How To Write A Love Letter: 7 Helpful Tips
Hand written letters. One of life's most beautiful sentiments of love, friendship and personalized communication. In today's generation it's also one of life's rarities. Now I may be old fashioned, but there is something so magical about receiving a tangible piece, filled with words from the heart, expressed in a tone only the author could create...a custom work of art.
I grew up in an era where hand written letters where a thing. Often swapping them with my best friend and boyfriend in between classes. I kept them all. Today those letters have a new meaning. Sadly, I've lost both my best friend and my 1st love. Their letters are all I have to bring a sense of comfort when my heart is missing them. My 1st love was also my eldest daughter's father, so the letters will serve as a keepsake for many years to come.
With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought it would be romantic to write my wife a hand written love letter. If you want to do the same for your loved one here's a few tips to get you started.
7 tips to master the perfect love letter.
First things first...
Find a place free of distractions. Relax, grab a glass of wine or a hot beverage and gather your thoughts. If music amplifies your mood go ahead and put on some slow jams (like THIS or THIS) and reflect on the times you've spent together. Let your memories lead the way. Focus on why you fell in love, the value he/she brings to your life, and of course the eye candy (physical features) they have. It can be helpful to jot down your thoughts (in simple form) as they come to mind.
If you're going for the true love letter experience, grab a notebook and pen. If you prefer, you can use your electronic device for this part, it's gonna be your rough draft. Either way don't stress about grammar and other technicalities right now.
Tips:
1. Write in your own voice: This letter is from YOU. That being said use words and phrases that reflect the true you. Don't feel pressured to sound like Shakespeare in a letter, if you sound like Mike Tyson in person (No shade, I promise).
2. Omit the guess work: From the jump, let your loved one know why you're writing. "I don't get to tell you often enough how much you mean to me".
3. Up close and personal: Share specific encounters and/or tiny details relevant to the one you love. For instance, one of my wife's quirks is she walks around with her with untied shoelaces and drags her feet. The shoe lace part use to drive me batty, but now it's actually one of my favorite quirks of hers, because well, it makes her her. So don't forget to mention the little things, seriously spend some time on this, it's pretty important.
4. Wear your heart on your sleeve: Meaning be vulnerable. Really dig down deep and let your feelings show. If you drop a few thug tears in the process, its all good. I won't tell.
5. Say What?: Say what you have to say in your letter. Rather that's a few sentences or a few pages, it doesn't matter.
6. PPF: Past, Present Future. Talk about when you met or first saw him/her, mention day to day things (you put a smile on my face every morning), and include future things such as starting a family, buying a house together, or traveling the world.
7. The Reese's Rule: There's no wrong way to eat a Reese's. Equally, there's no wrong way to write a love letter. So don't be afraid to be creative, if you get stomped, share a quote or a line from a song that reminds you of them.
Now that you have your rough draft step away for a minutes. To give your mind a break (eat a KitKat?). When you come back, read your letter (if no one is around reading aloud can be beneficial). Make the necessary corrections. Now it's time to rewrite your letter.
If you want to be fancy smancy here's some paper you can print. Get the Rose set HERE or the Champagne set HERE.
Date your paper (in the top right corner) with the month, day and year. Pick a sweet greeting to open your letter with such as: "Hey baby", "Hello beautiful", "Dear beloved".
From this point copy the remainder of your letter onto the paper.
Close your letter with a romantic sign off such as: "XOXO", "Forever Yours", "Love Always" or something to that nature. Sign your name and your writing is done.
Now comes the fun part. Add a special touch to your letter. Some ideas could be to spritz it with perfume/cologne, add a lipstick kiss, sneak in a photo, or even think outside the box and add something meaningful to you two as a couple.
The presentation
You can place your letter in an envelope, roll it into a scroll or wrap it and add it to a gift.
Do you have love letter tips to share? Leave a comment I'd love to hear your ideas!
