As the subject says, how many of you still write letters? In this increasing e-age, people rely on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and even e-mail to keep in touch but how many still write good old fashioned letters? I'll be honest, I do. I find it satisfying to write a letter and post it: the satisfaction of going into the post office, paying for a stamp and putting the letter in the letterbox is an often underestimated one. The waiting for a reply and finally getting the reply is exciting. Yes, it's still satisfying to write an e-mail, but it doesn't stand up to the excitement of letter writing.
I also wonder how many young people actually know how to write a letter. I think letter writing is a valuable skill that should still be taught and fostered. Even though I hate writing by hand - I have terrible handwriting due to being a left hander who was taught by right handers and being constantly told that my writing was "atrocious", I still enjoy the simple pleasure of writing a letter.
I still do, and there is a great deal of pleasure in writing by hand, with good paper and a lovely fountain pen.
I come from a family of letter writers and to my great good fortune, still have several cartons full of letters received from people now gone from this world. Those letters are like a physical contact with the past, since the pages were touched and handled by people now gone, or alive and far distant. I think my love of writing stems from letter writing when I was a child.
Like you Andrew, I am left handed. My handwriting is quite lovely to look at as a page of script, but difficult to decifer. I usually need to have a blotter under my hand as I write, because otherwise the ink becomes blurred.
Your description of the pleasure of the hand written letter is wonderful.
Wonderful subject, thank you for starting it!
I'm another letter writer. I have family in England and write to them often. I enjoy keeping in touch the old-fashioned way.
I'm another left-hander, too!
I still write letters and my hand writing is terrible. no I'm not in the lefty club. I also write all my stories and poems by hand before adding them to the comp.
All Alone my latest story.
I have to be honest, I don't. But not because I don't enjoy it, but because I feel as though I have horrible hand writing. I have ever since I was a kid. I have tried to improve it, but it never did. So, I rely on the computer, though I will send it IN the mail, like a proper letter.
I do every once in awhile... not as often as I'd like, because email is quicker and everything seems to rely upon speed nowadays, but when I can I write letters. I am dominant right though, so can't say anything about difficulties of left-handed writing... and I too love to write them and to receive them, no matter how atrocious the other person's handwriting is ^.^
I have some a couple/three letters written by my paternal great grandmother...a simple, poor woman from the mountains in North Carolina. I treasure those letters. I'm a bit like Poppet above at times...will compose and print from computer but send via regular mail.
Rick
I love receiving mail that i know someone has taken the time out of there day to write personally, so i will write back. ^_^
Kind-hearted Aussie Angel
I love to writing letters to friends
I always wrote letters to my grandmother. From the age of 6, at boarding school, we wrote home every week. My grandparents never used email, so when I moved away from home, I started to write letters again. Sadly, these stopped with my grandmothers death but my eldest daughter has now started writing letters to my mother.
I do. I write lots of them. I never send them but the are written
I do still write letters often. I taught my children to write letters and to this day they still hand write thank you notes. That is becoming a lost nicety.
I agree with teaching cursive. My children didn't get much taught to them in school, they had a book they had to take home and work on. I made them keep up. Which leads me to story about my youngest. He turned in a paper in high school that he wrote in cursive. His teacher (very young) could not read it. She claimed his writing was too small. She then demanded that he type it and resubmit it. He was sure it was because she could not read cursive. My son taking after me, of course, did type it and turn it in. He found a font that would print it in cursive. She didn't make a single correction on the paper and he received an A. I am sure she did not want to admit she could not read it.
Not sure what that says about our current state, regarding hand writing things. I am happy that my children who are grown now at least can read and write in cursive if they choose to.
I still pen notes to friends. It takes just such little effort, but I know how I feel when I receive a personal note.
Yes, texting and email are faster and cheaper, but the feel of holding a slip of paper in my hands and reading a hand written note is gratifying.
"Them ain't no militia, that's the Army of the Potomac!"
I do write them, not that often, but I still do. I write really long ones too.
Emails and texts are convenient but nothing beats the nostalgia of reading a long and thoughtful handwritten piece.
LIVE every moment.
LOVE beyond words.
LAUGH everyday.
I haven't wrote a letter in awhile
Still write them and enjoy the feeling of getting one and kinda special as you know was written by a person who made time to do this
You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way.
- Bob Dylan
I do write some letters, however I write lots of postcards. I joined a postcard a site where postcards are exchanged with random members throughout the world.
The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. ~Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
I just wrote two today to my Aunt and to my son. I really need to write more. I love getting hand written notes in the mail. Email just can't compare to holding a letter in your hand that someone took time out of their day to write. Today, being surrounded by all this technology it is even more special to send and receive them.
I enjoy writing letters to my friends around the world and even to my old man (My father) even tho he only lives across town from me.
I'm trying to write with my left more then my right (Am thinking in the long run just incase if I broke my right arm etc. etc.)