The Magic of Letter Writing 💌

Fosterverse Weekly #11

Jul 16, 2024

Hi Writers!

Letter writing is a practice with a rich history. There are famous examples like Letters from a Stoic by the philosopher Seneca or the several volumes of letters from Ernest Hemingway. There are also countless letters non-famous people write to each other all the time. I’ve personally made it a tradition to write and publish a letter to my daughter for her birthday over the last four years.

At Foster, we often use letter writing as a tool to help unblock our writers. Something magical happens when you choose to write to one specific person, rather than trying to appease a larger audience. Writing to an amorphous audience can feel overwhelming and stifle creativity, whereas writing to a single person can feel intimate and generative.

When facilitating letter writing, we’ll do a short guided meditation and ask writers to feel into what’s alive for them and who they want to write to about it. Then we’ll have them find an object on their desk or a picture of the person—anything that can serve as a token to represent them. This simple intention reliably helps the words flow more freely.

I’m excited to share that long-time community member Jen Vermet is hosting a letter-writing workshop called ‘Penning Letters to Weave the Past, Present, and Future’ this Wednesday at 3 pm ET, and we’re opening it up to the public for free.

RSVP to Jen's Workshop

Jen is a creative writer and lifelong learner who has been practicing self-reflection through letter writing for over a decade and sharing her Letters from a learn-it-all newsletter publicly each week for over four years.

She’ll guide you through writing letters from your eight-year-old self, your eighty-year-old self, and your future self, gaining powerful insights and reflections in the process.

I’ll be there. I hope to see you there too!

Lyle