Sunday, January 28, 2007
Crafting a Letter
The art of writing a letter seems to have gone by the wayside For some letter writing comes easy, pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and they are done. I have never considered myself a writer. I prefer the short, to the point e-mail. Composing a real letter takes time and effort.
Carefully selecting the appropriate words, is time well spent. Sometimes that is important in business correspondence as the letter can be used as legal document, where the meaning of words may be dissected and your selection of words can work for or against you. Referring to laws can help you with your selection of words. Choosing the right words can make a huge difference in the outcome of a situation.
The same can be said in personal correspondence. Your intent in the letter can be dramatically changed with one word or phrase. So rereading your letter is important. Often times in movies you would see the a writer sitting next to a pile of crumpled paper. Writers block some would say. Those writers knew what they wanted to convey, but getting the message onto paper sometimes is not an easy task.
Thankfully there are tools to assist in writing letter. Previous correspondence, dictionary,spell check, thesaurus, policies, laws and the internet are wonderful resources. I love the word draft. It is a beginning. Refine the letter until you are satisfied with the contents. Thank heavens for cut and paste it has saved many trees.
