A. Catherine Noon: Letters from Far Away (Contest)
Happy New Year, Dear Reader! And just like that, 2022 is over and 2023 is here. I don’t know about you, but it feels like January has gone by SUPER quickly, even though it’s only the 10th of the month so far—but it feels like it was just the 20th of December, like, yesterday!
One way of slowing time down is writing by hand. I have an avid journal practice; do you like to journal? Whether you do or not, another practice I adore is that of letter writing. I have pen pals all over the world, and love getting “happy mail” in my inbox. And what better time to talk about writing letters than on the eve of “Month of Letters!”
What is Month of Letters, you say?
So glad you asked!
Like National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMoo (nanowrimo.org), Month of Letters is a daily writing challenge – but instead of a story, the challenge is to write letters. Specifically, in the month of February, mail an item every day, and write back to everyone that writes you. It’s that simple! What do you write? The list is practically endless:
A postcardA genuine letter, on paper and everything!A pictureA newspaper, if you get one, or magazine cuttingEven a fabric swatch!I’ve mailed bookmarks and handmade coasters (I weave them on my Zoom loom (https://schachtspindle.com/product/zoom-loom-4-x-4/) and they fit perfectly into most card envelopes. At just 4 inches by 4 inches, they don’t weigh a lot and I usually don’t even need to add extra postage!
I even have a close group of friends who all share “non-bill mail” with each other, and use any excuse to do it:
January 23rd is National Handwriting DayFebruary 14th is Valentine’s DayMarch or April have Mother’s DayMay is my birthday month (May 8th)June is Father’s DayJuly has Independence DayAugust is back to schoolSeptember has Labor Day (and it’s a great opportunity to educate ones’ younger friends and relatives on where the weekend came from)October is, of course, Halloween – or Samhain for us WiccansNovember is American Thanksgiving (October has Canadian Thanksgiving)December are the Winter Holidays and New Year’s EveSo many opportunities to write! Now, you just need to find pals, right?
Look no further than the Month of Letters website, https://lettermo.com/. Registering is free, and once you do, you can make friends and share addresses. Unlike Incowrimo, another letter writing challenge, you have to be logged in to see addresses, and your address isn’t available to the public like it is on Incowrimo.
So, tell me, Dear Reader: What do you like to send or receive in the mail?
A. Catherine Noon
“My own experience has taught me this: if you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured it may never arrive.”
~ Maurice Chevalier
acatherinenoon.com | noonandwilder.com | writerzengarden.com | knoontimeknitting.com
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NOTE FROM DELILAH: I love this idea so much, I’ll offer to send one commenter one of my hand-painted postcards as a prize!
