How to Write a Good Letter (Even If You’ll Never Send It)
1. Start messy. Finish real.
Don’t worry about grammar or tone. Just begin. Let the truth spill out. Raw letters are often the most powerful.
2. Write like no one’s reading
This is for you. Don’t self-censor. Swear. Cry. Ramble. Be honest.
3. Speak to someone, not about them
Direct address creates emotional immediacy. Even if the person will never see it, saying “you” matters.
4. Get specific, but stay anonymous
Details - a smell, a phrase they used, what the room looked like - bring the moment to life.
5. Let the emotion shift
Letters can move from grief to gratitude, rage to laughter. Let it be complex, like you are.
6. Don’t worry about wrapping it up neatly
Life rarely offers clean closure. A good letter doesn’t need to end with “sincerely”, it can end with a sigh, a punchline, or a single word.
7. Read it back - or don’t
Sometimes rereading is healing. Sometimes just writing it is enough. Either choice is valid.
6. Don’t worry about wrapping it up neatly
Life rarely offers clean closure. A good letter doesn’t need to end with “sincerely”, it can end with a sigh, a punchline, or a single word.