Love Letters! Romantic Feelings! Inspiring Thoughts!
Writing a Love Letter
Writing a love letter shouldn't be that difficult. All you have to do is open your heart and let the words flow, right? But finding the right words to profess your undying love can be a daunting task. Here are some simple tips to help you get those romantic feelings down on paper.
1. Set the mood. Just as you would want a private place to have an intimate conversation, you should also have a quiet place to write your love letter. Don't attempt to do it while sitting in the middle of a lunchroom or while bouncing along on the bus on your way home from work. Find a quiet place, put on some romantic music to put you in the right frame of mind, and relax.
2. Use the proper tools. Your love letter is a personal message to someone special, so your method of writing it should also be special. Forget the computer. For this endeavor, you'll need to hark back to the old days of pen and paper. It doesn't matter if your handwriting is imperfect; it's more personal than 10 pt Arial font on a sheet of computer paper. Get some nice stationery and a matching envelope from your local office supply store or look online!
3. Open with a romantic salutation. "Dear [Jane or John]" is too common to start a heartfelt love letter. Choose something more loving, such as "My dearest Jane" or "My darling John." You can also start with a loving salutation that doesn't include your significant other's name, such as "To My True Love" or "To My One and Only." If you have a pet nickname, that's a good option, too, as it sets an intimate mood for the rest of your letter.
4. Tell your loved one why you're writing. You may want to start out by saying, "I've been thinking of you nonstop since..." or "I thought of you today when... " or "I have been wanting to tell you this for a long time..."
5. Express your love. Tell your significant other why you love him or her. There are many ways to do this. You might want to recall the first time you knew you were in love with this person, or list some of the things you love about him or her. You can also explain how you feel when you're together, and include your hopes or plans for your future together.
6. Include a romantic quote. Love is such an overwhelming emotion, it's hard to explain all the wonderful things about it in a simple letter. So borrow some words from a professional wordsmith. A romantic quote can sum up a plethora of feelings in just a few phrases.
7. End with a romantic closing. "Sincerely yours" or "Best wishes" are fine valedictions for an everyday letter to a friend, but a love letter needs something more heartfelt. Try closing with a phrase such as "All my love," "Yours forever" or "Your Loving [Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Husband, Wife, etc.]" and then sign your name.
8. Present your letter to your loved one. Find a romantic way to present your letter. Lay it on the pillow with a long-stemmed rose, send it in a bottle, or go out for a romantic walk or intimate dinner.
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| A love letter can be the perfect way to convey your emotions to the person that you care about. Unfortunately, writing this love letter can prove to be a difficult task. While some people can write down their emotions easily, others struggle with the idea of a love letter altogether. If you want to pen a love letter, here are five different types of love letters to write to a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Love Letters" Letters of Days Old! | |
| "Would I, if I could, supplant one of any of the affections that I know to have taken root in you - that great and solemn one, for instance? I feel that if I could get myself remade, as if turned to gold, I WOULD not even then desire to become more than the mere setting to that diamond you must always wear” |
A Romantic Love Letter by John Keats to Fanny Brawne
Keats and Brawne were introduced to each other in 1818 in Hampstead. Keats who was twenty-three at that time fell in love with the sixteen-year-old Brawne.
He started writing her love letters that reflected the amount of love he had for her. He quoted in one of his letters “I have been astonished that men could die martyrs of religion. I have shuddered at it”. The famous poet died at the age of 25. His last poem is named as “Fanny”, written in the memoirs of the love of his life.
“Wednesday Morning.
My Dearest Girl,
I have been a walk this morning with a book in my hand, but as usual, I have been occupied with nothing but you: I wish I could say in an agreeable manner. I am tormented day and night. They talk of my going to Italy. ‘Tis certain I shall never recover if I am to be so long separate from you: yet with all this devotion to you I cannot persuade myself into any confidence of you….
You are to me an object intensely desirable — the air I breathe in a room empty of you in unhealthy. I am not the same to you — no — you can wait — you have a thousand activities — you can be happy without me. Any party, anything to fill up the day has been enough.
How have you pass’d this month? Who have you smil’d with? All this may seem savage in me. You do not feel as I do — you do not know what it is to love — one day you may — your time is not come….
I cannot live without you, and not only you but chaste you; virtuous you. The Sun rises and sets, the day passes, and you follow the bent of your inclination to a certain extent — you have no conception of the quantity of miserable feeling that passes through me in a day — Be serious! Love is not a plaything — and again do not write unless you can do it with a crystal conscience. I would sooner die for want of you than —
Yours for ever
J. Keats”
Romantic Love Letter from Beethoven to the Immortal Beloved
Evening, Monday, July 6
You are suffering, my dearest creature - only now have I learned that letters must be posted very early in the morning on Mondays to Thursdays - the only days on which the mail-coach goes from here to K. - You are suffering - Ah, wherever I am, there you are also - I will arrange it with you and me that I can live with you. What a life!!! thus!!! without you - pursued by the goodness of mankind hither and thither - which I as little want to deserve as I deserve it - Humility of man towards man - it pains me - and when I consider myself in relation to the universe, what am I and what is He - whom we call the greatest - and yet - herein lies the divine in man - I weep when I reflect that you will probably not receive the first report from me until Saturday - Much as you love me - I love you more - But do not ever conceal yourself from me - good night - As I am taking the baths I must go to bed - Oh God - so near! so far! Is not our love truly a heavenly structure, and also as firm as the vault of heaven?
Romantic Love Letter by Lewis Carroll to May Mileham
“7 Lushington Road, Eastbourne
Dearest May,
Thank you very much indeed for the peaches. They were delicious. Eating one was almost as nice as kissing you; Of course not quite; I think, if I had to give the exact measurement, I should say three – quarters as nice; We are having such a lovely time here; and the sands are beautiful. I only wish I could some day come across you, washing your pocket -handkerchief in a pool among the rocks? But I wander on the beach, and look for you, in vain; and then I say, Where is May? And the stupid boatmen reply, It isn’t May, sir? It’s September?’ But it doesn’t comfort me.
Always your Loving C.L.D.”
Romantic Love Letter by Lord Byron to Annabella Milbanke
Lord Byron began courtship with Anne Isabella Milbanke, whom he married later on. After some initial refusals, Milbanke finally decided to marry Byron. Soon enough she was ill treated by the great poet that followed into a separation. They had a private wedding ceremony at Seaham Hall in County Durham on January 2, 1815. Byron after their wedding went into severe financial crisis and started growing more and more upset day by day.
“November 16, 1814
My Heart -
We are thus far separated - but after all one mile is as bad as a thousand, - which is a great consolation to one who must travel six hundred before he meets you again. If it will give you any satisfaction - I am as comfortless as a pilgrim with peas in his shoes - and as cold as Charity - Chastity or any other Virtue.”
Famous Love Letter by Victor Hugo to Adele Foucher
“My dearest,
When two souls, which have sought each other for, however long in the throng, have finally found each other ...a union, fiery and pure as they themselves are... begins on earth and continues forever in heaven.
This union is love, true love... a religion, which deifies the loved one, whose life comes from devotion and passion, and for which the greatest sacrifices are the sweetest delights.
This is the love, which you inspire in me... Your soul is made to love with the purity and passion of angels; but perhaps it can only love another angel, in which case I must tremble with apprehension.
Yours forever,
Victor Hugo (1821)”
Famous Love Letter by James Joyce to Nora Barnacle
James Joyce was romantically involved with Nora Barnacle, whom he finally married. Time and again many of his writings suggest that Nora was his biggest inspiration and closest companion. They began their courtship soon after they met, and finally got married in 1931. Although there was a lot of differences in them, yet they stayed together. In some of her writings, Nora has tagged Joyce as a weak man
15 August, 1904
My dear Nora,
It has just struck me. I came in at half past eleven. Since then I have been sitting in an easy chair like a fool. I could do nothing. I hear nothing but your voice. I am like a fool hearing you call me 'Dear.' I offended two men today by leaving them coolly. I wanted to hear your voice, not theirs.
When I am with you, I leave aside my contemptuous, suspicious nature. I wish I felt your head on my shoulder. I think I will go to bed.
I have been a half-hour writing this thing. Will you write something to me? I hope you will. How am I to sign myself? I won't sign anything at all, because I don't know what to sign 5.
Deeper Steps to a Perfect Love Letter
Love can be expressed in a thousand different ways. Romantic gifts, cozy moments together, candlelit dinners, beautiful poems—all of these are ways that people have found to show their love for one another. But if your significant other isn’t nearby, it can sometimes be hard to contain the torrent of emotion that builds up within you. Or you might want to tell them how you feel, but the words just stick in your throat. This is exactly the situation that the love letter was invented for! So just sit down with a pen and paper or in front of your computer, and compose a message that is sure to melt their heart.
1. Say how much you miss them.
Love letters began to get popular back in the days when two lovers who were separated from each other had no other form of communication. Even today, love notes or even love emails are usually written to let the other person know how deeply they’re being missed.
Example: (from a letter by Lord Byron) My Heart—We are thus far separated—but after all one mile is as bad as a thousand—which is a great consolation to one who must travel six hundred before he meets you again.
2. Mention what you love about them.
This is the obvious part! Tell your significant other what it is about them that causes you to love them so much. Compliment their qualities, and say how badly you need them in your life.
Example: (from a letter by James Joyce) When I am with you, I leave aside my contemptuous, suspicious nature. I wish I felt your head on my shoulder.
3. Share your fondest memories.
It’s a great idea to remind your loved one of the times you’ve spent together, so that you can both look forward to seeing one another again. Pick an intimate moment that was shared between the two of you, and mention it lovingly.
Example: (from a letter by Lewis Carroll) Thank you very much indeed for the peaches…Eating one was almost as nice as kissing you; Of course not quite; I think, if I had to give the exact measurement, I should say three-quarters as nice.
4. Express your deepest feelings.
The advantage of a letter is that you can pour your heart out onto the page. Any words that you might find difficult to say in person can be expressed here. Use this opportunity to tell your boyfriend or girlfriend how you really feel.
Example: (from a letter by Victor Hugo) This union is love, true love…a religion, which deifies the loved one, whose life comes from devotion and passion, and for which the greatest sacrifices are the sweetest delights.
5. Look forward to the future.
Try not to end your love letter on a sad or painful note. Remember that you will soon see your loved one again, and let them know how happy this makes you. At the end of the letter, tell them how much you’re looking forward to seeing them.
Example: (from a letter by Beethoven) Ah, wherever I am, there you are also—I will arrange it with you and me that I can live with you.
What a life!!! Thus!!! myself.”
How Not to Write A Love Letter (15 Ways)
If, in the past, you sat down, took pen (never pencil) in hand, and wrote a love letter to the object (person) of your affection and that person never responded, or has disappeared entirely, there may be a reason. In fact there may be 15 reasons.
There are certain things that you just should not do or write in a love letter.
You should not (or never):
- Send a love letter email - This would feel like a cheesy form letter. Are you writing everybody in the hopes of getting a response from somebody? It takes no effort at all to change "Dear Somebody" to "Dear Everybody" - with just the push of the delete button. Besides, a handwritten letter says a lot about you, literally. A graphologist* can take one look at your love letter and gather quite a bit of information. You want your sincerity to shine through!
- Be an illiterate - No one, let me repeat this, no one wants an idiot. Saying foolish things aloud is bad enough but then to immortalize them on paper - big mistake. There is nothing wrong with coming across as educated, intelligent, bright, smart, literate, etc. If you doubt your spelling abilities then write an email first, spell check it - then handwrite your love letter. Better to err on the side of being mistaken for someone intelligent rather than an idiot.
- Write page after page after page - Too boring and tedious. No one wants to keep reading and reading and reading - until you finally get to the point. Less is more and shows you have substance - and can show it on one page.
- Say "I" "I" "I" - This makes it appear as if it is all about you, and you want this relationship for your benefit. Remember, love is supposed to be about sharing in a relationship. Not "I" -ing it to death.
- Use computer paper, loose-leaf paper, or a brown paper bag - At best this would show a terrible lack of imagination. At worst it would show the height of shocking cheapness. Take the time to purchase some good paper or at least colored paper. Even weak writing looks better on good stationery. But no clowns or well-known cartoon characters. It may come across as a personal comment about your character - or the person you are writing.
- Sprinkle the letter with perfume, or cologne - This is an old, tiresome, unromantic, unimaginative, overdone, rather desperate idea. It would seem as if you could not sit down and dash off a sincere letter of heart-felt love and affection. Instead you had to go find some chemical laced concoction and fool around with it. If the object of your affection has allergies - you probably won't see that person ever again - and be hated in the process.
- Send a love letter to a man if you are a woman - Sooooo very easily
misconstrued. He may read your love letter as a contract to share your apartment, good credit, bedroom, bed, food, etc. with him because...well because you put it in writing. Let him write you a hand-written love letter. Even an amateur graphologist* can figure out a lot about a person from his handwriting - and you need to know who you are dealing with. Talk may be cheap but writing shows some investment.
- Propose marriage - Cowardly. The eyes, and body language will tell your true intentions.
- Write more than one - Don't keep dashing off letter after letter. Make your point in one beautiful, thoughtful, well-written love letter - on good stationery, written with a pen that does not skip or leak. If you get a response then take your time and write another. In the interim you are supposed to plan picnics and arrange dinner dates and so on. Your next love letter can refer to those happily shared moments - which you have created.
- Make an attempt at poetry - No, never. Don't think that just because you can rhyme love with glove and dove and above makes you a poet. Poetry is a true beautiful art. Bad poetry is frightening. You may refer to the writings of a true poet but that shouldn't be in your first letter. In your first love letter, your lovely and sincere writing should shine through, not the writing of a dead poet.
- Write "You" "You" "You" - Sounds too much like you are looking for a servant and are creating a list of all the things your servant will do (aka a control freak monster).
- Promise the moon and the stars and a rainbow - This is quite lovely and you can write about such, but it should be followed with something realistic, something concrete like: If our date starts at eight, just know, I will never be late (there's a little rhyme for you - and promised punctuality gets a gold star).
- Start a relationship with a love letter - If you hardly know the person, a love letter is always inappropriate. You cannot possibly love a person who you see on the subway, or walks past your house once a week, or gets on the elevator with you. Don't confuse lust with love. Love letters are a continuation of something positive, something that is already happening. A love letter to someone you hardly know comes across as stalking. Creepy stuff.
- Doodle all around the edges - No. Just say 'no' to doodling all around the edges or anywhere else.
- Sign off with "Luv Ya" or "Your Boo" - If you cannot sign off with your real name, you will come across as someone in a committed relationship - with someone else - who is prepared to say somewhere down the line, "See hon, I didn't write that. That person over there is not the object of my affection. That love letter, or whatever it is, doesn't have my name on it."
The best thing(s) to do is:
Keep it short, sweet, simple, and sincere.
Letter Writing
Fragments of friendship, made by women in the Victorian Era, used their ingenuity and clever hands to fashion objects to give away including the letters they so carefully wrote. Many would take care to turn an ordinary envelope into a work of art with illustrations and or painted script, and even addresses rendered with intricate pin pricks. And Sealing wax was a favorite way to protect the contents of the envelope.
There were suitors known as faint-hearted lovers who couldn't muster a proposal. According to The Lover's Casket, an etiquette book that strictly covered courting techniques, had indeed said that the suitor could write his proposal by letter if he could not bring himself to say the words.
The Lovers Letter Writer, a popular 19th-century English manual, supplied the answers to correct letter writing. Covering love, courtship, marriage, friendship, relationships and business. In all, there were 66 examples. The samples covered every conceivable social need along with a handy formula for a cryptogram meant to be read between the lines.
This example of a cryptogram was headed Female Ingenuity and was used by a newly married young lady who was obliged to show her husband all the letters she wrote.
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest friend;
blest as I am in the matrimonial state,
unless I pour into your friendly bosom,
which has ever been in unison with mine,
the various sensations which swell
with the liveliest emotions of pleasure,
my almost bursting heart. I tell you my dear
husband is the most amiable of men.
I have now been married seven weeks, and
have found the least reason to
repent the day that joined us.
My husband is
in person and manners far from resembling
ugly, cross, old, disagreeable and jealous
monsters, who think by confining to secure a wife;
it is his maxim to treat,
as a bosom friend and confidant, and not
as a plaything or menial slave, the woman
chosen to be his companion. Neither party,
he says should always obey implicitly;
but each yield to the other by turns.
The letter's message was:
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest friend,
unless I pour into your friendly bosom,
the various sensations which swell
my almost bursting heart. I tell you my dear
I have now been married seven weeks, and
repent the day that joined us.
My husband is
ugly, cross, old, disagreeable and jealous.
It is his maxim to treat
as a plaything or menial slave; the woman
he says, should always obey implicitly.
Another sample is to be used by a lady in answer to a letter in which her suitor intimates his wish to discontinue acquaintance. A lady should permit a suitor to withdraw, but not without having the last word.
Sir:
I acknowledge the receipt of your last letter, which now lies before me, and in which you convey the intimation, that the position which, for some time past we have regarded each other, must henceforth be abandoned. Until the receipt of this letter, I had regarded you in the light of my future husband; you were, therefore, as you have reason to know, so completely the possessor of my affections, that I looked with indifference upon every other suitor. The remembrance of you never failed to give a fresh zest to the pleasures of life, and you were in my thoughts at the very moment in which I received your letter.
But deem me not so devoid of proper pride as to wish you to revoke your determination, from which I will not attempt to dissuade you, whether you may have made it in coll deliberation, or in precipitate haste. Sir, I shall endeavor to banish you from my affections, as readily and completely as you have banished me; and all that I shall now require from you is this, that you will return to me whatever letters you may have of mine, and which I may have written under a foolish confidence in your attachment, and when you were accredited as the future husband of,
Sir,
Yours as may be,
Henrietta Allston
"Please never stop writing me letters-they always manage to make me feel like my higher self," poet Elizabeth Bishop once implored a friend." In this age of electronic correspondence, letter writing is much more personal or romantic than convenient email. And in an age that valued sentiment and friendship, creating souvenirs to be exchanged was part of the ceremony and the excitement, a reminder forever of the beauty found in the circle of love and friendship. 
Find a quiet corner, your very own private domain. "I have everything I need…a page, a pen, and memory raining down on me in sleeves," wrote Harriet Doerr. Take up a clean page and write, but pay close attention to details, no scribbling here please. Calligraphy has always been a form of expressive handwriting. No matter which style you choose, remember that it's not just what you write, but how it is written.
The page itself may be decorated, or plain parchment will do. Get creative. Let your inner self decide what would be a proper expression of your feelings. Perhaps a pink satin ribbon weaved up along one side, through incisions in the page, and tied with a bow towards the top will do. Or by chance you've found the perfect commercial stationary to express your feelings.
And don't forget about the envelope. One shouldn't go to the trouble of creating a beautiful and or sentiment correspondence without considering the envelope. Have it match the stationary or have it stand on it's own. Maybe it could be something as simple as a satin ribbon threaded through slits on the flap and tied in a bow. Or decorate using rubber stamps.
You may decide to ensure the safety of your sentiment by using sealing wax on the flap. I find it best to heat the wax in a spoon and drip the wax onto the flap of the envelope.
No matter who you take the time to write-it is the thoughtful touch that makes your written message seem all the more sincere.
Scented Ink 
Blend approximately 100 drops of essential oil (suggested oils are rose or lavender) with a teaspoon of vodka.
Add the mixture, a little at a time, to 2 ounces of ink (deep colors work best).
Stir and ready to use.
Pen
Oh! nature's noblest gift--my grey goose quill;
Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will.
Torn from thy parent bird to form a pen.
That mighty instrument of little men!
--Byron
Letter Writing
Write to me a letter
etched by Sunday morning
sunlight,
centered in a room where
returning robins sing
of the sea-swung
palms and beaches of
Florida. Your chosen words
will glint beyond
their stony use and point
to the history we sense in night, that lore
drunk on nocturnal
breezes (the polyphony of sleep)
when cricket chords mesmerize
wall shadows stretched
tight from your feet
until they forget to be faithful to your body.
When your letter arrives,
I will memorize your words, rendering
your syntax so finely all will be forgotten except
your dancing beyond the ink-stains,
a game of pretend really,
as if you were always
in this room.
--James Pate
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