to Cursive Writing Practice has instructions for writing each letter of the alphabet, tips for improving your handwriting, and all you need to get started writing letters: - ideas for who to write to and what to write about - how to address an envelope - where to the stamp - how to set up your letter  Qwirky, QWERTY Love: It’s Typewriter Day! Last year I wrote a love letter to my typewriter and I want to share it with you. When I composed the letter, I included as many typewriter terms and sounds as possible: - keystroke - typebar - tap - bing! - bell - return - click - carriage - ribbon - spooling - shifting - cap lock - margin - royal (Royal) - space bar Each typewriter has a different touch on the keyboard and unique bell tone. I typed the love letter on my Olivetti Lettera 35 (with great care ... nearly holding my breath, straight through, with no mistakes...whew!). Do you have a typewriter? What do you write on your typewriter? The manuscript for a book? Poetry? Love letters? I write lots of letters ... and sometimes, love letters. p.s. What is QWERTY love? QWERTY comes from the first five letters on the upper left of the keyboard. The term is used to identify the standard layout on an English language keyboard. I do love my typewriter(s)!   A little spice, a lot less work What to do when your thumb is less than green Gardening takes time, a lot of time. There's the weeding and watering, pinching and pruning, bug patrol, and more weeding and watering. I like the idea of a garden, just not all the work that comes with it. I'm not sure if I want a garden or just what comes from the garden. The plump tomatoes, crisp lettuce, and striking magenta-colored potato skin on just-rinsed red potatoes. And flowers. Seeing what others do with flowers nearly makes me weep. It’s stunning. I don’t want to do the work, but I yearn for the look and the bounty of it all. Last year I found a solution: container gardens. Well, window boxes that sit on the porch railing. There’s a cut-out on the bottom of the box that fits the railing and holds it in place. It is, for me, the perfect solution. With container gardens, I satisfy an itchy, but less than green thumb. And having the boxes on the porches where I see them as I come and go ensures I won’t forget to prune and water, and water and prune what I've planted. But still, I keep it simple. Marigolds, some geraniums, and a small kitchen garden. Just herbs, really. Four plants: parsley and mint for one of my favorite summer recipes, quinoa tabouleh, along with thyme and oregano for good measure. Container gardens are the answer to small spaces, and small ambitions ... in gardening. Do you have a flower or kitchen garden? A more ambitious spread with rows of peas, potatoes, and varieties of this and that? If gardening is not happening in your world, remember, there’s always the farmers’ market. Green thumbs all around and plenty of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  Geraniums and flowers I cannot identify  A sneak peek at some ideas for the cursive writing handbook I'm working on. What do you think about handwriting, and more specifically, cursive writing? Though I' may not always be happy with the way my handwriting looks, cursive writing is a lifeline for me, and it's helpful with hobbies like journaling, writing, and mail art. Writing allows me to sort my thoughts, write letters, lists, and more lists. And recognizing someone's handwriting on an envelope, addressed to me? It just about takes my breath away. Some people think it's a waste of time now to teach cursive writing. They argue that we have computers and telephones and texting. I love all of the technology, but still believe there is a place (and need) to learn how to write in cursive. Your handwriting, my handwriting, it's as unique as we are. It allows us to express ourselves, to get to know ourselves, to be ourselves. And I don't think we should erase it from our lives.  |
WhistleStop Blog
Turning observations into stories worth sharing 
Categories
All
|