Your pen is like an arrow, ready to pierce the heart of the one you love with words that flow from the deepest recesses of your being. You’re ready to write that love letter—to your spouse or significant other, the new person who has caught your eye, to a beloved parent or grandparent, child or trusted friend. But first...
Choose a Pen That Inspires
Start with a writing instrument that’s worthy of its purpose. Choose a pen that you find to be beautiful, and it will inspire the same in your heartfelt prose or poetry. Keats was right when he wrote, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” For many, that writing instrument is a fountain pen. Fountain pen writers enjoy the pleasure of using liquid ink to let their words flow, and the flexible nib allows for greater personal expression.
Think in Ink
If you do choose a fountain pen, you’ll benefit from the variety of ink colors available—every shade imaginable to match your mood and fire up your passion. As well, the liquid ink lends itself to creating words and ideas that flow harmoniously and fluidly.
Be Particular About the Paper
Though some winsome love letters have been written on the back of a cocktail napkin, it’s a good idea to choose the right kind of paper on which to bare your heart and soul to your intended. Choose a premium paper of substance, high-quality, friendly to the type of ink you’re using. Good paper will make your letter a ‘keeper.’
If you’re loquacious, you could fill page after page of a Freeleaf Pad with your ardent entreaties, but don’t get carried away. Attention spans are not what they used to be, and as Shakespeare wisely wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” A simple card with room to write something short, sweet and to the point can be surprisingly impactful.
Find the Right Words
Need another word for ‘love’? For ‘beautiful’? A serious writer should always keep a trusty thesaurus nearby; it’s every composer’s favorite vocabulary crutch aid. (Where do you think I found ‘loquacious’ and ‘entreaty’ for the paragraph above?)
Write from the Heart
All else aside, it’s your honesty and depth of feeling that truly matter when composing a love letter. Extol and enumerate the virtues of your beloved; pinpoint every positive aspect; list all the things you appreciate and admire about them. Elizabeth Barrett Browning said it best: “Let me count the ways.”
Above all, be authentic. Open your heart and let your feelings flow onto the paper. You may just capture (or safeguard) the heart of the one you love, or delight the special people you care about most.
Happy Valentine’s Day!