International Letter Writing Month

[sandy101]

OK, so apparantly February is Interantional Correspondance month - much like write a novel in a month - this is write a letter/postcard to someone for every day in Feb.

 

An ideal thing for folk looking for excuse to use their fountain pens.

 

Here's a link to what the fuss is all about.

 

 

http://incowrimo.org/2017/01/sbre-brown-endorses-incowrimo/

 

[sharonspens]

Yep. Fun, fun, fun! I like keeping my mail carrier busy.

 

Sharon in Indiana

[linearM]

There is also http://lettermo.com, which offers a challenge to write a letter each day that there is mail delivery in the month of February. It is a great place to make contact with other avid letter writers.

 

Both InCoWriMo and lettermo encourage reaching out through letter writing. And, you can find new friends from Japan to France, Australia to Sweden, and all points in between. Some of the friends I've met I'm still writing to three years after that first introductory letter.

[Noihvo]

[sandy101]

Assuming the 28 people don't know each other, you could get away with writing about the same topics, and modifying a couple of paragraphs to personalise them. When I write to tell my friedns about a play I've seen, it's the same play I write about - perhaps slightly differently to each, but the description remains the same. Postcards also count in this endevour, and nobody is goingnto come round and arrest you if you fail to do all 28.

[PenPaper52]

I decided to join and I have started compiling my address list.

[matteob]

I have been writing quite a few letters this month but I don't think I could manage one a day!

[Chrissy]

I can't manage one every single day. However, I have a few pen pals and will hope to write to most of them during February. My letters usually take up 4 A4 sides of paper.

 

I'm not into putting my address details onto the web-site though.

[crescent2]

 

 

I'm not into putting my address details onto the web-site though.

 

This.

 

I do enjoy writing letters, though. Letter writing is almost becoming a lost art.

[linearM]

Noehvo, it isn't necessary to write to 28 complete strangers, at least on lettermo. You can write to friends, relatives, new pen pals, old pen pals. It is just a matter of sending a letter or postcard or package to someone every day.

[Misfit]

Last year I missed some days. But I'd write multiple letters on one day to catch up. I took off Presidents' Day. I'm going to participate again. I'd suggest not making yourself write x number of pages per letter.

 

Then in April I hope to write a letter a day for National Card and Letter Writing Month. It might be created by the USPS but that makes it better because that's part of having pen pals to me. Even though it's called "national" I'll include my international pen pals.

[sandy101]

 

This.

 

I do enjoy writing letters, though. Letter writing is almost becoming a lost art.

 

I've been reading the letters of Keats, Larkin, Byron & Kerouac & Ginsberg's exchanges.

 

Keats is a brilliant letter writer and he included drafts of his poems in his letters too. They are available for free on Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35698

 

Byron has a different, more confident attitude to life, probably from his upbringing as a Lord and his sense of adventure. His experiences in Ravenna where there wwere assassinations and counter-assassinations in a political struggle that was happening at the time is particularly hairy.

 

I too don't think it's a great idea to put one's address on a website which will be there for all time - so I'm using the list on the site to get started.

[crescent2]

Sandy, I will check out your link; thanks.

 

I've decided to participate by writing letters, also using the list. I did not share my address.

[Runnin_Ute]

I have been writing quite a few letters this month but I don't think I could manage one a day!

I can't get one per day out. But I can (and have) get 28 out over the course of 28 days. As stated, post cards count. In my version of it, so do current pen pals. In past years, some have gotten more than one letter.

 

Noehvo, it isn't necessary to write to 28 complete strangers, at least on lettermo. You can write to friends, relatives, new pen pals, old pen pals. It is just a matter of sending a letter or postcard or package to someone every day.

This is how I do it...... Easier that way.

[Noihvo]

 

[sandy101]

I write a number of postcards for postcrossing. In my experience, blotting paper can be very useful, especially for postcards that come from galleries and museums. The card used for those are treated somehow which means the ink sits on top of the card, and takes longer to dry resulting in easy smears. Drier pens (Japanese ones), Parker Quink and sometimes even ballpoints are the only way.

 

Being left handed, it's easier to write the address on the right hand side first - then your hand isn't coming into contact with the text you've just written, smearing it.

[cattar]

sandy101 said at postcards...

Being left handed, it's easier to write the address on the right hand side first - then your hand isn't coming into contact with the text you've just written, smearing it.

 

 

That also ensures there's room for an address. Sometimes postcard notes run over.

 

To those who wonder...

Incowrimo is send handwritten correspondence to someone each day.

Lettermo is send something, could be anything, to someone each day.

Both websites also have correspondence options for those looking for more addresses to send to.

[Pichak]

Thank you for information.

[sandy101]

Four days in and so far so good.

 

I bought a pad of blue Basildon Bond Airmail paper and matching envelopes. The paper is light which means I can send an envelope and two or pages internationally for £1.05 rather than £1.54 - so that's a bonus.

 

Platinum's Blue-Black & Diamine's 1864 has proven to be ideal for the paper - Visconti's turquoise less so as it soaks through. I'll try some Parker Quink tonight and see how it goes.

 

3 letters have gone out, in addition to my normal 2 postcrossing cards. I'm writing at the end of the day and including today's events in the letter.

 

If anyone would like to receive letter or a postcard, then please PM me an address stating a preference if you have one (an exchange is very welcome, but not necessary).