If you’ve been trying to get yourself motivated to write more letters, then February is the perfect month for you.
Two different events running this month challenge people to spend February reviving the habit of communicating the old-fashioned way, with ink and paper. One is International Correspondence Writing Month, started by fountain pen collector Eric Schneider. The other is author Mary Robinette Kowal’s Month of Letters.
Both make the same simple request: During February, write and send at least one letter, postcard, or note every day. These can be letters and postcards sent to distant pen pals, or just notes written and passed to family, friends, co-workers, or complete strangers.
There’s no right way or wrong way to do it, as long as you write them by hand (no typing at all) and send something every single day.
On the InCoWriMo site, you can add yourself to the participant map and find people who are looking for pen pals, including George Lucas and Richard Branson. Month of Letters (LetterMo) offers a forum where participants can connect with each other.
If it’s been a while and you’re a little fuzzy on the mechanics of writing a letter, Scheider and Stephen Brown have put together a helpful instructional video on how to write a letter.
Canadian pen store Wonder Pens also has put together a great list of places to find pen pals, in case you need someone to correspond with.
Of course, you don’t have to write letters to faraway people. Consider spending the month leaving notes for people you know…and people you don’t.
Write a note to your spouse and leave it in a favorite coffee cup. Write one to a co-worker you admire and leave it on their desk. Write another to that neighbor you never speak to, but should, and tape it to the front door.
You can even write notes to people who annoy you.
This is your chance to say those things that always seem to slip by the wayside. All you have to do is pick up your pen.
