Welcome to Day 3 of the 2016 #sendcardsspreadlove challenge for National Card & Letter Writing Month!

We’re so excited and full of gratitude that you’ve joined us. As a reminder, make sure you sign up to receive all the info and special bonus content that won’t be shared on the blog.

If you’re just joining us, you can get all the important details in the Day 1 blog post plus a list of reasons to write, and who to send a card to, and even what type of card to send.

Week 1 Challenge: Hello! Is it Me You’re Thinking Of?

The challenge this week is to send a card to someone saying “Hi” (you’ll make their day, I promise!) and the prize is your choice of one of the single curated collections. To be eligible for the prize, share your card and/or note, tag both Christina and me on IG (@creativemercantile and @prettybypost) along with the week 1 challenge and the #sendcardsspreadlove hashtag by April 11th.

Besides not knowing who to send a card to or why (but now you have a BIG list of reasons to write, so we can check that off as D-O-N-E.), the next biggest obstacle we hear the most is not knowing what to write.

So, we’ve compiled a list of resources for you on what to say when writer’s block hits (and don’t feel bad, it happens to the best of writers!)

A good handwritten letter is a creative act, and not just because it is a visual and tactile pleasure. It is a deliberate act of exposure, a form of vulnerability, because handwriting opens a window on the soul in a way that cyber communication can never do. You savor their arrival and later take care to place them in a box for safe keeping. – Catherine Field

[Tweet “Never be stuck for what to write. The #sendcardsspreadlove challenge has you covered.”]

Day 3 of the 2016 #sendcardsspreadlove Challenge

• Check out our blog post for 3 Quick & Easy Tips for Writing Notes
• The notes I’ve written here, here and here
• Writing a love letter
• This blog post from Garance Doré, the French photographer, author, illustrator and fashionista who has a section in her book, Love Style Life on the thank you note
• Writing the perfect letter and 5 questions to ask when you have writer’s block from American Stationery
• This advice from Brett McKay from ArtofManliness.com: “Write the way you would talk. A letter is but talk on paper. Just as you would in real life, adjust the style and formality depending on your intimacy with the recipient. If it’s a business contact, maintain a more formal tone. If it’s your girlfriend or an old buddy, be as informal, intimate, and breezy as you would be if they were with you in person. Your goal is to have your voice reading your letter to them in their head. It’s much easier to create that effect if you write how you actually talk. Just as you don’t overthink when you talk, don’t overthink when you write a letter.”

FOR INSPIRATION:

• Theresa Reed aka The Tarot Lady sends fan mail and encourages you to do the same.
• This legendary football player sends handwritten letters on his own personal stationery to fellow NFL players.
• President Obama writes 10 letters a day.
• Oprah wrote about her “treasure box of letters” and how she believes that one-of-a-kind stationery sets create the best gifts ever – read more here.
• This tip was emailed to me by one of the Pretty by Post® community members especially for this challenge – thank you Heather! Shawn Achor, the author of The Happiness Advantage, has 5 tips for happiness, one of which is Conscious Acts of Kindness. He advises people to spend the first two minutes of every day writing a two to three line email praising or thanking someone. What if you took two minutes to write a note/card to someone and it doesn’t have to be daily. Yes, email is easier and more convenient but nothing compares to sending tangible, physical mementos that can be cherished. If you don’t believe me, then refer back to the Oprah link above.
• Alexandra Franzen’s post on the power of letter writing to save lives.
• And for those of you who are historical buffs, #nerds, curious, etc, I couldn’t resist posting this excerpt from Emily Post’s Etiquette (1922) on Notes and Shorter Letters. I was fascinated with the numerous examples of letters, especially the Very Intimate & Intimate ones. I giggled as clearly, the definition of intimate has changed quite a bit.

So now you have reasons to write and resources for writer’s block – let’s get to sending out cards!

And on Friday, we have our first guest post – an interview with one of our very own Pretty by Post® community members who sends letters weekly and will share her tips for sustaining a letter writing habit.