by Silva Payne

Created on: July 19, 2008   Last Updated: May 02, 2010

You have found that special someone and you feel the desire to tell them how much they mean to you. The romantic in you wants to make it a special occasion and you decide that you want to write a love letter. But how?

The song goes, "Love letters straight from the heart," and really that is the key to writing a successful love letter; it has to be personal and from your heart. That's not to say that using what sound like worn out cliches is to be avoided or makes the letter any less personal, but there can be no standard format for a love letter because every couple, every circumstance, is different.

Should love letters be written by hand on paper? This is a pertinent question in today's era of instant electronic communication. Chances are, the love of your life talks to you every day even if you don't see each other every day. Sending a paper letter through the mail may seem unnecessary and your relationship may even change before they receive it! However, it's not so much the physical means of communication used, as the time and thought gone into its creation. If you really want to use email then go right ahead and do it. In this case, timing can also play a part; whatever you are sending, perhaps making sure it arrives overnight so that your loved one reads it the following morning is a touching gesture (even if you didn't stay up all night composing it, but just set the "delay send" for midnight!).

Most people would still say that love letters are more effective when they come on paper in an envelope. Give some thought to the stationary; if you already always use plain blue airmail sheets, why not pay the extra and go for some smooth vellum instead with a matching envelope? You could try some custom-made stationary with hearts and flowers, or make your own by copying an image onto your computer, then turning it to negative or fade, and printing it so that it faintly shows on the paper before you begin to write. Not feeling artistic? Then just some pale pink or cream paper will do the trick, but you could add a few rose petals or some confetti hearts and sparkles to the envelope once you have written the letter.

To type or not to type? Again, traditionalists would say that handwritten love letters are the only kind to receive. If your handwriting looks like a drunken spider has crawled across the page, there is no shame in downloading a handwriting script font and using that instead. Just print off a test copy before you print the finished letter, to

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