Some people have asked me if they can keep doing this all year. Yes! Of course. There’s a neat challenge called 52 Weeks of Mail that challenges you to mail something once a week. After what you did in February, that ought to be a snap.

As for me, I plan to continue writing to people but at a more leisurely pace.  The habit has been formed.

It’s been fun this month.

Now…What I want really to know is: what do you want for next year?

I’m definitely planning on issuing the challenge again next February. So what is your wish list for the Month of Letters Challenge 2013?

Did you succeed? Have a badge to celebrate.

It’s the last day of the Month of Letters Challenge. Congratulations! You mailed at least 24 things.

I have been amazed by how many people dived into this challenge. So many people said that this was the first time they’ve written a letter in years. What made you want to join in? Has it been satisfying?

For me, it has been amazing. I’ve connected with friends that I don’t see often enough. I’ve started correspondences with new people. And I’ve carved out a tiny spot of calm in every day where I focus on just one thing at a time. It has been wonderful.

I’m planning on carrying on writing letters all year. And next February? We’ll do this again. Oh, yes we will.

And now, let me close by quoting Emily Post on How to End a Letter.

ENDING A LETTER

Just as the beginning of a letter should give the reader an impression of greeting, so should the end express friendly or affectionate leave-taking. Nothing can be worse than to seem to scratch helplessly around in the air for an idea that will effect your escape. 19
“Well, I guess I must stop now,” “Well, I must close,” or, “You are probably bored with this long epistle, so I had better close.” 20
All of these are as bad as they can be, and suggest the untutored man who stands first on one foot and then on the other, running his finger around the brim of his hat, or the country girl twisting the corner of her apron. 21

HOW TO END A LETTER

An intimate letter has no end at all. When you leave the house of a member of your family, you don’t have to think up an especial sentence in order to say good-by. Leave-taking in a letter is the same:
“Good-by, dearest, for to-day

Personally, I’ve found that sending letters every day has become habit forming. Will I send them every day from here on out? Probably not daily, because life does happen. My husband and I are moving in April, for instance. But given how comforting I’ve found it to sit down with pen and paper, I can’t imagine that I’ll miss many days.

I’ve seen a lot of people online saying that they wished this challenge ran all year long. You know what? There’s something called 52 Weeks of Mail, which challenges you to send at least one piece of mail per week. You guys have that down pat.

And you? As we sit here with one day left in the challenge, what habits have you developed?

I found that,even though I knew the mail would not run yesterday, or the day before, that I wanted to write some letters anyway. Having the moment in my day when I sit down and focus on only one thing, is soothing. Having that point of focus be someone else, seems to help get me out of my own head and make a little space of clarity, even if I am sending only a postcard.

So how is it going for you as we enter the final week of Month of Letters Challenge?

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You can use it to spread the word at your local post office, coffee shop, or stationery store.

Click here to download the Month of Letters Poster as a pdf.

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Now… on to the fun stuff.

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Day Four and 25 letters waiting

It’s Sunday. For most of the world, the mail does not run today, which means you don’t have to mail anything. On the first day off from the Month of Letters Challenge, I thought I would report in on how it was going for me. So far I think it is going really, really well. I should pause here to say that I did not expect this to go viral but, lo, it has. I have no idea how many people are participating at this point beyond suspecting that it is way more than the number of people registered at the website.

The Month of Letters Challenge has been covered by The Guardian, the New York Times, The Spectator, GalleyCat, and blogs in languages ranging from English to Hebrew. I had no idea — NO idea that it would take off like this. I think it has because I’m not the only one for whom the computer has become a place of work. Other people also want to step back a little and letter writing allows you to do that without pretending that you don’t also love the internet.

I have, at this point, answered seventy-seven letters or postcards and that only takes us through Day Four. Yes. That is a lot of correspondence. But I am loving it. I’m hearing from people that I would never get to talk to otherwise. Housewives from Lousiana, fountain pen enthusiasts from Minnesota, artists from Estonia… It’s amazing.

As much as that, I’m also loving sending out mail to my friends. Before the month started, I used the Month of Letters Calendar to decide who I would write to each day. Even with the volume of mail that has been coming in, I’m still mailing something to one of my friends every day, knowing that they probably won’t write back.

That’s okay. They don’t have to. What’s satisfying is taking the time to think about them and — weirdly — to complete a task. Jackie Gamble pointed this out to me and, by gum, she’s right.

Apart from the magic, which is undeniable, I’m enjoying the sense of accomplishment. It only takes a few minutes to write, seal, stamp, and walk down to my mailbox. As soon as I flip up the flag, I’m done. I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. If only all goals were as easily met! That’s magic, too, I think.

Having a goal of mailing one thing a day is a simple, achievable task. It means that there is at least one thing every day that I can complete and feel good about. You know? So many things that I need to do are open ended.

Yes, I’ve finished writing Without a Summer, but it’s just a second draft. Yes, I’ve finished proofing Glamour in Glass, but I have to plan the launch party. Yes, I’ve finished carving the Fuzzy’s toes, but I still have to ship him. There’s almost always one more step, even after finishing something. Not so with a letter. Once it is in the mail, you have completed your task. All that remains is the potential that someone might write back.

So, yes. Having a passel of people to write back to is terrifying, but awesome.

Are you participating? If so, how’s it going for you?

With that in mind, there are two different ways to join in, depending on which suits your temperment.

1. Use the non-mail days to catch up. In the U.S. the post doesn’t run on Sundays or holidays. That gives you five days to use.

2. Decide that you are going to send mail every day for a month, starting today. So if it is February 4th, then you would try to send mail daily until March 3rd.

Simple, eh? And remember, it does not have to be a letter, nor do you have to write to 24 different people. Give it a try, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Those of you who have been in it since the beginning, tell us how it’s going. Are you having fun?

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In support of this endeavour, I am offering a special query letter #LetterMo. Due to the nature of this proposal, the kind and beneficent Mary Robinette Kowal has given me a variance on rule #2 (see official site here and sign up to participate in the challenge). I will only be responding to the queries received once and not engaging in additional correspondence (unless, of course, I request your manuscript).

I highly recommend Jenn as an agent. She’s been great with Shades of Milk and Honey and my other projects.

For full details, go over to The Month of Letters Challenge | Et in arcaedia, ego. And for heaven’s sake, read the guidelines.

In another day or so, someone else will open their mail box and get a thrill of delight, which you caused. How is that not like magic?

Yes, yes, yes… we understand the mechanics of how the letter gets from Point A to Point B but that’s not the magic bit. What’s magic is that a simple act begun in one part of the world can create happiness at another time and another place.

Let me give a concrete example: I’m in Seattle right now, on a trip, and I’m sending a postcard to my husband even though I will beat it home today. It won’t say anything that I can’t say to him when I get there, but it will mark a point in time where I thought of him with a tangible marker.

That’s part of the magic.

When you write today, think about recording a moment in time. Cast a spell.

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