International Correspondence Writing Month
January 23, 2019 11:24 AM Subscribe
incowrimo-2019 a handwritten letter every day It's almost February, or as some people refer to it - International Correspondence Writing Month!
That's right, in addition to the MetaFilter Valentine Mail Exchange, or the monthly MetaFilter Card Club, you can also participate in sending mail to strangers from the internet!
Not sure how to begin?
- Goldspot Pens has a how to write a letter blog post from 2018.
- Goulet Pens has 28 Letter Writing Ideas on who to send your letters to.
- Maple Post has an excellent Intro and Tips post with tips for a successful month of letter writing.
What about who to send your letters to?
- Of course, you can always send to people you know!
- The InCoWriMo webpage has an address book webpage of people who are participating in InCoWriMo and would be happy to hear from you. (You can add your address if you like!)
- Letters of Gratitude for the Military and First Responders
- Letters to Hospitalized Children
- Cards of Hope for foster youth
- Letters of Love for senior citizens
Interested in seeing what other people are doing?
There's an InCoWriMo Instagram tag.
Want to have fancy mail?
There's time to buy vintage stamps to use.
Letter Writers Alliance is happy to sell you supplies! Or you could join, for $5, and get access to the members only section of the shop, as well as the Pen Pal exchange.
Try a free printable Valentine's card template from The Postman's Knock Blog.
9 Fancy Letter Folds from Maple Post
Remember - first class stamp prices increase to $0.55 from $0.50 on January 27th, so buy your stamps now! Luckily, international letter pricing will remain the same.
February not a good month? Maple Post is compiling a calendar of snail mail projects, events and celebrations, so maybe there is something else there that will work for you!
And, of course, don't forget about April - National Letter Writing Month!
That's right, in addition to the MetaFilter Valentine Mail Exchange, or the monthly MetaFilter Card Club, you can also participate in sending mail to strangers from the internet!
Not sure how to begin?
- Goldspot Pens has a how to write a letter blog post from 2018.
- Goulet Pens has 28 Letter Writing Ideas on who to send your letters to.
- Maple Post has an excellent Intro and Tips post with tips for a successful month of letter writing.
What about who to send your letters to?
- Of course, you can always send to people you know!
- The InCoWriMo webpage has an address book webpage of people who are participating in InCoWriMo and would be happy to hear from you. (You can add your address if you like!)
- Letters of Gratitude for the Military and First Responders
- Letters to Hospitalized Children
- Cards of Hope for foster youth
- Letters of Love for senior citizens
Interested in seeing what other people are doing?
There's an InCoWriMo Instagram tag.
Want to have fancy mail?
There's time to buy vintage stamps to use.
Letter Writers Alliance is happy to sell you supplies! Or you could join, for $5, and get access to the members only section of the shop, as well as the Pen Pal exchange.
Try a free printable Valentine's card template from The Postman's Knock Blog.
9 Fancy Letter Folds from Maple Post
Remember - first class stamp prices increase to $0.55 from $0.50 on January 27th, so buy your stamps now! Luckily, international letter pricing will remain the same.
February not a good month? Maple Post is compiling a calendar of snail mail projects, events and celebrations, so maybe there is something else there that will work for you!
And, of course, don't forget about April - National Letter Writing Month!
Ohh, this is so lovely, thanks for posting!
A bunch of my friends from the zine world recently started sending out one-page photocopied personal newsletters every month or two. I've been doing that lately, and finding it such a nice writing exercise and way to keep up with pals in a little bit less intensive way than writing 30-odd individual handwritten letters. Would recommend!
posted by ITheCosmos at 12:38 PM on January 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
A bunch of my friends from the zine world recently started sending out one-page photocopied personal newsletters every month or two. I've been doing that lately, and finding it such a nice writing exercise and way to keep up with pals in a little bit less intensive way than writing 30-odd individual handwritten letters. Would recommend!
posted by ITheCosmos at 12:38 PM on January 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
My timing's off, as I've been letter-writing at full tilt all this month, trying to catch up on a backlog of correspondence: I wouldn't mind a bit of a break in February - but hats off to anyone having a go at it!
posted by misteraitch at 1:20 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by misteraitch at 1:20 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I am going to do this. Thanks for making this post.
posted by gauche at 1:47 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by gauche at 1:47 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
This is great! I don't want to put my address online, but apparently it's okay to just write to people and hope to get something back --
posted by Countess Elena at 1:50 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Countess Elena at 1:50 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
(I also want to thank you because I'm not sure I'd have heard about the postage price hike otherwise, and now I can buy up)
posted by Countess Elena at 1:57 PM on January 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 1:57 PM on January 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
I've been meaning to get back to Postcrossing, after taking a long holiday break. This is a great impetus to start sending postcards again - thanks!
posted by darchildre at 2:11 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by darchildre at 2:11 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
how fabulous! I'm going to attempt this. handwritten mail is so lovely
posted by biggreenplant at 2:56 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by biggreenplant at 2:56 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Black and Pink connects incarcerated LGBTQ people with pen pals
posted by bagel at 9:28 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by bagel at 9:28 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
This is such a great post with so much handy info! I requested an international pen pal at L.W.A. and hope to get matched soon. I'm looking forward to sending a ton of mail this February!
More mail things, yay! Thanks, needlegrrl!
posted by danabanana at 7:17 AM on January 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
More mail things, yay! Thanks, needlegrrl!
posted by danabanana at 7:17 AM on January 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's worth explicitly noting you can accomplish everything that's wonderful about exchanging letters without ever lifting a pen. If you're embarrassed about your penmanship or worried because you don't know how to use a fountain pen...so what? I love writing and receiving letters, and I use Microsoft Word. Handwriting is a totally different subject, one that can be related but isn't necessarily.
I geek-out on fonts and papers. I absolutely adore both Mercury and Lyon, and I usually buy paper from Crane but recently I've been experimenting with A4-sized paper from Smythson. If anybody has other favorites or suggestions, I'd love to know. But you can use Times New Roman on copier paper from Staples and you'll still be accomplishing everything that's wonderful about mail.
posted by cribcage at 4:39 PM on January 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
I geek-out on fonts and papers. I absolutely adore both Mercury and Lyon, and I usually buy paper from Crane but recently I've been experimenting with A4-sized paper from Smythson. If anybody has other favorites or suggestions, I'd love to know. But you can use Times New Roman on copier paper from Staples and you'll still be accomplishing everything that's wonderful about mail.
posted by cribcage at 4:39 PM on January 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
I completely agree with cribcage - I always have great plans for fancy envelopes, fountain pens, fancy inks - but really, I'm happy to get a letter, whether it's in pen, pencil, crayon, or typed!
I have to struggle sometimes to get things out - if I wait for it to be perfect, it won't happen at all.
posted by needlegrrl at 6:58 AM on January 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have to struggle sometimes to get things out - if I wait for it to be perfect, it won't happen at all.
posted by needlegrrl at 6:58 AM on January 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
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