MODERN technology is fabulous, don’t get me wrong, but when it comes to connecting with another human being, a handwritten letter is where magic lies.

Here are five good reasons, to put down your phone and pick up a pen. Today.

* It’ll make somebody’s day

Phone calls, skype chats, tweets and emails may all be quicker, but when it comes to communicating, a thoughtful handwritten letter trumps them all.

Let’s face it, today’s post has become rather dull. Except for birthday and christmas cards and perhaps an occasional invite to a wedding or party, our letter boxes are usually inundated with the mundane, the stressful and the rubbish.

Don’t you miss those long gone days when you’d actually be excited to receive some post?

People, it’s time to bring some charm back through the nation’s letterboxes by going old-school and posting someone a letter, note, drawing or postcard.

Surprise someone you love as soon as possible with a pleasant postal surprise. Trust me, when they receive it, they’ll be as giddy as a kipper for the rest of the day.

* It’ll help you become a better writer

There’s something about crafting words on paper that makes you think much more carefully about what and how you write.

On a computer, we can quickly delete a word, a line or even a whole page of text if we want to, but when you’re physically writing something down, a mistake can’t be easily rectified.

To avoid mistakes, you need to chose every word carefully and create sentences with love and care. It requires time, thought and attention to detail. So if writing more letters doesn’t help to make you a better writer, quite frankly I don’t know what will.

Does the thought of making an odd mistake put you off? Fret not! If you screw up a sentence or a spelling, you don’t have to start all over again.

Occasional mistakes only add to a letter’s charm by making it authentic and keeping it real.

* It’ll improve your handwriting

Have you ever written something down recently and thought, crikey, this is hard work? I know I have. Sometimes i’m even shocked at how writing something ridiculously simple like a birthday card, can feel tough on my hand and fingers!

Let’s face it handwriting is much more physical than typing and takes more time too. But isn’t it just more beautiful?!

Our handwriting styles are as unique to us as our fingerprints. They’re part of our creative make up and can even say a lot about our personality and state of mind, according to handwriting experts.

There’s no doubt that my handwriting has suffered over the years. It’s not as neat as it once was and can often look like a scrawl if I let it, but I’m finding that the more I physically write, the better it is becoming.

Beautiful handwriting is becoming a forgotten skill, a lost art. So don’t lose it! Write more words down on paper or card and see your handwriting flourish.

And while we’re at it, please ditch your chewed biro and treat yourself to a fountain pen. Wonderful words and sublime thoughts deserve to be created and expressed with a fabulous pen.

* It’ll make you feel good

Doing something good for someone else, is always guaranteed to make you feel good too.

Spreading a little love, sprinkling a little magic or encouraging a smile, is a pretty fabulous way to start the day and let’s face it, if we all made a bit more effort, the world would be a hell of a nicer place to live.

Writing somebody a letter might seem like a big effort, but that’s the whole point!

We’re becoming so used to quick responses, abrupt texts and sloppy emails that letter writing seems like hard work.

Growing up, I exchanged many letters with my Gran who lived about a five hour drive away in Somerset. It was our special way of corresponding and now she’s sadly no longer with us, I cherish her letters even more and read them often.

When you receive a handwritten letter that contains heartfelt words and looks lovely, you know that time, care and effort has gone into it. That it has been crafted with love.

Surely that’s worth more than any 140 character tweet or rambling phone call?

* It’ll help you slow down

We’re all busy, busy, busy. Trying to fit as much as we can into a day. We’re a nation of people living on our nerves, wanting to be faster, better, richer, slimmer.

Modern technology allows us to be the go and do many things at once, but whilst that enables us to get more done, it also makes it very difficult to switch off from.

Writing a letter forces you to stop and concentrate on the job in hand. It demands your full concentration, helping you to slow down and just ‘be’ in the moment.

Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself :)

What do you think? Are handwritten letters post their sell-by date? Or is it time for the simple letter to have a renaissance?

Till the next time, be brilliant!

Katie

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